AlleAktien (267) Stand 01.11.2016

 

The Open Market

The Pink Open Market offers trading in a wide spectrum of securities through any broker. With no minimum financial standards, this market includes foreign companies that limit their disclosure, penny stocks and shells, as well as distressed, delinquent, and dark companies not willing or able to provide adequate information to investors. As Pink requires the least in terms of company disclosure, investors are strongly advised to proceed with caution and thoroughly research companies before making any investment decisions.

Pink Market Segments

OTC Markets Group further segments Pink companies based on the quantity and quality of information they provide to investors:

• Current Information
• Limited Information
• No Information

Current Information

Companies categorized in this segment qualify through the Alternative Reporting Standard (ARS), by making filings publicly available through the OTC Disclosure & News Service pursuant to the Pink Basic Disclosure Guidelines. Companies that follow the International Reporting Standard, requiring the company be listed on a Qualifying Foreign Exchange with periodic disclosure filings, those meeting the SEC Reporting Standard or U.S. Bank Reporting Standard are also eligible. The Current Information category is not a designation of quality or investment risk.

Initial Qualification pursuant to the Alternative Reporting Standard:

Financial reports must be prepared according to U.S. GAAP and must include a Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Statement of Cash Flows and Notes to Financial Statements, but are not required to be audited. Subscribe to the OTC Disclosure & News Service on www.OTCIQ.com to publish your financial reports

1. and material news.
2. Publish the required disclosure document in PDF Format (Do not scan your docs to create PDFs! Here's Why) and
   upload them via www.OTCIQ.com in the "Add Financial Report" section:
   
   
   • Annual Financial statements for the previous two fiscal years. If these reports are audited, please attach the audit letter. Each year's Annual Financial statements should be posted separately under the report type "Annual
     Report" on www.OTCIQ.com
   • Any subsequent Quarterly Reports, since the most recent Annual Report, should be posted separtely under the report type "Quarterly Report"on www.OTCIQ.com
   • The most recent fiscal period end report should also include information in accordance with the Pink Basic
     Disclosure Guidelines
3. If financial reports are not audited by a PCAOB registered audit firm:
   
   
   • Submit a signed Attorney Letter Agreement (first two pages of the Attorney Letter Guidelines)
   • After following the appropriate procedures with a qualified attorney, upload an Attorney Letter complying with the Attorney Letter Guidelines through your www.OTCIQ.com account
   
   

Ongoing Disclosure Obligations:

1. For each Fiscal Quarter End, upload a Quarterly Report via www.OTCIQ.com within 45 days of the quarter end. (A separate quarterly report is not required for the 4th quarter.) The Quarterly Report should include:
   
   
   • Information in accordance with the Pink Basic Disclosure Guidelines
   • Quarterly financial statements (Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Statement of Cash Flows, Notes to Financial Statements). Financial reports must be prepared according to U.S. GAAP, but are not required to be audited
   • No Audit Letter or Attorney Letter is required
2. For each Fiscal Year End, upload an Annual Report within 90 days of the fiscal year end. The Annual Report should
   include:
   
   
   • Information in accordance with the Pink Basic DisclosureGuidelines
   • Annual financial statements (Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Statement of Cash Flows, Notes to Financial Statements, and Audit Letter, if the financial statements are audited). Financial reports must be prepared according to U.S. GAAP, but are not required to be audited
   
   
3. If the Annual financial statements are not audited by a PCAOB registered audit firm, upload an Attorney Letter via www.OTCIQ.com in compliance with the Attorney Letter Guidelines within 120 days of the fiscal year end.

Financial Report Timeline for Maintaining Current Information (FY 12/31
Filers)

*Companies following the Alternative Reporting Standard to maintain Current Information can file a Notification of Late Filing for an extension of 5 calendar days to file a Quarterly Report and 15 calendar days to file an Annual Report.

Limited Information

Designates companies with financial reporting problems, in economic distress, or bankruptcy, that make limited information publicly available. This category also includes companies that may not be troubled, but are unwilling to provide disclosure to Pink Basic Disclosure Guidelines.

Qualifications 

Companies that make the information described below publicly available, within the prior 6 months qualify, for Pink Limited Information.

1. Subscribe to the OTC Disclosure & News Service on www.OTCIQ.com to publish your financial reports and material news.
2. Create a Quarterly Report or Annual Report for a fiscal period ended within the previous 6 months, save it in PDF format and upload it via www.OTCIQ.com. The Quarterly Report or Annual Report include, at minimum:
   • Balance Sheet
   • Income Statement
   • Total Number of Issued and Outstanding Shares

Financial statements must be prepared in accordance with US GAAP, but are not required to be audited. (Please note that Cash Flow Statements are not required to qualify for Pink Limited Information; however, unless the financial statements include a Cash Flow Statement, no financial data will be included in the OTC Financials Data Service via EDGAR Online, which distributes company financial data to online investor portals and makes the data available on the Financials tab on your company's quote page on www.otcmarkets.com.

No Information

Indicates companies do not provide disclosure. Publicly traded companies that do not provide information to investors should be carefully researched before making any investment decision.

How to Remove the Stop Sign

A company may provide disclosure through a selected U.S. regulatory agency (such as the SEC or a Banking regulator), a qualified foreign stock exchange, or through the Alternative Reporting Standard by making filings publicly available through the OTC Disclosure & News Service pursuant to the Pink Basic Disclosure Guidelines.

• Subscribe to the OTC Disclosure & News Service on www.OTCIQ.com to make filings publicly available

NOTE: SEC reporting companies should be aware that information published through the OTC Disclosure & News Service will not be considered when determining the placement of the stop sign and the market by which they trade. The market designation for reporting companies is based solely on information filed with the SEC's EDGAR system. Delinquent filers must deregister with the SEC in order to remove the stop sign and upgrade their market using the OTC Disclosure & News Service as described below.