The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has issued a notice that sets mandatory baseline standards of due diligence and conduct requirements for corporate finance (CF) advisers.
By doing so, MAS wants to raise the standards of conduct of CF advisers, improve the quality of disclosures and allow investors to make informed decisions.
As required by MAS, CF advisers that assist entities in fund raising from the general public will henceforth be subject to mandatory minimum standards when conducting due diligence on CF transactions.
These include conducting background checks and interviews with relevant stakeholders; conducting site visits of prospective issuers’ key assets; assessing knowledge, skills and experience of third-party service providers; as well as ensuring that material issues are satisfactorily resolved or clearly disclosed.
CF advisers will also have to comply with enhanced requirements to mitigate conflicts of interests, such as where the adviser’s related corporations or controlling shareholders also provide services to the same customer.
“Corporate finance advisers, through their work in advising prospective issuers, enable investors to make informed decisions by facilitating adequate and accurate disclosures,” says Lim Tuang Lee, MAS’ assistant managing director, capital markets.
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“They play an important role in safeguarding investor interests and the integrity of our capital markets,” he adds.
The requirements were set having taken into account feedback received from the public consultation.
