Wall St watchdog to consider rules on US-traded foreign firms

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday is due to take the first steps toward producing new rules on which foreign firms qualify for less stringent investor disclosure requirements, according to a public notice.

The public meeting, set for 1 p.m. in Washington, comes a year after a Republican Commissioner Mark Uyeda called for a public comment process on changing the definition of publicly traded foreign firms. He singled out Chinese companies as enjoying easier reporting requirements even when they are solely traded on U.S. stock markets.

The commission is due to consider whether to issue a call for public comment on possible new rules, the substance of which the SEC has not yet made public.