Reported by Consejeros Editorial Team
The current Royal Decree of 2007 on Takeover Bids is about to turn 20. According to the chairman of the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), Carlos San Basilio, the time has come to consider reforming this legislation. Speaking at the 43rd Seminar of the Association of Economic Journalists (APIE) at the Menéndez Pelayo International University (UIMP) in Santander, the executive argued that, whilst regulatory updating is not an urgent necessity at present, it is a pending task that must be carried out in due course to improve the clarity of the legislation.
For the time being, the regulator has identified several “areas for improvement” in the Royal Decree, which have been duly forwarded to the Ministry of Economy – the competent authority – for review. “The Royal Decree has had to be interpreted one way or another, and we believe it would be beneficial for it to be clearer. In addition to the more general issues, some areas are simply incorrect,” explained San Basilio.
Similarly, the CNMV chairman called for greater diversification of the Ibex 35. In his view, it would be beneficial to have a larger number of companies in the national index – perhaps as many as 50 – and for the weighting of the banking sector – currently 40 per cent – to be reduced.
The chief believes that both IPOs and secondary offerings are taking place at a “snail’s pace” and that the appeal needs to be restored so that companies want to list on the stock market in Spain and Europe rather than in the US.
