In line with the precautionary measures announced by the country to limit the spread of the emerging Corona virus (COVID-19), and because of these measures are of the utmost importance to the health of the investment community and all its segments and those working in the financial sector and as an extension of the precautionary measures initiated by the authority in light of these exceptional circumstances and its impact on the issuers, and to enable the public and private investment funds to comply with the regulatory requirements for disclosing annual report for the year 2019, and based on the Capital Market Law and its implementing regulations, The CMA announces the issuance of the following resolutions:
- Extending the statutory deadline for public and private investment funds to disclose the annual report for the year 2019 to the public for (20) days to be no later than (90) days from the end of the period.
The CMA also urges issuers to communicate with the authority in the event of any difficulties related to the disclosure of the regulatory requirements for reasons related to the precautionary measures announced by the country to limit the spread of the emerging Corona virus (COVID-19). Not to mention that the CMA is currently studying the deadlines for disclosing the issuers' financial information for the upcoming publishing periods.
It is also worth noting that the CMA has taken several precautionary measures to assist the participants in the financial market in these exceptional circumstances, among which is the suspension of attending the general assembly meetings for listed companies in the financial market until further notice, limiting the holding of the general assembly meetings to take place remotely through modern technology, and suspending the freezing of accounts according to the instructions of investment accounts. In addition to extending the statutory deadline to disclose listed companies' board reports and not applying the Procedure of Suspending the Trading of Listed Securities for one trading session after the expiry of the statutory deadline for disclosing the annual financial information for listed companies, real estate investment traded funds and exchange traded funds. Furthermore, the CMA has previously emphasized on the financial institutions it supervises to activate business continuity plans and harnessing all electronic technologies to ensure business continuity in the financial market.
The CMA is also constantly monitoring the financial market and reviewing all precautionary measures, as well as taking any additional measures to support the entities subject to its supervision and enable business continuity. Therefore, details of the procedures taken by the Capital Market Authority to face the repercussions of the emerging Corona virus can be found on the following link: (Link).