GEN - General - Consultation process on proposed changes to Listings

GEN - General - Consultation process on proposed changes to Listings            
Requirements regarding company secretaries and audit committee sign off         
We refer you to our announcement of 17 October 2011 which invited comments on   
proposed changes to the Listings Requirements regarding a prohibition on the    
company secretary being a director of the company, in any capacity.             
During the public consultation process concerns were raised such that we        
believe that some of the practical problems that the proposal will introduce    
will out way the desired benefits.                                              
We have therefore revised our approach on this matter, as well as introduced    
some other changes which aim to boost corporate governance. We propose          
amending the Listings Requirements in four areas:                               
1.   Requiring the board to include a statement of sign off on the          
         competence and expertise of the company secretary (as they do for      
         the Financial Director).                                               
    2.   To ask for explicit disclosure in the AFS dealing with a company`s     
application of the principle of having an arms length relationship     
         between the company secretary and that the company secretary should    
         not be a director.                                                     
    3.   For official JSE documents, where the company secretary is also a      
director, we will prohibit that person from signing off in both        
         capacities and instead ask for another director to also sign off.      
    4.   To have a greater focus on the responsibilities of audit committee     
         for a new listing.                                                     
The proposed Listings Requirements are available on the JSE`s website and       
interested parties are invited to submit their comments by no later than        
9 May 2012. Comments can be submitted electronically to thandekam@jse.co.za.    
11 April 2012                                                                   
Date: 11/04/2012 11:00:01 Supplied by www.sharenet.co.za                     
Produced by the JSE SENS Department.