A speech by Belinda Gibson, Deputy Chairman, Australian Securities and Investments Commission to the Agency in Capital Markets Ownership Matters Annual Governance Conference, 3 April 2012.
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ASIC’s three key priorities
The Commission has three strategic priorities. All our work is focused on advancing our position in one or more of these areas.
The three priorities are:
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confident and informed investors and financial consumers
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fair and efficient financial markets, and
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efficient registration and licensing.
In my presentation today I will discuss a number of our listed company priorities in what I will broadly call ‘governance’:
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the responsibilities of directors and institutional investors
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continuous disclosure, and
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control transactions and equity raisings.
Each of these areas of regulatory interest reflect and support important ownership rights:
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the right of shareholders to have their company managed in their best interests (corporate governance rules)
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shareholders’ basic right to know about the affairs of their company and to invest in fair markets (disclosure requirements), and
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the right to equal, efficient, competitive and informed participation in takeover transactions and equity raisings.