Abstracts Law

Utility of EU Prospectus Summary in Australia : a study of the EU and Australian corporate disclosure regulation with respect to prospectus summaries: EU:n listautumisannin esitteen tiivistelmän käyttökelpoisuus Australiassa : tutkimus listautumisannin esitteen tiivistelmän sääntelystä osana tiedottamisvelvollisuutta EU:ssa ja Australiassa

by Maija-Ilona Pekkanen

This master’s thesis is a study with respect to prospectus regulation in the EU and Australia. This thesis sets out to discover whether a prospectus summary drawn up in accordance with EU standards could be utilised in a secondary listing in Australia. The thesis utilises legal dogmatics as a basis point for the analysis for the regulatory framework in the EU. Methods of comparative law is also utilised to highlight similarities and differences between the pragmatic functionality of the two jurisdictions’ prospectus regulation regimes. The thesis first analyses the current regulatory framework in the EU with respect to prospectuses with a focus on prospectus summaries as well as investigates the policy reasons for recent regulatory reforms. Based on the analysis of the current regulation on prospectus summaries in the EU, the thesis presents an example summary. The thesis then goes on to examine the example summary in the Australian context, analyses whether the example summary may be utilised in Australia, and what are the policy reasons behind any necessary changes. Lastly, the thesis compares the two jurisdictions’ regulatory framework from a policy point of view to analyse what objectives are driving the legislative outcomes. The thesis found that the example summary compiled in accordance with the EU prospectus regulation can be made compatible with the Australian standards with minor additions and adjustments and that overall, the two regulatory frameworks share the objectives of investor protection and market efficiency which are reflected in the regulatory texts.