Affected by the commitment to continuously harmonize with EU regulations, Croatian Parliament adopted the amendments to the Capital Market Act on 18 December 2013, which will become applicable as of 1 January 2014. Regulatory framework is harmonized with Directive 2013/36/EU, amendments to Directive 2002/87/EC, repealing Directive 2006/48/EC and 2006/49/EC. Also, the amendments provide for Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 and amendments to Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 to be implemented.
The most important changes in the legislation are as follows:
- abolishment of OTC transactions reporting obligation for non-resident investors;
- introduction of an analysis of the fair value of the shares with low market liquidity, audited by a certified auditor, to determine the fair value to be paid out to shareholders disagreeing with delisting shares from the regulated market;
- improvement of legal provisions stipulating operations of the Central Depository and Clearing Company Inc., dividing the clearing system from the settlement system and expanding the definition of the clearing system, especially in the area of CCP, referring to implementation of Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 and giving option for clearing system to be managed by CCP or CDCC;
- introduction of new capital requirements, calculation of capital on a consolidated basis and risk management policies and procedures in line with Regulation (EU) No 575/2013;
- defining broader cooperation of the competent authorities in the EU system of financial supervision.
Impact on investors: As of 1 January 2014, the amendments to the Capital Market Act bring the local investor environment in line with established EU standards.