The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will shorten the review period for registration statements to 40 days from the current 45 days and shift all public offering applications to a new online system called OARS.
The web-based platform lets companies file documents electronically and covers IPOs, follow-on offerings, shelf registrations, and special programs for real estate and power projects. It also generates standard security identifiers to meet international standards.
SEC chairman Francis E. Lim said the move supports a paperless, data-driven system, cuts red tape, and aims to make market entry easier for issuers to boost capital market activity in the Philippines.
