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ARTICLE · 16 JUNE 2009

Treasury Acts On Disclosure Of Equity Derivatives

Clayton Utz
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Should equity derivatives be regulated and disclosed like shares? This is one of the possibilities raised in a new Treasury issues paper.

AustraliaFinance and Banking
Geoff Hoffman
Geoff Hoffman
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Should equity derivatives be regulated and disclosed like shares? This is one of the possibilities raised in a new Treasury issues paper.

The paper, released on Friday, rehearses many of the arguments that surrounded the Austral Coal case in the Takeovers Panel back in 2005. This time, however, the outcome may be changes to the Corporations Act, rather than a Panel Guidance Note.

What's Covered?

The issues paper looks at four types of derivative:

  • options (over both issued and unissued shares)
  • futures
  • equity swaps/CFDs
  • warrants.

Specifically excluded are index-linked derivatives and convertible notes.

What Are The Issues?

Essentially, the issues discussed in the paper are those which arose in the Austral Coal case and its aftermath: control and disclosure.

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