The UK’s financial regulator has come under further pressure to halt proposed changes to listing rules that would allow sovereign owned companies to list on the London Stock Exchange.
The changes are widely viewed as being aimed at allowing Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company Aramco to list on the exchange next year.
The Sunday Times reports that the Investment Association, one of the leading bodies representing investors, has expressed opposition. The paper quotes the organisation saying: “Investors must have confidence that a company is run for all shareholders, not just the major or controlling shareholder.”
Meanwhile, the Mail on Sunday reports that Local Authority Pension Fund Forum, the body that represents local government pension funds in England and Wales with assets of more than £200bn, has also objected saying that the listing rules should be modified and that they could “dilute” investor protection.
The opposition comes in leaked statements to the Financial Conduct Authority which on Friday closed a consultation on the proposed changes to London listing rules.
Earlier in the week The Times reported that International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN) has also expressed its worries, and quoted the body saying that the changes would be “anathema” to good standards of corporate governance.