CMA mandates greater interactions by listed firms with stakeholders

The Capital Market Authority (CMA) issued guidelines to support interactions between public joint stock companies, the media, investors and analysts with the goal of strengthening transparency and enhancing the market’s investment appeal.

A decision issued to this effect affirms the principle of equal opportunity for all and supports the relationship between the parties of the investment process. This will reflect positively on the market and will address the drawbacks that might be the reason why some national and foreigner investors have pulled out of the market, the Authority noted in a press statement.

The decision underscores the importance of setting a framework specifying the tools for interaction and the applicable timeframes, while also simplifying and explaining the data to the public. Additionally, it highlights the need to enhance the partnership with media institutions to publish and clarify the quarterly and material statements.

The decision also obliges the companies to establish a section for the investors’ relations inside each company and conduct an interactive meeting free of charge, where the stakeholders are invited to attend after the disclosure of the companies’ semi-annual or annual statements, in coordination with the MSX within 30 days from the date of disclosure.

The decision allows the analysts to request for an additional meeting with the company in case they needed more information and obliged the company to accept the request and specify time and venue of the meeting. Also, it permitted the company to collect requests every two months and respond to them during one meeting. In case the company cannot answer all the requests, it shall clarify its justifications and disclose them via the MSX within five trading days from the date of receiving the request.

Notably, the decision has received a positive response from the companies as they conducted more than 95 interactive meetings from last July to date. The officials at the public joint stock companies commended the role that the decision takes in creating an interactive constructive environment among companies, the media and investors to enhance transparency and investment.