Supervision of prospectuses 

The FSA reviews the prospectuses drawn up in connection with securities offerings and listings. The review primarily focuses on ensuring that disclosures in prospectuses are in line with securities markets legislation.

We also evaluate the consistency of the information and its compliance with general information quality criteria. Compliance with general information quality criteria requires that the information is adequate, material, consistent, justifiable, timely and clear. Responsibility for ensuring the accuracy of the information contained in the prospectus, however, always rests with the issuer.

The FSA also monitors the disclosure of financial information in connection with securities listings and share issues, including the appropriate disclosure of pro forma information and the accounting treatment of mergers and acquisitions in financial statements and interim reports contained in prospectuses.

Securities issues may also involve supervision of the marketing of securities and analysis of the risks related to the instruments offered or the operational risks of the issuer.

Supervision of prospectuses is mainly forward-looking as it is undertaken as a review of prospectuses. Some retrospective supervision is, nevertheless, also involved, ie assessment of whether disclosures can also be held accurate, adequate and well founded in the light of later information.

8 July 2009