Germany to Toughen Corporate Laws

The German government plans to make company bosses more personally responsible for any false or misleading information their companies give out to the public, a finance ministry spokesman said on Wednesday. Under a revised version of a draft law originally drawn up in September, managers and supervisory board members could face fines equivalent to four years' wages if they intentionally or negligently provide false information to the public or if they suppress key information. In an earlier draft, the size of the possible fines had been a maximum of two annual salaries. At the same time, the new revised version of the draft law gave investors only three months to file a complaint if they felt they were the victims of any wrongdoings, instead of six months as originally planned. The draft law still has not been finalized and will be presented to the cabinet for approval by November at the earliest, the ministry spokesman said. The tougher rules are hoped to restore investor confidence in the stock markets. (AFP)