Aug 22 (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission on Wednesday adopted rules requiring oil, gas and
mining companies listed in the United States to disclose
payments to foreign governments in an effort to reduce
corruption.
The rules will weigh especially on companies that do
business in some of the most corrupt parts of the world.
The SEC also voted on Wednesday to finalize
regulations that will force companies to reveal more about
"conflict mineral" use.
Below are the key points:
* Payments to governments must be disclosed if the company,
whether based in the United States or abroad, files annual
reports with the SEC and engages in commercial development of
oil, natural gas, or minerals.
* Payments to subnational governments also count. The rules
capture any single payment -- or series of related payments --
of $100,000 or more in a year. These include taxes, royalties,
fees, production entitlements, bonuses, dividends and
infrastructure improvements.
* Companies must specify which business segment made the
payments, in what currency, which government received them, as
well as the project to which they relate. The rules leave the
term "project" undefined to provide flexibility in applying the
term to different business contexts, but provide some guidance.
* The resource-extraction company must file the disclosures
with the SEC no later than 150 days after the end of its fiscal
year, and the rules would apply for fiscal years ending after
Sept. 30, 2013.
(Reporting by Braden Reddall in San Francisco; Editing by Dale
Hudson and Phil Berlowitz)