• About
• Publications
• Exemptions
• Notices
• What's new?
• International
• Speeches
• Information for investors
• Contact us
• Site map
• Home

Summary of

Securities Act (French Issuers Employee Share Purchase Schemes) Exemption Notice 2000

SR 2000/66

Gazetted on 4 May 2000
Expires on 30 April 2005

Note: This notice has been revoked and replaced by the Securities Act (French Issuers Employee Share Purchase Schemes) Exemption Notice (No 2) 2000 which extended the application of the exemption to the offer of units in a mutual fund to employees of French issuers or of their subsidiaries under an employee share purchase scheme.

Companies who are incorporated in France and whose ordinary shares are quoted on the Paris Bourse are exempt from sections 37, 37A, 38A, and 51 to 54B of the Act and the Regulations (except regulation 8) in respect of shares offered to their employees or employees of their subsidiaries.

Condition of the exemption

The exemptions are subject to the condition that before subscribing for the shares the French issuer delivers to the employee an English version or English translation of the following documents:

• a copy of the current rules of the employee share purchase scheme, and
• a copy of the most recent annual report of the French issuer.

Effects of the exemption

The notice exempts French companies, whose ordinary shares are quoted on the Paris Bourse, from certain requirements of the Act and Regulations when offering shares to their employees or the employees of their subsidiaries.

The companies are exempted from:

• the prospectus and investment statement requirements of the Act,
• the obligations imposed by the Act on issuers in relation to securities registers, accounting records and auditing,
• the requirement to issue share certificates, and
• the mandatory and request disclosure requirements of the Act.

Reasons

Class exemption notices apply to employee share purchase schemes of United Kingdom, Singapore, United States and German issuers and it is consistent to allow French issuers a similar exemption.

The Paris Bourse is a member of the International Federation of Stock Exchanges and the Federation of European Stock Exchanges.

The Paris Bourse requires a high standard of disclosure from listed entities. Listed entities are required to issue audited financial statements at regular intervals. Requiring additional disclosure under the Securities Act may result in unnecessary duplication.

The offer of shares will be restricted to the employees of French issuers or their subsidiaries who will have some knowledge of the company. The cost of producing a New Zealand prospectus and investment statement may preclude this offer being made to employees in New Zealand.