Public Censure of Truscreen Ltd
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13 February 2018
PUBLIC CENSURE OF TRUSCREEN LIMITED
BY THE NZ MARKETS DISCIPLINARY TRIBUNAL FOR A BREACH OF
NZAX LISTING RULE 3.2.1
1. The NZ Markets Disciplinary Tribunal (Tribunal) has approved a settlement
agreement between NZX Limited (NZX) and TruScreen Limited (TRU) dated
7 February 2018 (Settlement Agreement).
Background
2. TRU is an Issuer with ordinary shares Quoted on the NZX Alternative Market and
is, accordingly, subject to the NZAX Listing Rules (Rules). Rule 3.2.1 requires
Issuers to have at least two Directors who are ordinarily resident in New Zealand.
3. Following TRU’s annual general meeting held on 21 September 2017 (AGM), TRU
had only one Director who was ordinarily resident in New Zealand.
4. TRU took immediate steps to appoint a new director immediately following the
AGM and on 19 October 2017 announced the appointment of New Zealand
resident Professor Ron Jones as a Director.
Determination
5. The corporate governance provisions of the Rules are important to the integrity of
the market. The underlying policy of Rule 3.2.1 is to ensure Issuers have
Directors who are available to both New Zealand resident shareholders and the
New Zealand regulatory authorities.
6. The Tribunal notes that Directors, for various reasons, may resign without
warning. The Tribunal recognises that the appointment process for a replacement
Director must be robust and that Boards need sufficient time to identify and
select suitable candidates. However, if an Issuer has only the minimum number
of Directors to satisfy the corporate governance requirements in the Rules it must
have an adequate succession plan in place to avoid breaching the Rules in the
event of an unexpected resignation. This could include making an interim
appointment while a permanent appointee is being identified.
7. The Tribunal considered that there were a number of mitigating factors in this
case, including that TRU:
a. self-reported its breach to NZXR;
b. states that Mr Preston’s withdrawal from re-election was not known until the
AGM was held on 21 September 2017;
c. took immediate steps to find a suitable replacement and promptly appointed
its new Director;
d. did have one New Zealand resident Director on its Board for the duration of
the breach;
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e. has advised NZXR that it has implemented changes to its succession
planning to reduce the risk of a lengthy delay in the event of any further
unexpected resignations;
f. cooperated with NZXR’s investigation, as submitted by NZXR; and
g. has not previously been referred to the Tribunal.
8. While the breach of Rule 3.2.1 did continue for 18 business days, in the view of
the Tribunal TRU appears to have acted promptly to appoint a replacement
Director.
Penalties
9. NZX and TRU have reached a settlement and agreed that:
a. A public censure by the Tribunal will be made;
b. TRU will pay the costs of the Tribunal (plus GST, if any); and
c. TRU will pay $1,800 being the costs of NZX (plus GST, if any).
Approval
10. The Settlement Agreement is approved by the Tribunal pursuant to Rule 8 of the
Tribunal Rules, and as such, the Settlement Agreement is the determination of
the Tribunal.
Censure
11. The Tribunal hereby censures TRU for its breach of Rule 3.2.1.
The Tribunal
12. The NZ Markets Disciplinary Tribunal is a disciplinary body which is independent
of NZX and its subsidiaries. The Financial Markets Authority approves its
members. Under the Tribunal Rules, the Tribunal determines and imposes
penalties for referrals made to it by NZX in relation to the conduct of parties
regulated by the market rules.
ENDS
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