UK Listing Authority Objectives 2001-2

Set out below are the objectives that have been agreed between the Treasury and the UK Listing Authority for the financial year 2001-2.

GENERAL OBJECTIVES

The regulatory objectives of the Financial Services Authority in its capacity as the UK Listing Authority (UKLA) are to formulate and enforce Listing Rules that:

1) Provide an appropriate level of protection for investors in listed securities;

2) Facilitate access to listed markets for a broad range of enterprises;

3) Seek to maintain the integrity and competitiveness of UK markets for listed securities.

In pursuing these objectives the UKLA will at all times have regard to the general duty set out in section 73(1) FSMA.

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SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES FOR 2001/2002

1.    Produce a progress report on its review of the UK listing regime (including results from the primary markets study) by end January 2002.

2.    Consult on and implement:

2.1.  Proposals to amend the Listing Rules to reflect the changes arising from implementation of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (end October 2001);

2.2.  A revised version of the Guidance on Dissemination of Price Sensitive Information (end November 2001);

2.3.  Proposals to amend the Listing Rules to reflect significant developments in market practice including finalisation of the proposals set out in CP81 (end November 2001) and development of listing rules for securitised derivatives (end March 2002).

3.    Complete the review of the arrangements for the dissemination of company announcements and establish new arrangements by end January 2002. In particular,

3.1.  Provide feedback on the proposals set out in CP92 by end September 2001;

3.2. Assess potential Primary Information Providers against the final quality criteria by end November 2001;

3.3. Roll out the revised arrangements by end January 2002.

4.    Establish a secure means for the electronic submission of draft documents to the UKLA by end November 2001.

5.    Identify ways of focussing UKLA’s work more closely on the principal regulatory risks that it is responsible for managing by end March 2002. Specifically,

5.1.  Review the requirements for approval and vetting of listing and other documentation and recommend improvements;

5.2. Review the monitoring of on-going compliance with the Listing Rules and recommend improvements;

5.3. Undertake a risk-based review of the sponsor system and recommend improvements.

6.    Carry out reviews of UKLA’s transaction and monitoring work in order to ensure that UKLA policies and procedures are being applied correctly in line with UKLA’s general objectives.

7.  Identify and investigate all cases where the market has become aware of a major development affecting a listed company without the company making an appropriate announcement, take any appropriate action in relation to the company and decide whether UKLA needs to act to deter recurrence of such events in the future.

8. Achieve at least 95% compliance on all key operational performance targets

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KEY OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE TARGETS

i.  Comments provided on the initial proof of a document submitted for pre-vetting by a new applicant within 10 working days of receipt by the UKLA;

ii.  Comments provided on the initial proof of a document submitted for pre-vetting by an issuer already listed within 5 working days of receipt;

iii. Comments provided on subsequent proofs of documents submitted for pre-vetting within 5 working days of receipt;

iv. Directors’ share dealing notifications vetted within 5 working days of receipt;

v. Substantial shareholders’ dealing notifications identified for review vetted within 5 working days of receipt;

vi. Annual reports and accounts and interim and quarterly reports identified for review vetted within 15 working days of receipt;

vii. Complaints either to receive a substantive reply within 5 working days or to be acknowledged within 2 working days and receive a substantive response within 15 working days of receipt (unless further information is required from a third party in which case within 15 working days of receipt of such information).

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