Paris plans Euronext rethink

The Financial Times ^ | 10/5/2007 | Ben Hall in Paris

[bruinbirdman]

The French government on Friday unveiled its plans to boost Paris as a financial centre, proposing a more lightly regulated market for companies and funds on the Euronext exchange.

Several of the measures are closely modelled on UK structures, as the French capital seeks to make up ground lost to London.

The new market segment would operate according to European Union minimum standards in terms of listing and disclosure. Initial public offerings would be closed to retail investors. The aim is to promote Paris as a market for listings by foreign companies.

The proposal is similar to the London Stock Exchange’s Specialist Fund Market, but listings could be open to companies as well as hedge funds and private equity funds.

The French government also wants to cut red tape, improve the quality of regulation and streamline immigration procedures to attract highly skilled workers.

Christine Lagarde, finance minister, also inaugurated a high-level committee of financiers, industrialists and regulators to come up with further proposals to boost the competitiveness of Paris. When he was UK chancellor, Gordon Brown, now prime minister, set up a similar group for the City of London.

France is the latest country to try to catch up with London, Europe’s runaway leader in international finance.

Switzerland’s leading financial services companies launched their own campaign last month for tax cuts, a relaxation of immigration rules and other measures to turn their country into the world’s third largest financial centre after London and New York. Frankfurt launched its own more lightly regulated market segment two years ago as a more cautiously supervised successor to the Neuer Markt.

It is not the first time that France has sought to improve the competitiveness of its financial services industry. Thierry Breton, former finance minister, launched a similar initiative only a year ago.

Ms Lagarde said the government had already shown a serious commitment to financial services by cutting taxes in the summer, particularly for higher earners.

France’s high taxation is one reason why so many young French bankers flock to London.

[bruinbirdman]

I own BRGYY. It was BRG (British Gas)- BG GROUP PLC SPON ADR until Oct.1. It then listed on OTCQX, an over the counter tier for certain international companies:

~snip~

"Designed to meet the particular needs of small to medium-sized U.S. public companies and foreign stock exchange-listed companies in a post-Sarbanes-Oxley environment, OTCQX aims to raise the visibility among U.S. investors of companies that have strong operating models and that provide high-quality disclosure to the marketplace. By limiting inclusion to quality businesses with good disclosure, OTCQX effectively represents the best companies trading over-the-counter."

[frankiep]

Now if we in this country could only get rid of the economy stifling law that is SOX - a no good, knee jerk piece of legislation if there ever was one.