Recent Development
In our recent alerts dated August 8 and 18, 2017, we explained the implications of the recent changes to the listing requirements of Borsa İstanbul A.Ş. (“Borsa Istanbul”) and its product range. On October 13, 2017, a new amendment to the Borsa Istanbul Listing Directive (the “Directive”) entered into force further relaxing the listing requirements and introducing the watch-list market for debt securities.
What’s new?
- The issuers willing to list on the Star Market Group 2 that do not meet the equity to capital ratio requirement (1.00 or higher) can now apply for listing if (i) their equity is positive and (ii) their equity to capital ratio will exceed 1.00 following the addition of the of share premium and nominal value of the new shares to be issued as part of the public offering to their equity stated in the latest audited financials.
- Borsa Istanbul will no longer require the submission of projections to determine whether a company meets the criteria to benefit from the exception explained in our alert dated August 8, 2017 (i.e., the listing exception for companies that did not generate any profits in the last two financial years and/or meet the equity to capital ratio for the relevant market); instead Borsa Istanbul will carry out its assessment on the information provided by the issuer.
- Borsa Istanbul’s board may relist (i) the debt instruments and lease certificates listed on the Outright Purchases and Sales Market onto the soon to be established Debt Securities Watch List Market (Gözaltı Pazarı); and (ii) and the real estate certificates and lease certificates listed on the Equity Market onto the Watch List Companies Market (Yakın İzleme Pazarı) instead of delisting them, if these securities fulfill the delisting criteria in the Directive.
Conclusion
The new amendments aim to facilitate public offerings on the Star Market Group 2, further facilitate the public offerings on the Star Market Groups 1 and 2 and provide supplementary measures for Borsa Istanbul in dealing with troubled debt securities.
