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Bourse urges contract openness

(Shanghai Daily)
Updated: 2007-06-19 08:46

The Shenzhen Stock Exchange yesterday issued a notice ordering listed firms to reveal details of large contracts as soon as they occur, the latest effort by the bourse to boost corporate transparency.

The so-called "significant contracts" include procurements with values exceeding 50 percent of a firm's total assets at the end of the previous fiscal year or those reaching one billion yuan (US$131 million), the exchange said in the notice.

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T he disclosure requirement also applies to product sales, project contracts as well as services in which contractual value exceeds 50 percent of core-business revenue or totals one billion yuan, the notice said.

Publicly traded companies must inform investors of all parties involved in the contracts, related risks and possible influence on profitability, according to the notice.

Listed firms must track contracts' progress and make timely public information disclosures if any change appears, the notice said.

China's stock regulator and the country's two exchanges are increasing efforts to urge listed companies to upgrade disclosure procedures as part of a nationwide campaign to combat insider trading and market manipulation.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission last month fined Shanghai-listed Hangxiao Steel Structure Co and several company executives after the firm failed to disclose huge contracts and misled investors.