169.Under EC law, where there is an application for the listing of securities which are to be offered to the public in the United Kingdom for the first time, a prospectus must be approved by the competent authority and published. This is provided for by section 84. Where a prospectus is not required, for example because the securities have already been offered to the public or because there is an exemption (as set out in Schedule 11) the competent authority can provide that securities can only be admitted to the official list after publication of listing particulars and other documents approved by the competent authority. Listing particulars are documents which contain information on the nature and circumstances of the applicant and on the securities to be listed. The content is determined by listing rules. The existence of the power will allow investors to make informed decisions about that security.
170.Subsection (3) allows the Treasury to prescribe the persons responsible for listing particulars. The Treasury intend to exercise this power to prescribe those persons covered by section 152 of the FS Act 1986. However, the power will allow there to be some flexibility to reflect the admission of any possible types of financial instrument to the official list. This is necessary given the comprehensive nature of the statutory regime under section 74.