The Brazilian securities markets are regulated by the CVM, which has regulatory authority over the stock exchanges and securities markets, by the National Monetary Council and by the Central Bank, which has, among other powers, licensing authority over brokerage firms and regulates foreign investment and foreign exchange transactions.
The Brazilian securities markets are governed by the principal law governing the Brazilian securities markets, by the Brazilian Corporation Law, and by regulations issued by the CVM, the CMN and the Central Bank. These laws and regulations provide for, among other things, disclosure requirements, restrictions on insider trading and price manipulation and protection of minority shareholders. However, the Brazilian securities markets are not as highly regulated and supervised as U.S. securities markets.
Under the Brazilian Corporation Law, a company is either publicly held and listed, a “companhia aberta”, or privately held and unlisted, a “companhia fechada”. All listed companies are registered with the CVM and are subject to reporting and regulatory requirements. To be listed on the BM&FBOVESPA, a company must apply for registration with the BM&FBOVESPA and the CVM and is subject to regulatory requirements and information publishing requirements.
A company registered with the CVM may trade its securities either on the Brazilian exchange markets, including the BM&FBOVESPA, or in the Brazilian over-the-counter market. Shares of companies listed on the BM&FBOVESPA may not simultaneously trade on the Brazilian over-the-counter market. The shares of a listed company may also be traded privately, subject to several limitations.
The Brazilian over-the-counter market, whether or not organized, consists of trades between investors through a financial institution registered with the CVM, and authorized to trade in the Brazilian capital market. No special application, other than registration with the CVM, is necessary for securities of a public company to be traded in the non-organized over-the-counter market. The CVM must receive notice of all trades carried out in the Brazilian over-the-counter market by the respective intermediaries.
The trading of securities on the BM&FBOVESPA may be suspended at the request of a company in anticipation of a material announcement. Trading may also be suspended on the initiative of the BM&FBOVESPA or the CVM, among other reasons, based on or due to a belief that a company has provided inadequate information regarding a significant event or has provided inadequate responses to inquiries by the CVM or the BM&FBOVESPA.
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