Simultaneous access by all investors to news affecting share prices is essential, but will not be achieved under the draft Transparency Directive now in front of the European Parliament, according to a joint paper issued today by PR Newswire, the London Stock Exchange, Investor Relations Society, Association of British Insurers and the Confederation of British Industry.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000306/PRNLOGO )

The paper entitled, "News Dissemination and the EU Transparency Directive," was delivered to the European Parliament on Friday, June 20th. It raises concern that the currently drafted Transparency Directive fails to raise the quality of disclosure across all the EU Member States or promote a real pan-European market for investment and company information.

"PR Newswire supports entirely the aims of the European Commission and Transparency Directive," commented Mark Hynes, Director, PR Newswire Europe. "But sadly we do not believe that the proposed requirements under its Article 17 -- which discusses 'how' the news will be delivered -- provide for simultaneous access to all news by all investors. This will result in a two-tier information market, and ultimately loss of investor confidence within and outside the EU."

Transparency of news issued by listed companies is vital in achieving an orderly market, and under the current national rules, there is a wide disparity between the information made available by issuers in different EU Member States. Presently, companies can choose to distribute corporate and financial information using a system of intermediary news providers that delivers data in real-time to thousands of regulatory, information and media outlets or place advertisements in newspapers.

As proponents of greater global transparency, PR Newswire, the London Stock Exchange, Investor Relations Society, Association of British Insurers and the Confederation of British Industry support the wide-distribution of company news as it enables investors and potential investors to easily access the news when it is issued. Instead of this tried and tested solution, the Commission is proposing to mandate a model that relies more on quarterly reports and the use of company websites as mechanisms for disclosure. The resulting system would require the public to perform time consuming searches for news, rather than having the information delivered immediately. As a result, full disclosure and transparency would diminish.

PR Newswire and the other authors of the paper believe that the most effective and fair way for companies to disclose regulatory news is by real-time, electronic "push" of the full text of announcements. This is best achieved by providing issuers with a choice of competing news dissemination services. Establishing a competitive market for providers will help to promote innovation while keeping the costs to companies down, thereby benefiting the public and improving confidence in Europe's equity markets.

The European Parliament is reviewing this draft Transparency Directive at present.

To access this joint paper and other material on this subject from PR Newswire, please visit www.prnewswire.co.uk/disclose.

About PR Newswire Association LLC

PR Newswire Association LLC (www.prnewswire.com) provides electronic distribution, targeting and measurement services on behalf of some 40,000 customers worldwide who seek to reach the news media, the investment community and the general public with their up to the minute, full-text news developments. Established in 1954, PR Newswire has offices in fourteen countries and routinely sends its customers' news to outlets in 135 countries in 27 languages. Utilizing the latest in communications technology, PR Newswire content is considered a mainstay among news reporters and investors as well as increasing numbers of private individuals. PR Newswire is a subsidiary of United Business Media plc of London.

About United Business Media plc

United Business Media plc (www.unitedbusinessmedia.com) is a leading provider of business-to-business media solutions. Its products and services help companies around the world to meet their market information needs. UBM's businesses include NOP World, one of the largest market research groups globally; PR Newswire, the world's leading corporate news distribution service and CMP, the B2B media and exhibition group operating in focused markets sectors such as hi-tech, healthcare, property, entertainment, jewelry & fashion in the US, UK, Asia and Europe.

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000306/PRNLOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, +1-888-776-6555 or +1-212-782-2840

SOURCE: PR Newswire