TP15/015
The Panel is delighted to host the third Asia Pacific Takeovers Regulators Conference in Melbourne (25 to 27 March 2015). The conference involves over 30 participants from Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and Thailand.
A substantial percentage of mergers and acquisitions activity in Australia involves market participants in the Asia Pacific region. This is reflected in the work of the Panel, with 40% of Panel applications in 2014 involving market participants in the region.
Takeovers regulators deal with many common issues and the conference is an opportunity to learn from one another and to build relationships. Participants at the conference so far have discussed a number of common issues, including shareholder activism, disclosure issues, how to make takeover documents more user-friendly and how best to enforce takeover rules. Tomorrow the issue of market participants acting in concert will be discussed.
Background
The Panel has taken a leading role in promoting international co-operation amongst takeover regulators, hosting the inaugural International Takeovers Regulators Conference in 2002. This conference was a resounding success and there have been subsequent international conferences in Johannesburg (2005), Washington DC (2008), Vienna (2011) and London (2014).
The first Asia Pacific Takeovers Regulators Conference was held in Kuala Lumpur in 2012 and the second was in Bangkok in 2013. The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission and the Malaysian Securities Commission host the Asia Pacific Takeovers Regulators Forum, which promotes discussion of topics relating to takeovers regulation. ASIC and the Panel each participate in that forum.
Allan Bulman
Director, Takeovers Panel
Level 10, 63 Exhibition Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
Ph: +61 3 9655 3597
allan.bulman@takeovers.gov.au