British company bosses warn against 'race to the bottom' in listing review
British company bosses warn against 'race to the bottom' in listing review
By Huw Jones
LONDON, Jan 6 (Reuters) - British corporate lobby group the Institute of Directors on Wednesday said relaxing rules to attract more stock market listings to London could put at risk the UK's strong track record on corporate governance.
A review of the UK's rules on company stock market listings was announced in November by finance minister Rishi Sunak with the aim of boosting the number of new companies that choose to float in London, which faces tough competition from New York.
Post Brexit, stock exchanges in continental Europe could also become bigger rivals to London in terms of attracting new listings business.
The Institute of Directors, in one of the first public responses to the listing review, said it favoured leaving the main "premium" listing rules unchanged. But it suggested creating a separate category for a "new breed" of innovative start-up firms that could have different rules, such as allowing dual class shares, which give some shareholders more voting power than others.
"The government must proceed with caution," said Roger Barker, director of policy and corporate governance at the IoD.
"A race to the bottom to win extra listings would ultimately be self-defeating. Good governance is one of the UK’s key selling points."
The London Stock Exchange has said in its submission to the listing review that it supports easing a rule that requires companies listing on the LSE to have a minimum float of 25%, a person familiar with the LSE position said.
The LSE also supports dual class shares, the person said. Dual class shares are common in the United States.
Relaxing the minimum free float rule and allowing dual class shares would potentially make London more attractive to start-up companies where founders or major shareholders often want to maintain some control after the company floats. But dual class shares can create conflicts of interest with minority shareholders.
Former European Commissioner Jonathan Hill, who is conducting the review, is expected to make recommendations this year.
(Reporting by Huw Jones. Editing by Jane Merriman)
((huw.jones@thomsonreuters.com; +44 207 542 3326; Reuters
Messaging: huw.jones.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)
休·瓊斯(Huw Jones)著
路透倫敦1月6日電-英國企業遊説團體董事協會(Institute Of Directors)週三表示，放鬆規則以吸引更多公司到倫敦上市，可能會危及英國在公司治理方面的強勁記錄。
去年11月，英國財政大臣裏希·孫納克(Rishi Sunak)宣佈對英國公司上市規則進行審查，旨在增加選擇在倫敦上市的新公司數量。倫敦面臨着來自紐約的激烈競爭。
英國退歐後，在吸引新的上市業務方面，歐洲大陸的證券交易所也可能成為倫敦更大的競爭對手。
董事協會在對上市審查作出的首批公開回應中表示，它贊成維持主要的“溢價”上市規則不變。但它建議為“新一代”創新型初創公司設立一個單獨的類別，這些公司可以有不同的規則，比如允許雙重股權，這賦予了一些股東比其他股東更多的投票權。
“政府必須謹慎行事，”IoD政策和公司治理主管羅傑·巴克(Roger Barker)表示。
“爭先恐後地爭取額外上市最終會弄巧成拙。良好的治理是英國的關鍵賣點之一。”
一位知情人士説，倫敦證券交易所(London Stock Exchange)在提交給上市審查的文件中表示，它支持放寬一項要求在倫敦證交所上市的公司最低流通股比例為25%的規定。
這位知情人士説，倫敦證交所還支持雙層股票。雙層股權在美國很常見。
放鬆最低自由流通股規定，並允許雙重股權結構，可能會使倫敦對初創公司更具吸引力，這些公司的創始人或大股東往往希望在公司上市後保持一定的控制權。但雙層股權可能會造成與少數股東的利益衝突。
正在進行審查的前歐盟專員喬納森·希爾(Jonathan Hill)預計將在今年提出建議。
(休·瓊斯(Huw Jones)報道)編輯：Jane Merriman)
(huw.jones@thomsonreurs.com；+44 207 542 3326；路透社
消息：huw.jones.thomsonreurs.com@reurs.net)
譯文內容由第三人軟體翻譯。