4. The principal Regulations are amended by inserting, immediately after the Fifth Schedule, the following Schedule:Advertisement or publication |
1. For the purposes of regulation 14(3), each of the following advertisements or publications in respect of an offer or intended offer of units or derivatives of units in a business trust is false or misleading: (a) | an advertisement or a publication that omits any material information and as a result of which, the advertisement or publication (as the case may be) or any part of the advertisement or publication (as the case may be) is false or misleading; | (b) | an advertisement or a publication that contains a false or misleading statement; | (c) | an advertisement or a publication that contains information that cannot be justified based on the facts known to the person who disseminated or published the advertisement or publication (as the case may be), or caused the advertisement or publication (as the case may be) to be disseminated or published; | (d) | an advertisement or a publication that contains any information, in text or otherwise, that is inaccurate or inconsistent with the nature or risks of the units or derivatives of units; | (e) | an advertisement or a publication that contains any exaggerated statement which is calculated to exploit an individual’s lack of experience and knowledge; | (f) | an advertisement or a publication that contains information which is inconsistent with any information provided by the issuer of the units or derivatives of units to the person who disseminated or published the advertisement or publication (as the case may be), or caused the advertisement or publication (as the case may be) to be disseminated or published; | (g) | an advertisement or a publication that contains or refers to any graph, chart, formula or other device and represents directly or indirectly, that —(i) | the graph, chart, formula or device (as the case may be) can, in and of itself, be used to determine which units or derivatives of units in a business trust to buy or sell, or when to buy or sell such units or derivatives of units; or | (ii) | the graph, chart, formula or device (as the case may be) will assist any person in deciding which units or derivatives of units in a business trust to buy or sell, or when to buy or sell such units or derivatives of units, |
but does not prominently disclose the limitations, and difficulties in respect of the use, of the graph, chart, formula or device, as the case may be; |
| (h) | an advertisement or a publication that contains any statement to the effect that any report, analysis or other service will be furnished free or without charge, and such report, analysis or service is not in fact or will not in fact be furnished in its entirety without any condition or obligation. |
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2. For the purposes of regulation 14(4), each of the following advertisements or publications in respect of an offer or intended offer of units or derivatives of units in a business trust does not provide a fair and balanced view of the units or derivatives of units:(a) | an advertisement or a publication that contains a statement on any return of the principal sum invested in the units or derivatives of units, or benefit of holding those units or derivatives of units, but —(i) | does not provide an unbiased description of risks associated with the units or derivatives of units; or | (ii) | does not give a proportionate level of prominence to any warning, disclaimer or qualification which is disclosed in relation to that statement; |
| (b) | an advertisement or a publication that is in respect of units or derivatives of units in a business trust that are structured with the objective of returning the full principal sum invested in the units or derivatives of units to a holder of the units or derivatives of units upon the maturity of the units or derivatives of units, but where the return of the full principal sum invested in the units or derivatives of units at maturity is not unconditionally guaranteed, and the advertisement or publication (as the case may be) does not contain a statement which clearly highlights the fact that the return of the full principal sum invested in the units or derivatives of units at maturity is not unconditionally guaranteed; | (c) | an advertisement or a publication that contains a representation that the return of all or a part of the principal sum invested in the units or derivatives of units, or the rate of return on the units or derivatives of units is guaranteed, but — (i) | does not state the name of the guarantor; or | (ii) | does not contain a statement that clearly highlights that while there is a guarantor who guarantees the return of all or a part of the principal sum invested in the units or derivatives of units, or the rate of return on the units or derivatives of units, there is no assurance that the guarantor will be able to fulfil its obligations under such guarantee; |
| (d) | an advertisement or a publication that contains historical information on the units or derivatives of units, but does not contain a statement that the information presented is historical information and that the past performance of the units or derivatives of units is not indicative of its future performance; | (e) | an advertisement or a publication that gives the impression that an investor can profit from investing in the units or derivatives of units in a business trust without any risk; | (f) | an advertisement or a publication that suggests that the nature of the units or derivatives of units is, or is comparable to, a deposit; | (g) | an advertisement or a publication that is in respect of units or derivatives of units in a business trust of which the return of the principal sum invested in the units or derivatives of units or the rate of return on the units or derivatives of units is not guaranteed, but suggests that any of the following risks is low or nil:(i) | the risk of the holder of the units or derivatives of units losing the holder’s principal sum invested; | (ii) | the risk of the holder of the units or derivatives of units not achieving the stated, targeted or expected rate of return of the holder’s principal sum invested. |
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3. For the purposes of regulation 14(5), each of the following advertisements or publications in respect of an offer or intended offer of units or derivatives of units in a business trust does not present information in a clear manner:(a) | an advertisement or a publication in respect of an offer or intended offer of units or derivatives of units in a business trust that presents information (including information in footnotes) in a manner that is not easily understood by —(i) | in a case where the advertisement or publication (as the case may be) states the class of persons for whom the advertisement or publication (as the case may be) is intended, a reasonable person belonging to that class of persons; and | (ii) | in any other case, a reasonable person who may rely on the advertisement or publication, as the case may be; |
| (b) | an advertisement or a publication that contains any jargon or technical term, but does not define or explain such jargon or term in a manner that is easily understood by —(i) | in a case where the advertisement or publication (as the case may be) states the class of persons for whom the advertisement or publication (as the case may be) is intended, a reasonable person belonging to that class of persons; and | (ii) | in any other case, a reasonable person who may rely on the advertisement or publication, as the case may be. |
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4. For the purposes of regulation 14(6), each of the following advertisements or publications in respect of an offer or intended offer of units or derivatives of units in a business trust is not clearly legible:(a) | an advertisement or a publication that appears in any document in written or printed form, including any newspaper, periodical, magazine or letter, which — (i) | presents information in a font size that is smaller than 10‑point Times New Roman, or any other standard font type that is visually equivalent to that font size; or | (ii) | presents information in any footnote in a font size that is smaller than —(A) | where the font size of the word or statement to which the footnote relates is or is smaller than 20‑point Times New Roman or any other standard font type that is visually equivalent to that font size — 10‑point Times New Roman or any other standard font type that is visually equivalent to that font size; | (B) | where the font size of the word or statement to which the footnote relates is larger than 20‑point Times New Roman or any other standard font type that is visually equivalent to that font size but smaller than 29‑point Times New Roman or any other standard font type that is visually equivalent to that font size — half the font size of that word or statement; or | (C) | where the font size of the word or statement to which the footnote relates is or is larger than 29‑point Times New Roman or any other standard font type that is visually equivalent to that font size — 14‑point Times New Roman or any other standard font type that is visually equivalent to that font size; |
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| (b) | an advertisement or a publication that appears in a form, other than a document mentioned in sub‑paragraph (a), which presents information in any footnote in a font size that is smaller than half the font size of the word or statement to which the footnote relates. |
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5. In this Schedule, unless the context otherwise requires —“bank” means a bank in Singapore or a merchant bank; |
“bank in Singapore” has the same meaning as in section 2(1) of the Banking Act (Cap. 19); |
“deposit” means —(a) | where the deposit is accepted by a bank, a deposit as defined in section 4B(4) of the Banking Act; or | (b) | where the deposit is accepted by a finance company, a deposit as defined in section 2 of the Finance Companies Act (Cap. 108); |
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“finance company” has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Finance Companies Act; |
“merchant bank” means a merchant bank that is approved as a financial institution under section 28 of the Monetary Authority of Singapore Act (Cap. 186).”. |
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