THE Securities Commission (SC) and Bursa Malaysia have announced further temporary relief measures for listed companies in addition to those introduced in 2020.
The additional measures are intended to allow listed issuers more time to prepare their financial statements as well as to put in place regularisation plans amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The additional measures are:
- Extension of time to submit financial statements
An automatic one-month extension for the issuance of quarterly and annual reports for the Main and ACE Markets as well as semi-annual and annual audited financial statements for the LEAP Market which are due on Feb 28, March 31 and April 30, 2021 respectively.
“Notwithstanding the one-month extension, listed issuers are reminded to comply with the disclosure obligations under the Listing Requirements, including making immediate announcements of any material information to ensure that shareholders and investors have access to information in a timely manner,” the market regulators pointed out.
- Relief to listed issuers with unsatisfactory financial conditions and inadequate levels of operations
- A 12-month relief period for a listed issuer that has announced between Jan 1, 2021 and June 30, 2021 that it has insignificant business or operations. This relief allows such listed issuer to reassess its condition at the end of the relief period before making the requisite announcements.
- A 24-month regularisation timeframe instead of 12 months for a listed issuer that has announced between Jan 1, 2021 and June 30, 2021 that it has ceased all or major business or operations; or is classified as a PN17/GN3 listed issuer.
- An 18-month relief period instead of 12 months as announced on April 16 last year for a listed issuer that had triggered the suspended PN17 or GN3 criteria between April 17, 2020 and June 30, 2021.
A listed issuer will not be classified as a PN17/GN3 listed issuer during this period and is allowed to reassess its financial condition at the end of the relief period before making the requisite announcements.
“The SC and Bursa Malaysia will continue to monitor ongoing developments and assess if further measures will be required to support listed issuers during this challenging period,” added both market regulators. – Feb 17, 2021
