The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has made it mandatory for every public listed and unlisted public company to maintain a functional website with effect from August 30, 2014. The website must display details like financial statements, rating and other instruments of the company.
Sources told Business Recorder here on Monday that through SRO.634(I)/2014, the SECP has directed that every public listed company and public unlisted company shall maintain a functional website with effect from August 30. However, all other companies are also encouraged to maintain functional website.
According to the SECP, the responsibility to place correct and accurate information on the website shall rest with the Company solely. Companies are, therefore, directed to take appropriate measures to comply with the 'following requirements of the notification. For placement of information on the website of companies, the SECP said that the companies are encouraged to use their website to provide all relevant information to stakeholders.
The website shall contain information including profile of company covering vision, mission and details of permissible business activities; status of company, if applicable (for eg ESC, MSC or SSC); company registration number and National Tax Number; address of registered office, head office, all other branch offices; Phone numbers (fax number, if available) of head office, registered office and branch offices; Email address and detail of associated companies and their website links, if available.
Governance related information included profile of Board of Directors; shareholding pattern; name of Auditor of the Company and name of the Legal Advisor, if any. The website should display the Investor Relations information including online form/contact details of person designated for assisting and handling investor grievances (including website link of SECP's investor complaint section: http://www.secp.gov.pk/ComplaintForm1.asp); corporate Social Responsibility Reports, if any; notices of general meetings, dividend/bonus declarations and right issue; site map; and search facility.
The website should display national /international awards, recognition, if any; membership of industry associations and trade bodies, if any; any other announcements or clarifications issued by the company and last date on which website was updated. Under the additional requirements for listed companies, a listed company is required to place the following information on its website: Election of Directors including notice of election of directors.
The investor information included symbol of the company assigned by respective Stock Exchange and website links of stock exchanges where the company is listed; annual reports for the current financial year as well as the previous two years; financial highlights for previous five years; interim accounts ie latest available accounts as well as for the last three quarters; as per the latest available yearly financial statements; Earning per share, P/E ratio and break-up value; name and address of share registrar; Free Float of the shares of Company and rating of Company and instrument (if any).
The SECP said that every listed company shall place financial statements and reports at least twenty one days prior to the date of holding annual general meeting and relevant disclosure of the same shall brought to the notice of annual general meeting of Company members.
Financial statements, as adopted by members along with reports and other information shall be replaced on the website of a listed company within seven days of the adoption of the same. In case of quarterly financial statements and reports, the same shall be placed on website of a listed company within seven days from the date of approval by board of directors of the company.
Every listed company shall ensure that financial statements, reports and other information are available in internationally acceptable user friendly electronic format. Each company shall take reasonable steps for website security for denial of service attacks, defacements and any other vulnerability that may restrict access to the website. In case of any change in website address, maintenance, updating or any identified error that restricts access to website or prescribed information thereon for more than three working days, a newspaper advertisement in this respect shall be published in the widely circulated daily newspapers, one in English and one in Urdu, within seven days of the date of any change, error or updation.
Every listed company shall disclose to the Commission (SECP) and the stock exchange regarding the reasons restricting access to website and expected period for restoring the access to the website. Provided, that the expected period of restoration of website shall not be more than fourteen days from the date of publication of notice.
The SECP said that a compliance certificate duty signed by the chief executive officer of the company shall be sent to the Commission within seven days of the date of placement of annual financial statements, reports (duly adopted by members) and other information, as applicable, stating that the requirements of the notification have been complied with.
Compliance certificates shall also contain a declaration that the annual financial statements, reports and other information relating to the company shall remain available for at least next three years. Scanned copy of the compliance certificate shall be placed on the website, the SECP said.
Where the Commission is satisfied that it is not practicable for a company or class of companies to comply with the requirement(s) of the notification, the Commission may, on an application by the company in this behalf, relax such requirements subject to such conditions as it deems fit. Where a company does not comply or make default in complying with the requirements of this Notification, every officer of the company and every other person responsible for non-compliance shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of section 495 of the Companies Ordinance, 1984, the SECP added.