The Toronto Stock Exchange and the TSX Venture Exchange announced a series of relief measures for listed companies in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
TMX Group, which owns both exchanges, said the move is designed to ease the administrative burden on public companies and provide greater flexibility in dealing with market volatility.
New measures include timeframe extensions for holding annual shareholder meetings, approval of stock option plans and allowances for filing financial statements.
READ: Coronavirus case growth rate appears to be slowing in Europe, according to number crunchers at Pantheon Macroeconomics
"The profound impacts of the COVID-19 crisis are being felt across all industries and companies, including emerging and established listed companies in Canada and around the world," said Loui Anastasopoulos, president, capital formation, at TMX Group.
"Public companies play a vital role in the success and long-term viability of Canada's economy and constitute a crucial segment of TMX's client base. Following close consultation with our stakeholders, we have implemented measures that we feel will benefit many of our more than 3,200 listed issuers, and allow them increased flexibility as they work to manage their businesses through this rapidly evolving crisis."
The new measures will automatically apply as of March 23, TMX Group said in a release Monday.
Canada’s largest stock exchange hit an all-time high of 17,843 points on February 21 before coronavirus wreaked havoc on global financial markets. The TSX closed at around 11,221 points on Monday.
Contact Angela at angela@proactiveinvestors.com
Follow her on Twitter @AHarmantas