The National Equities Exchange and Quotations Company Limited ("NEEQ") has recently issued the Circular on Effective Work on Disclosure of 2019 Annual Reports by NEEQ-listed Companies (the "Circular").
According to the Circular, the requirements on disclosure of 2019 annual reports are further optimized in respect of information to be disclosed by companies listed on the innovation tier and on the basic tier, which are mainly indicated in the two aspects. The first is properly relaxing the disclosure requirements for companies listed on the innovation tier, for example, canceling the mandatory disclosure of performance projection and preliminary business data, exempting these companies from disclosing information on the actual remuneration paid to directors, supervisors and senior executives, and no longer requiring the periodical rotation of the certified public accountants signing reports. And the second is greatly loosening the disclosure requirements for companies listed on the basic tier by reducing the disclosure of analytical information and focusing the disclosure on objective financial data. Meanwhile, the Circular requires that the NEEQ-listed companies shall perform self-checks to look at whether the financial work is conducted in a standard way, further identify the weak links in their respective financial foundation, timely prepare the improvement plans, and complete the rectification prior to the disclosure of 2019 annual reports. Furthermore, the Circular prescribes that the lead securities traders shall follow up the progress in rectification by the NEEQ-listed companies, while providing guidance.