News

GPW Relaxes the Regime for Issuers Listed in the Alternative Trading System During the Epidemic

• The Exchange Management Board has decided to waive the suspension of trade and regulatory penalties for failure of companies listed on NewConnect and Catalyst to publish periodic reports for 2019 and Q1 2020
• As a condition, issuers listed in the Alternative Trading System (ATS) must publish the 2019 report within two months and the Q1 2020 report within 45 days after the regulatory deadline
• The ATS periodic report publication deadlines remain unchanged
• GPW’s decision is motivated by the current epidemic, including restrictions on movement, communications, and limitations in providing services

The Exchange Management Board has decided to temporarily waive the practice of imposing regulatory penalties and other disciplinary measures, including suspension of trade in securities of issuers listed in the ATS who fail to publish a periodic report within the regulatory deadline. As a condition of the waiver of disciplinary measures, issuers are required to publish annual reports within 2 months after the final publication deadline under the ATS Rules and quarterly reports within 45 days after such deadline.

“We have relaxed the regime for issuers on NewConnect and Catalyst to the extent of publication of periodic report due to the current coronavirus pandemic which has seriously affected the operation of companies. We have waived the practice of imposing sanctions, rather than extending the deadlines for the publication of periodic report, on the one hand to enable issuers to accommodate the new market conditions and, on the other hand, to address the interests of investors who need to know the financial results of companies in their investment portfolios as soon as possible. Consequently, we expect issuers to immediately publish any relevant information concerning their standing”, said Piotr Borowski, Member of the GPW Management Board.

The decision of the Exchange Management Board does not relieve companies listed in the ATS of the obligations under MAR, including the obligations regarding the publication of inside information arising in connection with unexpected events which have a material impact on the financial results of the issuer.

In the interest of investors, those issuers who are unable to publish a periodic report within the regulatory deadline need to publish a current report as soon as possible, providing the expected date of the publication of the relevant periodic report.

Issuers should respect the interest of investors and use best efforts to publish periodic reports as soon as possible in spite of the current circumstances. For investors, periodic reporting is one of the key sources of information concerning the financial standing of issuers, considered when making investment decisions.

***

The Warsaw Stock Exchange Group (GPW Group) operates trading platforms for shares, Treasury and corporate bonds, derivatives, electricity and gas, and provides indices and benchmarks including WIBOR and WIBID. The markets operated by the GPW Group are the biggest in Central and Eastern Europe. For more information, visit www.gpw.pl