The B.C. Securities Commission has expanded its Web-based, interactive system that allows companies raising money from investors to comply more easily with securities laws.

“In recent years, over $7 billion a year have typically been raised by companies with a British Columbia connection through private placements,” said BCSC executive director Steve Wilson in a statement released Wednesday. “Private placements, also known as exempt distributions, are an efficient and effective method for companies to raise capital without using a stock exchange and we are reducing the paperwork involved by enabling them to file their reports to us online.”

Companies raising money from investors in B.C. by relying on the prospectus and registration exemptions in provincial securities laws must file a report (45-103F4) with the commission. This report details how much a company is raising, what exemption it is relying on to do so, and what type of securities it is selling to investors. This information allows the commission to monitor private placements and track the capital raising activity in the province.

With the commission’s launch of its new e-filing function, companies can now report their capital-raising distributions via the commission’s Web site. They can also make payment, and track and manage their reports online. This speeds up the process, eliminates paper filings, and reduces costs. The online service is an expansion of the BCSC’s e-services system launched in March this year to provide industry and their advisors with securities regulatory services via the Internet.

The commission’s e-filing function is accessible through the e-services link on the BCSC Web site.