The enactment of the US JOBS Act will relax certain of the requirements and restrictions around securities offerings and public reporting obligations in the United States. These changes will apply to both US domestic and foreign private issuers. The most significant modifications provided by the JOBS Act for foreign issuers accessing the US capital markets include immediately effective changes to the offering process for SEC-registered IPOs and ongoing SEC reporting obligations for companies with less than US$1 billion in gross revenues, including an exemption for up to five years from the SOX Section 404 requirement to obtain an annual attestation report from a registered public accounting firm; and enhanced publicity for Rule 144A offerings and the facilitation of public offerings of US$50 million or less to be implemented by SEC rulemaking.View full memo, "JOBS Act: Focus on Foreign Private Issuers"
