Only about 17 percent of listed companies comply with information disclosure regulations, lower than the figure in 2016 (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - Only about 17 percent of listed companies comply with information disclosure regulations, lower than the figure in 2016, according to the Vietnam Association of Financial Executives (VAFE).
The figure was reported by VAFE in its latest survey on companies that are listed on both the Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi stock exchanges over their compliance of information disclosure regulations.
Information disclosure is an obligation that listed companies, whose shares are traded on the two local exchanges, must fulfill to prove their transparency and accountability towards investors and shareholders.
The latest VAFE survey consisted of 672 firms whose shares were traded on the HCM and Hanoi stock exchanges between July 1, 2016 and June 30, 2017.
According to VAFE, the latest result was slightly lower than the number in 2016 (18.47 percent), but higher than between 2012 and 2015.
Of the surveyed companies, 22 firms or three percent of the total were large-cap companies, 140 companies or 21 percent were mid-cap, and 76 percent were small- and micro-cap firms.
[UPCoM tightens control over listed companies]
Large-cap companies have market capitalisation of at least 10 trillion VND (444.4 million USD), the number for mid-cap firms is 1 trillion VND, and the market value of small- and micro-cap firms is at most 100 billion VND.
According to the survey, large-cap firms had the highest percentage of companies complying with information disclosure regulations (50 percent), while the group of small- and micro-cap firms had the lowest percentage (12.35 percent).
VAFE reported that most violations were delayed release of financial reports and late announcement of annual shareholder meetings. Inappropriate compilation of financial reports was also a common violation among surveyed firms, committed by 30 percent of surveyed firms.
Specifically, the fourth-quarter earnings-report season saw the highest number of inappropriate financial reports (242 companies or 36 percent of the total), followed by the third-quarter earnings-report season (219 companies or 33 percent).-VNA
VNA
