Josh Frydenberg watered down company disclosure laws despite Asic warning against it

The corporate regulator feared the changes could undermine the Australian market's global reputation as a safe place to invest

The treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, watered down laws requiring companies to keep the market fully informed despite the corporate regulator warning against key changes, Guardian Australia can reveal.

Frydenberg said his move, made in May using emergency Covid-19 powers, was aimed at protecting companies from the threat of opportunistic class actions for allegedly falling foul of their continuous disclosure obligations if their forecasts are found to be inaccurate".