Post #:44846011 Is ASX monitoring and ensuring compliance to the listing rules in the manner that Parliament intended.... Post #:44859109 Is ASX acting morally...
Although it is a reasonable question of whether ASX has been acting morally and in the manner that was intended when the listing rules were defined, the argument is really more than a moral argument.
ASX, under their market operator's license, has a regulatory duty first and foremost, to ensure the market is "fair, orderly and transparent" and carried out in the spirit of RG 172.83 (below). It is valid to assume that ASX cannot just publish willy-nilly every bit of information in order that the market is transparent (although I have argued that there is a serious question on whether publishing suspicions and suppositions is ensuring transparency i.e. making the market more informed), but that it must be fair as well when considering to publish or not. We can disregard whether ASX is attempting to ensure that the ISX market is orderly when it publishes since ISX is suspended, so this is a moot point.
RG 172.83 “Fair, orderly and transparent” should be treated as a composite phrase. If there is a conflict between the elements of the phrase, we expect a market licensee to achieve an appropriate balance between the demands of each element.
Regulatory guide 172 also specifies ASX's obligations to report any conflict of interest and any breaches of conflict of interest to ASIC and conflict of interests regarding a licensee is covered in the Corporations Act sections 702Aci, 789E and 792F.
I have been searching whether there is an obligation to report a conflict of interest to the public and have not found any evidence of this in either the Regulatory guide or in the Corporations Act. There is limited exposure of ASX conflicts. NSX is listed in the table in Post #:44846011 , but not ISX. People in the list are called "review parties" and ASX states it lists those that "have a material connection with, or are in competition to, ASX and in relation to whom ASX might be seen to have a commercial interest in showing them favour or disfavour when making decisions such as under its Listing Rules or Operating Rules, as a holder of AFSLs, as an operator of a clearing and settlement facility, in its role as a benchmark administrator or other capacities."
It is important to note that ASX self monitors itself and must report on the extent to which the licensee complied with its obligations as a market licensee (including reporting conflict of interests and any breaches of conflict of interest) within 3 months of its financial year. Failure to comply with this is an offence. ASIC is required to advise the MInister. I doubt this report is available to the public.
I intend to write to the Minister, copy ASIC, and ask if this has been done and state again my concerns.
ISX Price at posting:
$1.07 Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
