In particular, the SC advises investors to pay attention to critical PN4 companies i.e. those companies that are required to regularise their financial positions by 31 December 2002 but have not even made the requisite announcements on their regularisation plans (Stage 1), as well as those that have made the requisite announcements but have not as yet made any submission to the SC and other relevant authorities (Stage 2).

"These Stage 1 and Stage 2 PN4 companies are critical because if they don't take immediate measures to regularise their position by the extended deadline of 31 December 2002, they could be delisted," said the SC Chairman Datuk Ali Abdul Kadir.

The SC hosted a closed-door dialogue with Stage 1 and Stage 2 PN4 companies yesterday. This is the second closed-door dialogue that the SC has had with PN4 companies - the last was in April this year.

To aid investors in their decision-making, the SC today released a list of 48 PN4 companies that are required to regularise their position by 31 December 2002 but are still under Stage 1 and Stage 2. A list of these companies is available here. The SC will issue updates on these companies on a monthly basis.

These 48 companies are among the 99 PN4 companies as at 31 July 2002. The other 51 PN4 companies are in the stages of waiting for approval from the SC and other relevant authorities for their restructuring proposals (Stage 3), or in the process of implementing their approved proposals (Stage 4), or are not due yet to make their requisite announcements of their restructuring proposals.

Datuk Ali said aside from the extension of the deadline for the regularisation of financial positions until the year-end, the SC has also granted several flexibilities to facilitate and expedite fund-raising and restructuring exercises by PN4 companies.

He said the onus was now on these PN4 companies to meet their obligations quickly before the deadline or these companies would face the prospect of delisting.

"PN4 companies" are affected listed companies that fail to meet the financial conditions for continued trading and listing on KLSE. In this context, the provisions of PN4 are intended to ensure that affected listed companies take expeditious steps to regularise their financial conditions within the stipulated time frame. PN4 also aims to protect the interests of investors by ensuring that sufficient information disclosures are made on the progress of the restructuring plans of affected listed companies, and by imposing penalties on affected listed companies that do not meet the requisite deadlines. Listed companies that became PN4 companies on or before 31 December 2001 were given an extended deadline until the end of the year to regularise their financial positions while those companies that are classified as PN4 companies after 31 December 2001 have up to 12 months to do so, from the date they were classified as PN4 companies.