London Stock Exchange Listing Rules Updated: Amendment 13

BACKGROUND

Amendment 13 to the London Stock Exchange's Yellow Book which took effect on 11 January 1999, is the first substantial set of changes to the Listing Rules since the update in September 1997. Amendment 13 is a mixed bag: there are a few new rules; some important deletions (both of old rules and some rules only brought in during 1997); some of the Exchange's unwritten practice has been put into the Yellow Book; and there are a lot of small changes for clarification. The Exchange has also brought in the concept of shelf registration, an idea borrowed from the United States.

The changes are intended to reflect one or more of a number of underlying regulatory principles: to increase the emphasis on disclosure-based rules; to re-evaluate the rules in the light of developments in the market and the practice of other regulators; to review the precise wording of the rules to ensure that they are clear, concise and readily understandable; and to allow for greater flexibility in