Oslo Børs To Sidestep Onerous European Regulation Of Fixed Income Markets With An Alternative Marketplace

Oslo Bors is planning to open an alternative marketplace for listing and trading bonds and other fixed income instruments that will not be subject to new European Union regulations on the listing and trading of debt instruments. The goal, says

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Oslo Bors is planning to open an alternative marketplace for listing and trading bonds and other fixed-income instruments that will not be subject to new European Union regulations on the listing and trading of debt instruments.

The goal, says Oslo Bors, is to create a market whose regulatory framework suits Norwegian market participants, while providing an appropriate measure of regulation and price transparency by comparison with OTC trading.

The process of applying for admission to listing on the alternative market will be simpler than for a listing on the main stock exchange but, once a bond issue is admitted to listing, the issuer will be obliged to provide information that matches stock exchange requirements.

Broker-dealers will also be obliged to report transactions carried out in the secondary market.

Although Norway is not a part of the European Union (EU), Norway intends to comply with new European Union (EU) directives that will tighten stock exchange listing and trading requirements, especially for fixed-income securities.

The EU directives include new requirements for prospectuses and the introduction of IFRS accounting with effect from 2007. So Oslo Bors hopes the new market will become an alternative for issuers who believe that the new requirements imposed by the EU directives will be unduly onerous.

Oslo Brs yesterday circulated draft regulations for the new marketplace for consultation. It wants feedback by 1 April 2005. The market is expected to start in June.

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