Lim Tuang Lee, Assistant Managing Director (Capital Markets), MAS, said, “Corporate finance advisers, through their work in advising prospective issuers, enable investors to make informed decisions by facilitating adequate and accurate disclosures.”
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.
MAS says that these requirements are set out in the Notice on Business Conduct Requirements for Corporate Finance Advisers. MAS has taken into account feedback received from the public consultation.
