Good news has emerged from the ASX this month for mid to small cap companies (market capitalisation of $300 million or less). The ASX proposes to lift the placement capacity available to companies in this bracket to 25% of issued capital within a 12 month period. Currently ASX Listing Rule 7.1 allows the issuance of up to 15% of issued capital on a non-pro-rata basis in a 12-month period without seeking shareholder approval. Why...

Making front page news this week was ASIC fining Leighton Holdings a record $300,000 as a result of an investigation into the company’s disclosure practices. This “reactive regulation” by ASIC followed the $907 million earnings write-down by Leightons last year, the worst annual loss in the company’s history. This piece of “reactive regulation” was swiftly followed by news of “pro-active regulation” by...

Hello and thank you for viewing the Boardroom Blog. My name is Tom Bloomfield and I am Boardroom Australia’s General Manager of Corporate Secretarial Services. The purpose of our blog is to provide you with timely updates on important governance and corporate secretarial news, issues and initiatives that have the possibility to affect your business, your clients, or both. We are committed to updating our content frequently...