The Brazilian securities markets are regulated by the CVM, which has authority over stock exchanges and the securities markets generally, and by the Central Bank of Brazil, which has, among other powers, licensing authority over brokerage firms and regulates foreign investment and foreign exchange transactions. The Brazilian securities market is governed by Law No. 6,385 dated December 7, 1976, as amended (the "Brazilian Securities Law"), and the Brazilian Corporate Law.

Under the Brazilian Corporate Law, a company is either public, a "companhia aberta", or private, a "companhia fechada". All public companies are registered with the CVM and are subject to reporting requirements. A company registered with the CVM may have its securities traded either on the Brazilian stock exchanges or in the Brazilian over-the-counter market. The shares of a public company may also be traded privately, subject to certain limitations. To be listed on the Brazilian stock exchanges, a company must apply for registration with the CVM and the stock exchange where its head office is located. Once this stock exchange has admitted a company to listing and the CVM has accepted its registration as a public company, its securities may be traded on all other Brazilian stock exchanges.

Trading in securities on the Brazilian stock exchanges may be suspended at the request of a company in anticipation of a material announcement. Trading may also be suspended on the initiative of a Brazilian stock exchange or the CVM, among other reasons, due to a belief that a company has provided inadequate information regarding a material event or has provided inadequate responses to inquiries by the CVM or the relevant stock exchange.

Brazilian securities law provides for, among other things, disclosure requirements, restrictions on insider trading and price manipulation, and protection of minority shareholders. However, the Brazilian securities markets are not as highly regulated and supervised as the U.S. securities markets or markets in certain other jurisdictions.