Financial Regulation International

Lin Zhong Polly Zhang

Justine Woodford, Senior Associate Allens Arthur Robinson

The capital markets watchdog, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), constituted a committee in 2002 under Mr. NR Narayana Murthy, Chief Mentor of Infosys Technologies to look into how Clause 49 of the listing agreement (that companies have to sign when they list in a stock exchange in India) could be changed to align corporate governance practices in India with global standards and investors’ interests.

On 24 January this year the Financial Services and Markets Tribunal decided the reference to it by Mr Timothy Edward Baldwin and WRT Investments Ltd (the applicants) that allegations made by FSA against them both to the effect that they had engaged in market abuse contrary to section 118 FSMA 2000 had not been made out. In the course of clearing the applicants the Tribunal made one or two interesting comments of more general significance than merely the factual and evidential basis of this case as to the applicability of the market abuse regime, and these are worthy of noting here.

‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ saw the Queen of Hearts applying a simple method for settling legal cases in double-quick time: “Sentence first, verdict afterwards!” – with evidence nowhere to be seen. Now Brian Clarke, Managing Director of Key Financial Reporting Limited (KFR), outlines the importance of maintaining evidence for professional trustees in view of the investment regime provided by the UK Trustee Act 2000.

The European Commission had undertaken a considerable amount of work in anticipation of the completion of the Financial Services Action Plan (FSAP) by end 2005. The FSAP had originally been published by the Commission in May 1999 and endorsed by the Lisbon European Council in March 2000.