Securities and Exchange Commission February 25, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We are proposing amendments to the rule that exempts a foreign private issuer from having to register a class of equity securities under Section 12(g) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (``Exchange Act'') based on the submission to the Commission of certain information published outside the United States. The exemption allows a foreign private issuer to exceed the registration thresholds of Section 12(g) and effectively have its equity securities traded on a limited basis in the over-the-counter market in the United States. Currently, in order to obtain the exemption under Exchange Act Rule 12g3-2(b), a non- reporting foreign private issuer must submit to the Commission written materials in paper, including a list of information that the issuer must disclose publicly pursuant to its home jurisdiction laws or stock exchange requirements, or that is sent to its security holders, along with paper copies of documents containing the required information that the issuer has published for its last fiscal year. A successful applicant may maintain the exemption by submitting to the Commission paper copies of these documents on an ongoing basis. The proposed amendments would eliminate paper submission requirements by automatically granting the Rule 12g3-2(b) exemption to a foreign private issuer that meets specified conditions, which do not depend on a count of an issuer's United States security holders, and which would require an issuer to publish electronically in English specified non- United States disclosure documents. As a result, the proposed amendments should make it easier for U.S. investors to gain access to a foreign private issuer's material non-United States disclosure documents and make better informed decisions regarding whether to invest in that issuer's equity securities through the over-the-counter market in the United States or otherwise.