AICD submission on ASIC’s discussion paper on Australia’s evolving capital markets

Our key points included:

• We consider regulatory accumulation is a driving force behind the waning attractiveness of public markets. Our member engagement indicates it is also contributing to the decline in the number of well-qualified directors seeking roles on listed boards.
• The heightened risk of shareholder class actions and an increasingly complex stakeholder environment are also inhibiting the growth of public markets.
• The AICD welcomes ASIC’s proposal to refine the listing pathway and advocates for additional measures to help ease the regulatory burden on listed companies, including: 1) expanding the regulatory initiatives grid economy-wide; 2) reinstating a CAMAC-type body to support Government policymaking in relation to corporate law and corporate governance; and 3) undertaking a substantive review of the Corporations Act.
• While we agree close examination of shifting market dynamics is important, we have yet to see compelling evidence for broader private market regulatory intervention.