The Federal Government has released a discussion paper for consultation on reforms to develop the country’s retail corporate bond market in Australia.

 

The discussion paper examinmes the portential methods used to reduce regulatory burdens and barriers faced by corporate bodies in Australia when seeking to issue bonds to retail investors.

 

The paper also looks at aligning the disclosure for retail corporate bond issues.

 

“Creating a large and liquid corporate bond market is a long-term project with no quick fixes, but the Government is committed to work with the industry to encourage the development of this important market over time,” Treasurer Wayne Swan said.

 

“As part of this process, I will convene with industry today a roundtable of issuers, investors and regulators in Sydney to hear further views and progress discussions in this area.”

 

The discussion paper, Developing the Retail Corporate Bond Market: Streamlining disclosure and liability requirements, is available on the Treasury website here. Submissions on the discussion paper are due by Friday, 10 February 2012.