Key points

• This article considers whether overseas (or foreign) stock exchange buybacks have a similar disclosure to conventional domestic (or local) stock exchange buybacks. The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) on-market buyback environment is used to evaluate: (a) the different requirements; and (b) the actual disclosure provided, for overseas and domestic buybacks.
• Required disclosure differs across the various categories of ASX market buybacks, and is driven by three main factors: (1) ASX exemptions, (2) the formal ASX ‘on-market buyback’ definition, and (3) the ‘ordinary course of trading’ requirement. ASX information releases show that overseas, relative to ASX domestic, buybacks provide lower levels of both prescribed pro forma as well as overall ‘disclosure’. Moreover, the level and quality of buyback disclosure is substantially poorer (a) where the overseas buybacks is conducted totally offshore (especially for firms with either a dual-listed structure or ASX Depository Receipts); and/or (b) by firms with an ASX Foreign Exempt Listing status.
• Some suggestions for improvement to the ASX disclosure framework on overseas buybacks are presented. The current ASX link to the on-market buyback definition in the corporate law ultimately controls the disclosure required by the ASX. While this link may be perfectly appropriate for domestic companies, such an approach is not functional or even relevant for foreign companies, especially when conducting purely offshore buybacks. For buyback ‘disclosure’ purposes, the ‘home-bias’ or the presumption that market buybacks must take place (in part) on the local exchange in order to be classified as an on-market buyback, is often not practical.

中文翻译：

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海外市场回购：ASX 披露要求和监管

关键点

• 本文考虑海外（或外国）证券交易所回购是否具有与传统国内（或本地）证券交易所回购类似的披露。澳大利亚证券交易所 (ASX) 的市场回购环境用于评估： (a) 不同的要求；(b) 为海外和国内回购提供的实际披露。
• 不同类别的 ASX 市场回购所要求的披露各不相同，主要受三个因素驱动：(1) ASX 豁免，(2) ASX 的正式“市场回购”定义，以及 (3)“常规交易过程” ' 要求。ASX 信息发布显示，与 ASX 国内相比，海外回购提供的规定备考和整体“披露”水平较低。此外，回购披露的水平和质量明显较差 (a) 如果海外回购完全在境外进行（特别是对于具有双重上市结构或 ASX 存托凭证的公司）；和/或 (b) 由具有 ASX 外国豁免上市地位的公司提供。
• 提出了一些改进 ASX 海外回购披露框架的建议。当前 ASX 与公司法中市场回购定义的链接最终控制着 ASX 要求的披露。虽然这种联系可能非常适合国内公司，但这种方法对外国公司不起作用甚至不相关，尤其是在进行纯粹的离岸回购时。出于回购“披露”的目的，“本地偏好”或市场回购必须（部分）发生在当地交易所才能被归类为场内回购的假设通常是不切实际的。