Merchant Banking and Financial Services
Code of Advertisements - Capital Issues
1.An issue advertisement shall be truthful fair and clear and shall not contain any
statement which is untrue or misleading.
2.An issue advertisement shall be considered to be misleading, It contains
a.Statements made about the performance or activities of the company in
the absence of necessary explanatory or qualifying statements, which
may give an exaggerated picture of the performance or activities than
what it really is?
b.An inaccurate portrayal of a past performance in a manner which
implies that past gains or income will be repeated in the future.
3.As investors may not be well versed in legal or financial matter, care should be
taken to ensure that the advertisement is set forth in a clear, concise and
understandable language. Extensive use of technical, legal terminology or
complex languages and the inclusion of excessive details which may distract
the investor should be avoided.
4.An issue advertisement shall not contain statements which promise or
guarantee an appreciation or rapid profits.
5.An issue advertisement shall not contain any inform or language that not
contained in the offer documents.
6.All issue advertisement in newspapers, magazines, brochures, pamphlets
containing highlights relating to any issue should also contain risk factors with
the same print size. It should mention the names of lead Managers, Registers to
the issue.
7.No corporate advertisement except product advertisements shall be issued
between the date of opening and closing of subscription of any public issue.
Such product advertisement shall not make any reference directly or indirectly
on the performance of the company during the said period.
8.No advertisement shall be issued stating that the issue has been fully subscribed
or oversubscribed during the period the issue is open for subscription, except to
the effect that the issue is open or closed. No announcement regarding closure
of the issue shall be made except on closing date. If the issue is fully subscribed
before the last closing date as state in the prospectus, the announcement should
be made only after the issue is fully subscribed and such announcement is
made on the date on which the issue is to be closed.
9.No model, celebrities, fictional characters, landmarks or caricatures or the like
shall be displayed on or form part of the offer documents or issue
advertisements.
10.No slogans, expletives or non-factual and unsubstantiated titles should appear
in the issue advertisement or offer documents.
11.If any advertisements carries any financial data it should also contain data for
last three years and shall include particulars relating to sales, gross profits, net
profit share capital reserves, earning per share, dividends and book values.
12.No incentives, apart from the permissible underwriting commission and
brokerages, shall be offered through any advertisements to anyone associated
with marketing the issue.
S.N.Selvaraj, M.B.A., M.Phil., Assistant Professor, Email:
[email protected] Page 20