Nasdaq on Sept. 3 proposed rule changes aimed at combating pump-and-dump schemes that law enforcement warns have seen a 300 percent increase this year.
The exchange has submitted proposed rules to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that would establish several requirements for new listings. These include a minimum $15 million market value of public float under the net income standard, a minimum public offering proceeds requirement of $25 million for companies mainly operating in China, and a fast-tracking process for suspending and delisting companies that fall below a market value of $5 million.
“These new listing standards represent one step in a necessary, industry-wide effort—alongside regulators, U.S. exchanges, and market participants—to closely examine trading behaviors in small company securities, with the goal of safeguarding market integrity and enhancing protections for investors,” Nasdaq Executive Vice President John Zecca said in a statement….