[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 17, Volume 2]
[Revised as of April 1, 2001]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 17CFR210.3-20]

[Page 247-248]
 
              TITLE 17--COMMODITY AND SECURITIES EXCHANGES
 
             CHAPTER II--SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
 
PART 210--FORM AND CONTENT OF AND REQUIREMENTS FOR FINANCIAL STATEMENTS,
 
Sec. 210.3-20  Currency for financial statements of foreign private issuers.

    (a) A foreign private issuer, as defined in Sec. 230.405 of this 
chapter, shall state amounts in its primary financial statements in the 
currency which it deems appropriate.
    (b) The currency in which amounts in the financial statements are 
stated shall be disclosed prominently on the face of the financial 
statements. If dividends on publicly-held equity securities will be 
declared in a currency other than the reporting currency, a note to the 
financial statements shall identify that currency. If there are material 
exchange restrictions or controls relating to the issuer's reporting 
currency, the currency of the issuer's domicile, or the currency in 
which the issuer will pay dividends, prominent disclosure of this fact 
shall be made in the financial statements. If the reporting currency is 
not the U.S. dollar, dollar-equivalent financial statements or 
convenience translations shall not be presented, except a translation 
may be presented of the most recent fiscal year and any subsequent 
interim period presented using the exchange rate as of the most recent 
balance sheet included in the filing, except that a rate as of

[[Page 248]]

the most recent practicable date shall be used if materially different.
    (c) If the financial statements of a foreign private issuer are 
stated in a currency of a country that has experienced cumulative 
inflationary effects exceeding a total of 100 percent over the most 
recent three year period, and have not been recast or otherwise 
supplemented to include information on a historical cost/constant 
currency or current cost basis prescribed or permitted by appropriate 
authoritative standards, the issuer shall present supplementary 
information to quantify the effects of changing prices upon its 
financial position and results of operations.
    (d) Notwithstanding the currency selected for reporting purposes, 
the issuer shall measure separately its own transactions, and those of 
each of its material operations (e.g., branches, divisions, 
subsidiaries, joint ventures, and similar entities) that is included in 
the issuer's consolidated financial statements and not located in a 
hyperinflationary environment, using the particular currency of the 
primary economic environment in which the issuer or the operation 
conducts its business. Assets and liabilities so determined shall be 
translated into the reporting currency at the exchange rate at the 
balance sheet date; all revenues, expenses, gains, and losses shall be 
translated at the exchange rate existing at the time of the transaction 
or, if appropriate, a weighted average of the exchange rates during the 
period; and all translation effects of exchange rate changes shall be 
included as a separate component (``cumulative translation adjustment'') 
of shareholder's equity. For purposes of this paragraph, the currency of 
an operation's primary economic environment is normally the currency in 
which cash is primarily generated and expended; a hyperinflationary 
environment is one that has cumulative inflation of approximately 100% 
or more over the most recent three year period. Departures from the 
methodology presented in this paragraph shall be quantified pursuant to 
Item 17(c)(2) of Form 20-F (Sec. 249.220f of this chapter).
    (e) The issuer shall state its primary financial statements in the 
same currency for all periods for which financial information is 
presented. If the financial statements are stated in a currency that is 
different from that used in financial statements previously filed with 
the Commission, the issuer shall recast its financial statements as if 
the newly adopted currency had been used since at least the earliest 
period presented in the filing. The decision to change and the reason 
for the change in the reporting currency shall be disclosed in a note to 
the financial statements in the period in which the change occurs.

[59 FR 65631, Dec. 20, 1994, as amended at 64 FR 53908, Oct. 5, 1999]

             Consolidated and Combined Financial Statements