The penalties to be levied against companies found to have violated the exchange’s structured disclosure requirements will be based on the erring firm’s assets. The fines range from P5,000 to P50,000.
For companies with less than P25 million in assets, a basic fine of P5,000 will be imposed plus P500 for each day of delay. A maximum penalty of P50,000 per year will be meted out for every violation committed.
For companies with assets of P1 billion and above, a basic fine of P50,000 will be meted out plus P5,000 per day of delay. Maximum penalty of P500,000 per year will be imposed for every violation committed.
The PSE said companies that violate the terms and conditions of the listing agreement for the first time will be slapped with a P50,000 fine. A fine of P75,000 will be imposed for second-time offenders.
Violation for the third time and fourth time will result in the suspension of trading in the issue for a period of one month and delisting of the issue, respectively.
An additional fine of P1,000 shall be imposed for each trading day during which the offense continues until and including the day on which the violation is rectified.
Failure to pay within one month from the imposition of the penalty and any additional fine imposed will result in the imposition of a trading suspension in the securities of the listed company, the SEC said.
Offenses involving fraud such as market manipulation, concealment and other offenses specified in the Securities Regulation Code shall be referred to the PSE board for its appropriate action.
Listed companies found to have been in violation of the listing and disclosure rules shall be notified of the assessment of the appropriate fine and/or penalty within five days from approval of the board of directors of the exchange of such assessment.
Under the existing PSE rules, listed companies are required to disclose developments within and outside the company that could influence the movement of their share prices to ensure the protection of investors.
Listed firms are also required to submit 200 copies of their annual financial statements to the PSE every year.
Several companies, however, have not been fulfilling the requirements on time. Thus, they are fined P50,000 for each disclosure violation, and an additional P1,000 for each day of delay in compliance.
To ensure a level playing field, the PSE is also considering imposing penalties on companies which disclose information to select investors or analysts prior to divulging the same information to securities regulators.
Citing Article 1, Section 3 of the Listing and Disclosure Rules, the PSE said: "Investors and the public shall be kept fully and accurately and made of any material information which might reasonably be expected to have an effect on the market activity and the prices of listed securities."
At present, listed companies face a trading suspension for failure to disclose corporate information which are published in newspapers until such time that it submits a report to the PSE.