Effective immediately, for all securities of foreign issuers, and for securities of domestic issuers first quoted on the OTC Bulletin Board® (OTCBB) following the approval of the Eligibility Rule (i.e. since January 5, 1999), the NASD will append to a security’s OTCBB symbol a fifth character identifier "E" where the NASD believes that the company is delinquent in filing a required report with their designated reporting agency. This will assist market makers in fulfilling their responsibility to provide evidence of compliance to the NASD if they wish to continue to quote the security.
On January 4, 1999, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved amendments to NASD Rules 6530 and 6540 to limit quotations on the OTC Bulletin Board to the securities of companies that report their current financial information to the SEC, banking, or insurance regulators ("Eligible Securities"). Domestic issuers that began quoting on the OTCBB after January 4, 1999 are subject to the Eligibility Rule requirements. Foreign issuers have been subject to SEC reporting requirements since April 1, 1998.
When an "E" is appended to a symbol, there will be a 30-calendar-day grace period for SEC filers, and a 60-calendar-day grace period for issuers who make periodic filings with other regulatory agencies, such as banks, thrifts and insurance companies. During the grace period, Market Makers may continue to quote the security.
Market Makers wishing to provide evidence of compliance of a security may mail the filing to:
National Association of Securities Dealers
OTCBB Filings
9801 Washingtonian Blvd.
Gaithersburg, MD 20878-5356
or call:
202-496-2542
Once the NASD receives notification of a delinquent issuer’s filing, we will re-evaluate whether the security is an Eligible Security. If the security is an Eligible Security, the fifth character identifier will be dropped.
Upon expiration of the grace period, if the issuer has not filed the required documents and/or the NASD has not received notification of the filing, the security will be removed from the service.
A list of OTCBB foreign securities and domestic securities which began quotation after January 4, 1999 and that the NASD believes are not Eligible Securities is attached. The trading symbols of these securities were appended on March 24, 1999 with the fifth character identifier "E" and they will be subject to removal from the service on April 23, 1999, unless the NASD receives evidence that the required documents have been filed.
The NASD will notify the marketplace of the pending removal of an OTCBB security for not meeting the Eligibility Rule requirements via the Daily List beginning on Monday, March 22, 1999. The Daily List is published on the OTC Bulletin Board Web Site, www.OTCBB.com. All issues that have symbol changes due to filing delinquencies will appear in the Symbol Changes section of the Daily List prior to the symbol change. The length of the grace period will also be denoted. No further notice of the delinquency will be provided on the Daily List prior to removal of the security.
The Eligibility Rule will be phased in to apply to other domestic equity securities beginning in July 1999 and will apply to all securities on the OTCBB in June 2000. For complete information on the OTCBB Eligibility Rule and the Phase-In Schedule, please see the OTC Bulletin Board Web site, www.OTCBB.com.
Questions regarding the fifth character identifier can be directed to Liz Heese at (202) 728-8191.
Foreign Companies that are delinquent as of 3/19/99:
| Symbol
| Company Name
| ACTYF
| APPLIED CARBON TECHNOLOGY INC
| AGCFF
| AGC AMERICAS GOLD CORP
| ARLRF
| ARIEL RESOURCES LTD
| HSDMF
| HEMISPHERE DEVELOPMENT CORP
| IGRLF
| INTER GLOBE RESOURCES LTD
| KIXXF
| KERKHOFF INDUSTRIES INC
| MIYNF
| MILL CITY INTERNATIONAL INC
| PMDTF
| PARK MEDITECH INC
| TGPAF
| TECHNIGEN CORP
| THLLF
| THRILLTIME ENTERTAINMENT INTERNATIONAL
| TNTTF
| TRIANT TECHNOLOGIES INC
| TVTGF
| TREND VISION TECHNOLOGIES INC
| CUSIF
| CUSAC GOLD MINES LTD
| GRHRF
| GRESHAM RESOURCES INC
| IITCF
| IITC HOLDING LTD
| JECXF
| JET ENERGY CORP
| TNKRF
| TNK RESOURCES INC
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Domestic Companies (added to OTCBB after 1/4/99) that are delinquent as of 3/19/99:
| AGPF
| A.R.T. INTERNATIONAL INC
| PPIP
| PICO PRODUCTS, INC
| |
