On December 1, 2020, Nasdaq filed a proposal with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) to adopt new listing rules related to board diversity and disclosure. If approved, the new listing rules would make Nasdaq the first major exchange to demand companies disclose more than the legal requirements.

On December 2, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed the bill entitled “Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act” (the “Act”), the full text of which is available at https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/945, which had been passed by the U.S. Senate on May 21, 2020 and is now headed to the President for signature. If the Act is signed by the President, as anticipated, it will become law as an amendment to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The Act addresses the issue that the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (the “PCAOB”) has been unable to inspect audit firms in certain “non-cooperating jurisdiction[s].” The sponsors of the Act have stated that the Act would focus on protecting American investors and their retirement savings from foreign companies that have been operating on U.S. stock exchanges while flouting Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) oversight.