C-6.1 - Act constituting Capital régional et coopératif Desjardins

Section 19 Disposition versions

2024-05-07

19. The Société may make investments with or without a guarantee or security.

However, for a fiscal year, the Société shall comply with the following requirements:

(1)  its eligible investments must represent, on the average, at least 65% of its average net assets for the preceding fiscal year; and

(2)  its eligible investments made in eligible cooperatives or in entities situated in the territory of Québec, but elsewhere than in the territory of a municipality listed in Schedule I to the Act respecting the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal ( chapter C-37.01) or in Schedule A to the Act respecting the Communauté métropolitaine de Québec (chapter C-37.02), must represent, on the average, at least 50% of the percentage referred to in subparagraph 1.

For the purposes of this section and section 19.0.1, the following rules apply:

(1)  the Société’s average net assets for a fiscal year must be determined by adding its net assets at the beginning of that year, its net assets at the end of that year and its net assets at the beginning of the preceding fiscal year, then dividing the sum so obtained by 3;

(2)  the net assets do not include the movable or immovable property used by the Société to carry on its operations; and

(3)   the average eligible investments for a fiscal year must be determined by the formula

(A + B + C + D + E + F)/3.

In the formula in subparagraph 3 of the third paragraph,

(1)  A is the Société’s eligible investments at the beginning of the fiscal year, excluding those described in subparagraph b of subparagraphs 1 to 3 of the first paragraph of section 19.0.0.2 that were disinvested before that time;

(2)  B is the Société’s eligible investments at the end of the fiscal year, excluding those described in subparagraph b of subparagraphs 1 to 3 of the first paragraph of section 19.0.0.2 that were disinvested before that time;

(3)  C is the amount by which an amount that is the total of the eligible investments already made by the Société that were disinvested in the fiscal year, exceeds an amount equal to 2% of the Société’s average net assets for the preceding fiscal year;

(4)  D is the amount determined under subparagraph 3 for the preceding fiscal year;

(5)  E is the Société’s eligible investments at the beginning of the preceding fiscal year, excluding those described in subparagraph b of subparagraphs 1 to 3 of the first paragraph of section 19.0.0.2 that were disinvested before that time; and

(6)  F is the amount determined under subparagraph 3 for the second preceding fiscal year.

2001, c. 36, s. 19; 2004, c. 21, s. 3; 2005, c. 38, s. 3; 2006, c. 36, s. 6; 2011, c. 6, s. 13; 2012, c. 8, s. 26; 2015, c. 21, s. 30; 2017, c. 1, s. 21; 2017, c. 29, s. 5; 2019, c. 14, s. 26; 2021, c. 36, s. 25; 2023, c. 19, s. 3; 2024, c. 11, s. 12.

2023-09-26

19. The Société may make investments with or without a guarantee or security.

However, for a particular fiscal year, the Société shall comply with the following requirements:

(1)  its eligible investments must represent, on the average, at least the following percentage of its average net assets for the preceding fiscal year:

(a)  60%, if the particular fiscal year ends on 31 December 2015,

(b)  61%, if the particular fiscal year ends on 31 December 2016,

(c)  62%, if the particular fiscal year ends on 31 December 2017,

(d)  63%, if the particular fiscal year ends on 31 December 2018,

(e)  64%, if the particular fiscal year ends on 31 December 2019, or

(f)  65%, if the particular fiscal year begins after 31 December 2019; and

(2)  its eligible investments made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2 or in eligible cooperatives must represent, on the average, at least 35% of the percentage applicable under subparagraph 1.

For the purposes of this section, the following rules apply:

(1)  the average net assets for a fiscal year must be determined by adding the net assets at the beginning of that year to the net assets at the end of that year and by dividing the sum so obtained by 2;

(2)  the net assets do not include the movable or immovable property used by the Société to carry on its operations; and

(3)   the average eligible investments for a fiscal year must be determined by the formula

(A + B + C + D) / 2.

In the formula in subparagraph 3 of the third paragraph,

(1)  A is the Société’s eligible investments at the beginning of the fiscal year;

(2)  B is the Société’s eligible investments at the end of the fiscal year;

(3)  C is the amount by which an amount that is the total of the eligible investments already made by the Société that were disinvested in the fiscal year, exceeds an amount equal to 2% of the Société’s average net assets for the preceding fiscal year; and

(4)  D is the amount determined under subparagraph 3 for the preceding fiscal year.

For the purposes of this section, investments that entail no security or hypothec and consist in any of the following investments are eligible investments:

(1)  investments made by the Société in eligible entities;

(2)  investments made by the Société otherwise than as first purchaser for the acquisition of securities issued by an eligible entity;

(3)  investments that are made by the Société in addition to an investment entailing no security or hypothec already made in an entity that was, at the time of the investment, an eligible entity, and that are made in an entity that would be an eligible entity under subparagraph 2 of the first paragraph of section 18 if the amounts of “$100,000,000” and “$50,000,000” mentioned in that subparagraph were replaced by the amounts of “$350,000,000” and “$150,000,000”, respectively;

(4)  strategic investments made by the Société after 11 March 2003, in accordance with an investment policy adopted by the board of directors of the Société and approved by the Minister of Finance, in an entity whose assets are less than $500,000,000 or whose net equity is not over $200,000,000;

(5)  an investment made after 11 March 2003 in an eligible entity through a limited partnership (other than the one referred to in subparagraph 2 of the sixth paragraph) in which the Société holds an interest, directly or through another limited partnership, not exceeding the proportion of the Société’s direct or indirect interest in the limited partnership that made the investment;

(6)  investments made by the Société in a partnership or legal person that consist of an initial capital outlay of at least $25,000,000 or an additional capital outlay, provided that the strategic value of the initial capital outlay and, where applicable, of the additional capital outlay has been recognized, after 21 April 2005, by the Minister of Finance, and that those investments are not otherwise eligible investments;

(7)  investments made by the Société in the period beginning on 22 April 2005 and ending on 31 May 2026 in a local venture capital fund established and managed in Québec or in a local fund recognized by the Minister of Finance, provided that the investments are made with the expectation that the local fund invest an amount at least equal to 150% of the aggregate of the sums received from the Société, the Fonds de solidarité des travailleurs du Québec (F.T.Q.) and Fondaction, le Fonds de développement de la Confédération des syndicats nationaux pour la coopération et l’emploi, in Québec partnerships or legal persons pursuing economic objectives and whose assets are less than $100,000,000 or whose net equity is less than $50,000,000 and the investments are not already taken into account as eligible investments for the purposes of the second paragraph;

(8)  investments made by the Société after 21 March 2005 in FIER Partenaires, s.e.c.;

(9)  investments made by the Société after 30 March 2010 in Capital Croissance PME S.E.C.;

(10)  investments made by the Société after 10 November 2011 in Fonds Relève Québec, s.e.c. or, taking into account the change of name of the fund on 12 June 2018, in Fonds de transfert d’entreprise du Québec, s.e.c.;

(11)  investments made by the Société in Société en commandite Essor et Coopération;

(12)  investments made by the Société in Capital Croissance PME II S.E.C.;

(13)  investments described in section 19.0.0.1, where it must be determined whether the Société is complying with the requirements of the second paragraph for a fiscal year that begins after 31 December 2017 and ends before 1 January 2023; and

(14)  investments made by the Société in an entity for the carrying out of a project for the acquisition, construction or renovation of affordable housing situated in Québec, provided that the Fédération des caisses Desjardins du Québec participates in the financing of the project through the payment of a portion of the financial contribution granted to it by the Gouvernement du Québec under an agreement aimed at increasing the supply of affordable housing and setting out the terms and conditions for granting the contribution, and that the investments are not already taken into account as eligible investments for the purposes of the second paragraph.

For the purposes of this section, the following investments are also eligible investments:

(1)  investments entailing a security that are made by the Société in an enterprise that is a partnership or a legal person pursuing economic objectives and whose assets are less than $100,000,000 or whose net equity is less than $50,000,000, provided those investments are part of a financing package, in which Fonds Relève Québec, s.e.c. or, taking into account the change of name of the fund on 12 June 2018, Fonds de transfert d’entreprise du Québec, s.e.c. participates, for the succession of the enterprise;

(2)  investments made in an eligible entity through Desjardins Capital PME S.E.C. and that are either investments entailing no security or hypothec or investments made after 31 December 2017 and entailing a security or a hypothec, up to the proportion of the Société’s direct or indirect interest in that limited partnership; and

(3)  investments with or without a security or a hypothec made through Desjardins Capital Transatlantique, S.E.C. or Siparex Transatlantique, a professional private equity fund governed by the laws of the French Republic, in an enterprise described in paragraph 1 of section 19.0.0.1 in accordance with the joint investment agreement referred to in that section, up to the proportion of the Société’s direct or indirect interest in that limited partnership or that professional private equity fund, as the case may be.

For the purposes of the fifth and sixth paragraphs, the following rules apply:

(1)  investments that the Société has agreed to make, for which it has committed but not yet disbursed sums at the end of a fiscal year, and that would have been described in any of subparagraphs 1 to 4, 6 and 11 of the fifth paragraph or in subparagraph 1 of the sixth paragraph had they been made by the Société, are deemed to have been made by the Société;

(2)  investments that Desjardins Capital PME S.E.C. has agreed to make, for which it has committed but not yet disbursed sums at the end of a fiscal year, and that would have been referred to in subparagraph 2 of the sixth paragraph had they been made by that limited partnership, are deemed to have been made by the limited partnership;

(3)  investments that an entity that is either Desjardins Capital Transatlantique, S.E.C. or Siparex Transatlantique, a professional private equity fund governed by the laws of the French Republic, has agreed to make, for which it has committed but not yet disbursed sums at the end of a fiscal year, and that would have been referred to in subparagraph 3 of the sixth paragraph had they been made by that entity, are deemed to have been made by the entity; and

(4)  for a particular fiscal year, the aggregate of the deemed investments made by the Société under subparagraph 1 and all amounts each of which is the Société’s share in an investment deemed to be made by Desjardins Capital PME S.E.C., by Desjardins Capital Transatlantique, S.E.C. or by Siparex Transatlantique, a professional private equity fund governed by the laws of the French Republic, under subparagraph 2 or 3, as the case may be, may not exceed 12% of the Société’s net assets at the end of the preceding fiscal year.

For the purposes of the fifth paragraph, the investments that the Société has agreed to make, for which it has committed but not yet disbursed sums at the end of a fiscal year, and that would have been described in any of subparagraphs 7 to 10 and 12 of that paragraph had they been made by the Société, are deemed to have been made by the Société.

For the purposes of subparagraph 2 of the fifth paragraph, a dealer acting as an intermediary or firm underwriter is not considered to be a first purchaser of securities.

For the application of the fifth paragraph to a particular fiscal year, the following rules apply:

(0.1)  the investments described in subparagraph 1 of that paragraph that are made, after 31 December 2013 and before 1 January 2018, in an eligible entity situated in a territory referred to in Division I of Schedule 3 are, up to $500,000 per investment, deemed to be increased by 100% and the investments described in that subparagraph 1 that are made, after 31 December 2017 and before 1 January 2024, in an eligible entity situated in a territory referred to in Division II of that Schedule are, up to $750,000 per investment, deemed to be increased by 100%;

(1)  the aggregate of the investments described in subparagraphs 2 and 3 of that paragraph may not exceed 20% of the Société’s net assets at the end of the preceding fiscal year;

(2)  the aggregate of the investments described in subparagraph 4 of that paragraph may not exceed 7.5% of the Société’s net assets at the end of the preceding fiscal year;

(2.1)  the Société’s share in an investment described in subparagraph 5 of that paragraph that is made, after 31 December 2013 and before 1 January 2018, in an eligible entity situated in a territory referred to in Division I of Schedule 3 is, up to $500,000, deemed to be increased by 100% and the Société’s share in such an investment that is made, after 31 December 2017 and before 1 January 2024, in an eligible entity situated in a territory referred to in Division II of that Schedule is, up to $750,000, deemed to be increased by 100%;

(2.2)  the amount of the investments described in that paragraph, other than those described in subparagraph 5 or 14 of that paragraph, made by the Société in a limited partnership is deemed to be increased by the Société’s share in any investment of the limited partnership that entails no security or hypothec that is made, after 31 December 2013 and before 1 January 2018, in an eligible entity situated in a territory referred to in Division I of Schedule 3, up to $500,000 per investment, or by the Société’s share in any investment of the limited partnership that entails no security or hypothec that is made, after 31 December 2017 and before 1 January 2024, in an eligible entity situated in a territory referred to in Division II of that Schedule, up to $750,000 per investment;

(3)  the aggregate of the investments described in subparagraph 6 of that paragraph may not exceed 10% of the Société’s net assets at the end of the preceding fiscal year;

(4)  if the particular fiscal year ends before 1 January 2027, the investments described in subparagraph 7 of that paragraph, up to 5% of the Société’s net assets at the end of the preceding fiscal year, are deemed to be increased by 50%;

(5)  (subparagraph repealed);

(6)  if the particular fiscal year ends before 1 January 2012, the portion of the investments described in subparagraph 8 of that paragraph that, taking into account the participation of the Société in FIER Partenaires, s.e.c., is dedicated to the creation of seed investment funds after 21 September 2006 is deemed to be increased by 50%;

(7)  the investments described in subparagraph 10 of that paragraph are deemed to be increased by 50%;

(8)  the aggregate of the investments described in subparagraph 11 of the fifth paragraph may not exceed $85,000,000.

For the purposes of subparagraphs 2 and 3 of the sixth paragraph, the Société’s share in an investment described in that subparagraph 2 or 3, as the case may be, that is made after 31 December 2017 and before 1 January 2024 in an eligible entity situated in a territory referred to in Division II of Schedule 3 is, up to $750,000, deemed to be increased by 100%.

For the purposes of this section, the following rules apply:

(1)  the eligible investments described in subparagraph 4 of the fifth paragraph are not considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2;

(1.1)  a portion of the eligible investments described in subparagraph 6 of the fifth paragraph that are made in a corporation acting as an investment fund is considered, in the proportion determined by the Minister of Finance, to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2 if, in the opinion of the Minister, the concentration of that corporation’s capital in those resource regions is satisfactory;

(2)  the eligible investments described in subparagraph 6 of the fifth paragraph that are made in a corporation or legal person are considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2 if, in the opinion of the Minister of Finance, the investments have an impact on the economic activity of those regions;

(3)  the eligible investments described in subparagraph 7 of the fifth paragraph are considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2 if, in the opinion of the Minister of Finance, it is reasonable to believe that the local fund will have an impact on the economic activity of those regions or on the cooperative sector;

(4)  the eligible investments described in subparagraph 8 of the fifth paragraph are considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2;

(5)  a portion representing 35% of the eligible investments described in subparagraph 9 of the fifth paragraph is considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2;

(6)  a portion representing 35% of the eligible investments described in subparagraph 10 of the fifth paragraph is considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2;

(7)  the eligible investments described in subparagraph 11 of the fifth paragraph are considered to have been made in eligible cooperatives;

(8)  a portion representing 35% of the eligible investments described in subparagraph 12 of the fifth paragraph is considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2; and

(9)  the eligible investments made, after 31 December 2013 and before 1 January 2018, in an entity situated in a regional county municipality referred to in Division I of Schedule 4 and those made, after 31 December 2017 and before 1 January 2024, in an entity situated in a regional county municipality referred to in Division II of that Schedule are considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2.

The third paragraph of section 18 applies, with the necessary modifications, in relation to the determination of the assets or net equity of a Québec partnership or legal person described in subparagraph 7 of the fifth paragraph.

The requirement set out in the second paragraph applies from the fiscal year that began on 1 January 2006.

2001, c. 36, s. 19; 2004, c. 21, s. 3; 2005, c. 38, s. 3; 2006, c. 36, s. 6; 2011, c. 6, s. 13; 2012, c. 8, s. 26; 2015, c. 21, s. 30; 2017, c. 1, s. 21; 2017, c. 29, s. 5; 2019, c. 14, s. 26; 2021, c. 36, s. 25; 2023, c. 19, s. 3.

2021-12-10

19. The Société may make investments with or without a guarantee or security.

However, for a particular fiscal year, the Société shall comply with the following requirements:

(1)  its eligible investments must represent, on the average, at least the following percentage of its average net assets for the preceding fiscal year:

(a)  60%, if the particular fiscal year ends on 31 December 2015,

(b)  61%, if the particular fiscal year ends on 31 December 2016,

(c)  62%, if the particular fiscal year ends on 31 December 2017,

(d)  63%, if the particular fiscal year ends on 31 December 2018,

(e)  64%, if the particular fiscal year ends on 31 December 2019, or

(f)  65%, if the particular fiscal year begins after 31 December 2019; and

(2)  its eligible investments made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2 or in eligible cooperatives must represent, on the average, at least 35% of the percentage applicable under subparagraph 1.

For the purposes of this section, the following rules apply:

(1)  the average net assets for a fiscal year must be determined by adding the net assets at the beginning of that year to the net assets at the end of that year and by dividing the sum so obtained by 2;

(2)  the net assets do not include the movable or immovable property used by the Société to carry on its operations; and

(3)   the average eligible investments for a fiscal year must be determined by the formula

(A + B + C + D) / 2.

In the formula in subparagraph 3 of the third paragraph,

(1)  A is the Société’s eligible investments at the beginning of the fiscal year;

(2)  B is the Société’s eligible investments at the end of the fiscal year;

(3)  C is the amount by which an amount that is the total of the eligible investments already made by the Société that were disinvested in the fiscal year, exceeds an amount equal to 2% of the Société’s average net assets for the preceding fiscal year; and

(4)  D is the amount determined under subparagraph 3 for the preceding fiscal year.

For the purposes of this section, investments that entail no security or hypothec and consist in any of the following investments are eligible investments:

(1)  investments made by the Société in eligible entities;

(2)  investments made by the Société otherwise than as first purchaser for the acquisition of securities issued by an eligible entity;

(3)  investments that are made by the Société in addition to an investment entailing no security or hypothec already made in an entity that was, at the time of the investment, an eligible entity, and that are made in an entity that would be an eligible entity under subparagraph 2 of the first paragraph of section 18 if the amounts of “$100,000,000” and “$50,000,000” mentioned in that subparagraph were replaced by the amounts of “$350,000,000” and “$150,000,000”, respectively;

(4)  strategic investments made by the Société after 11 March 2003, in accordance with an investment policy adopted by the board of directors of the Société and approved by the Minister of Finance, in an entity whose assets are less than $500,000,000 or whose net equity is not over $200,000,000;

(5)  an investment made after 11 March 2003 in an eligible entity through a limited partnership (other than the one referred to in subparagraph 2 of the sixth paragraph) in which the Société holds an interest, directly or through another limited partnership, not exceeding the proportion of the Société’s direct or indirect interest in the limited partnership that made the investment;

(6)  investments made by the Société in a partnership or legal person that consist of an initial capital outlay of at least $25,000,000 or an additional capital outlay, provided that the strategic value of the initial capital outlay and, where applicable, of the additional capital outlay has been recognized, after 21 April 2005, by the Minister of Finance, and that those investments are not otherwise eligible investments;

(7)  investments made by the Société in the period beginning on 22 April 2005 and ending on 31 May 2026 in a local venture capital fund established and managed in Québec or in a local fund recognized by the Minister of Finance, provided that the investments are made with the expectation that the local fund invest an amount at least equal to 150% of the aggregate of the sums received from the Société, the Fonds de solidarité des travailleurs du Québec (F.T.Q.) and Fondaction, le Fonds de développement de la Confédération des syndicats nationaux pour la coopération et l’emploi, in Québec partnerships or legal persons pursuing economic objectives and whose assets are less than $100,000,000 or whose net equity is less than $50,000,000 and the investments are not already taken into account as eligible investments for the purposes of the second paragraph;

(8)  investments made by the Société after 21 March 2005 in FIER Partenaires, s.e.c.;

(9)  investments made by the Société after 30 March 2010 in Capital Croissance PME S.E.C.;

(10)  investments made by the Société after 10 November 2011 in Fonds Relève Québec, s.e.c.;

(11)  investments made by the Société in Société en commandite Essor et Coopération;

(12)  investments made by the Société in Capital Croissance PME II S.E.C.; and

(13)  investments described in section 19.0.0.1, where it must be determined whether the Société is complying with the requirements of the second paragraph for a fiscal year that begins after 31 December 2017 and ends before 1 January 2023.

For the purposes of this section, the following investments are also eligible investments:

(1)  investments entailing a security that are made by the Société in an enterprise that is a partnership or a legal person pursuing economic objectives and whose assets are less than $100,000,000 or whose net equity is less than $50,000,000, provided those investments are part of a financing package, in which Fonds Relève Québec, s.e.c. participates, for the succession of the enterprise;

(2)  investments made in an eligible entity through Desjardins Capital PME S.E.C. and that are either investments entailing no security or hypothec or investments made after 31 December 2017 and entailing a security or a hypothec, up to the proportion of the Société’s direct or indirect interest in that limited partnership; and

(3)  investments with or without a security or a hypothec made through Desjardins Capital Transatlantique, S.E.C. or Siparex Transatlantique, a professional private equity fund governed by the laws of the French Republic, in an enterprise described in paragraph 1 of section 19.0.0.1 in accordance with the joint investment agreement referred to in that section, up to the proportion of the Société’s direct or indirect interest in that limited partnership or that professional private equity fund, as the case may be.

For the purposes of the fifth and sixth paragraphs, the following rules apply:

(1)  investments that the Société has agreed to make, for which it has committed but not yet disbursed sums at the end of a fiscal year, and that would have been described in any of subparagraphs 1 to 4, 6 and 11 of the fifth paragraph or in subparagraph 1 of the sixth paragraph had they been made by the Société, are deemed to have been made by the Société;

(2)  investments that Desjardins Capital PME S.E.C. has agreed to make, for which it has committed but not yet disbursed sums at the end of a fiscal year, and that would have been referred to in subparagraph 2 of the sixth paragraph had they been made by that limited partnership, are deemed to have been made by the limited partnership;

(3)  investments that an entity that is either Desjardins Capital Transatlantique, S.E.C. or Siparex Transatlantique, a professional private equity fund governed by the laws of the French Republic, has agreed to make, for which it has committed but not yet disbursed sums at the end of a fiscal year, and that would have been referred to in subparagraph 3 of the sixth paragraph had they been made by that entity, are deemed to have been made by the entity; and

(4)  for a particular fiscal year, the aggregate of the deemed investments made by the Société under subparagraph 1 and all amounts each of which is the Société’s share in an investment deemed to be made by Desjardins Capital PME S.E.C., by Desjardins Capital Transatlantique, S.E.C. or by Siparex Transatlantique, a professional private equity fund governed by the laws of the French Republic, under subparagraph 2 or 3, as the case may be, may not exceed 12% of the Société’s net assets at the end of the preceding fiscal year.

For the purposes of the fifth paragraph, the investments that the Société has agreed to make, for which it has committed but not yet disbursed sums at the end of a fiscal year, and that would have been described in any of subparagraphs 7 to 10 and 12 of that paragraph had they been made by the Société, are deemed to have been made by the Société.

For the purposes of subparagraph 2 of the fifth paragraph, a dealer acting as an intermediary or firm underwriter is not considered to be a first purchaser of securities.

For the application of the fifth paragraph to a particular fiscal year, the following rules apply:

(0.1)  the investments described in subparagraph 1 of that paragraph that are made, after 31 December 2013 and before 1 January 2018, in an eligible entity situated in a territory referred to in Division I of Schedule 3 are, up to $500,000 per investment, deemed to be increased by 100% and the investments described in that subparagraph 1 that are made, after 31 December 2017 and before 1 January 2024, in an eligible entity situated in a territory referred to in Division II of that Schedule are, up to $750,000 per investment, deemed to be increased by 100%;

(1)  the aggregate of the investments described in subparagraphs 2 and 3 of that paragraph may not exceed 20% of the Société’s net assets at the end of the preceding fiscal year;

(2)  the aggregate of the investments described in subparagraph 4 of that paragraph may not exceed 7.5% of the Société’s net assets at the end of the preceding fiscal year;

(2.1)  the Société’s share in an investment described in subparagraph 5 of that paragraph that is made, after 31 December 2013 and before 1 January 2018, in an eligible entity situated in a territory referred to in Division I of Schedule 3 is, up to $500,000, deemed to be increased by 100% and the Société’s share in such an investment that is made, after 31 December 2017 and before 1 January 2024, in an eligible entity situated in a territory referred to in Division II of that Schedule is, up to $750,000, deemed to be increased by 100%;

(2.2)  the amount of the investments described in that paragraph, other than those described in subparagraph 5 of that paragraph, made by the Société in a limited partnership is deemed to be increased by the Société’s share in any investment of the limited partnership that entails no security or hypothec that is made, after 31 December 2013 and before 1 January 2018, in an eligible entity situated in a territory referred to in Division I of Schedule 3, up to $500,000 per investment, or by the Société’s share in any investment of the limited partnership that entails no security or hypothec that is made, after 31 December 2017 and before 1 January 2024, in an eligible entity situated in a territory referred to in Division II of that Schedule, up to $750,000 per investment;

(3)  the aggregate of the investments described in subparagraph 6 of that paragraph may not exceed 10% of the Société’s net assets at the end of the preceding fiscal year;

(4)  if the particular fiscal year ends before 1 January 2027, the investments described in subparagraph 7 of that paragraph, up to 5% of the Société’s net assets at the end of the preceding fiscal year, are deemed to be increased by 50%;

(5)  (subparagraph repealed);

(6)  if the particular fiscal year ends before 1 January 2012, the portion of the investments described in subparagraph 8 of that paragraph that, taking into account the participation of the Société in FIER Partenaires, s.e.c., is dedicated to the creation of seed investment funds after 21 September 2006 is deemed to be increased by 50%;

(7)  the investments described in subparagraph 10 of that paragraph are deemed to be increased by 50%;

(8)  the aggregate of the investments described in subparagraph 11 of the fifth paragraph may not exceed $85,000,000.

For the purposes of subparagraphs 2 and 3 of the sixth paragraph, the Société’s share in an investment described in that subparagraph 2 or 3, as the case may be, that is made after 31 December 2017 and before 1 January 2024 in an eligible entity situated in a territory referred to in Division II of Schedule 3 is, up to $750,000, deemed to be increased by 100%.

For the purposes of this section, the following rules apply:

(1)  the eligible investments described in subparagraph 4 of the fifth paragraph are not considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2;

(1.1)  a portion of the eligible investments described in subparagraph 6 of the fifth paragraph that are made in a corporation acting as an investment fund is considered, in the proportion determined by the Minister of Finance, to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2 if, in the opinion of the Minister, the concentration of that corporation’s capital in those resource regions is satisfactory;

(2)  the eligible investments described in subparagraph 6 of the fifth paragraph that are made in a corporation or legal person are considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2 if, in the opinion of the Minister of Finance, the investments have an impact on the economic activity of those regions;

(3)  the eligible investments described in subparagraph 7 of the fifth paragraph are considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2 if, in the opinion of the Minister of Finance, it is reasonable to believe that the local fund will have an impact on the economic activity of those regions or on the cooperative sector;

(4)  the eligible investments described in subparagraph 8 of the fifth paragraph are considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2;

(5)  a portion representing 35% of the eligible investments described in subparagraph 9 of the fifth paragraph is considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2;

(6)  a portion representing 35% of the eligible investments described in subparagraph 10 of the fifth paragraph is considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2;

(7)  the eligible investments described in subparagraph 11 of the fifth paragraph are considered to have been made in eligible cooperatives;

(8)  a portion representing 35% of the eligible investments described in subparagraph 12 of the fifth paragraph is considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2; and

(9)  the eligible investments made, after 31 December 2013 and before 1 January 2018, in an entity situated in a regional county municipality referred to in Division I of Schedule 4 and those made, after 31 December 2017 and before 1 January 2024, in an entity situated in a regional county municipality referred to in Division II of that Schedule are considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2.

The third paragraph of section 18 applies, with the necessary modifications, in relation to the determination of the assets or net equity of a Québec partnership or legal person described in subparagraph 7 of the fifth paragraph.

The requirement set out in the second paragraph applies from the fiscal year that began on 1 January 2006.

2001, c. 36, s. 19; 2004, c. 21, s. 3; 2005, c. 38, s. 3; 2006, c. 36, s. 6; 2011, c. 6, s. 13; 2012, c. 8, s. 26; 2015, c. 21, s. 30; 2017, c. 1, s. 21; 2017, c. 29, s. 5; 2019, c. 14, s. 26; 2021, c. 36, s. 25.

2019-06-19

19. The Société may make investments with or without a guarantee or security.

However, for a particular fiscal year, the Société shall comply with the following requirements:

(1)  its eligible investments must represent, on the average, at least the following percentage of its average net assets for the preceding fiscal year:

(a)  60%, if the particular fiscal year ends on 31 December 2015,

(b)  61%, if the particular fiscal year ends on 31 December 2016,

(c)  62%, if the particular fiscal year ends on 31 December 2017,

(d)  63%, if the particular fiscal year ends on 31 December 2018,

(e)  64%, if the particular fiscal year ends on 31 December 2019, or

(f)  65%, if the particular fiscal year begins after 31 December 2019; and

(2)  its eligible investments made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2 or in eligible cooperatives must represent, on the average, at least 35% of the percentage applicable under subparagraph 1.

For the purposes of this section, the following rules apply:

(1)  the average net assets for a fiscal year must be determined by adding the net assets at the beginning of that year to the net assets at the end of that year and by dividing the sum so obtained by 2;

(2)  the net assets do not include the movable or immovable property used by the Société to carry on its operations; and

(3)   the average eligible investments for a fiscal year must be determined by the formula

(A + B + C + D) / 2.

In the formula in subparagraph 3 of the third paragraph,

(1)  A is the Société’s eligible investments at the beginning of the fiscal year;

(2)  B is the Société’s eligible investments at the end of the fiscal year;

(3)  C is the amount by which an amount that is the total of the eligible investments already made by the Société that were disinvested in the fiscal year, exceeds an amount equal to 2% of the Société’s average net assets for the preceding fiscal year; and

(4)  D is the amount determined under subparagraph 3 for the preceding fiscal year.

For the purposes of this section, investments that entail no security or hypothec and consist in any of the following investments are eligible investments:

(1)  investments made by the Société in eligible entities;

(2)  investments made by the Société otherwise than as first purchaser for the acquisition of securities issued by an eligible entity;

(3)  investments that are made by the Société in addition to an investment entailing no security or hypothec already made in an entity that was, at the time of the investment, an eligible entity, and that are made in an entity that would be an eligible entity under subparagraph 2 of the first paragraph of section 18 if the amounts of “$100,000,000” and “$50,000,000” mentioned in that subparagraph were replaced by the amounts of “$350,000,000” and “$150,000,000”, respectively;

(4)  strategic investments made by the Société after 11 March 2003, in accordance with an investment policy adopted by the board of directors of the Société and approved by the Minister of Finance, in an entity whose assets are less than $500,000,000 or whose net equity is not over $200,000,000;

(5)  an investment made after 11 March 2003 in an eligible entity through a limited partnership (other than the one referred to in subparagraph 2 of the sixth paragraph) in which the Société holds an interest, directly or through another limited partnership, not exceeding the proportion of the Société’s direct or indirect interest in the limited partnership that made the investment;

(6)  investments made by the Société in a partnership or legal person that consist of an initial capital outlay of at least $25,000,000 or an additional capital outlay, provided that the strategic value of the initial capital outlay and, where applicable, of the additional capital outlay has been recognized, after 21 April 2005, by the Minister of Finance, and that those investments are not otherwise eligible investments;

(7)  investments made by the Société in the period beginning on 22 April 2005 and ending on 31 May 2021 in a local venture capital fund established and managed in Québec or in a local fund recognized by the Minister of Finance, provided that the investments are made with the expectation that the local fund invest an amount at least equal to 150% of the aggregate of the sums received from the Société, the Fonds de solidarité des travailleurs du Québec (F.T.Q.) and Fondaction, le Fonds de développement de la Confédération des syndicats nationaux pour la coopération et l’emploi, in Québec partnerships or legal persons pursuing economic objectives and whose assets are less than $100,000,000 or whose net equity is less than $50,000,000 and the investments are not already taken into account as eligible investments for the purposes of the second paragraph;

(8)  investments made by the Société after 21 March 2005 in FIER Partenaires, s.e.c.;

(9)  investments made by the Société after 30 March 2010 in Capital Croissance PME S.E.C.;

(10)  investments made by the Société after 10 November 2011 in Fonds Relève Québec, s.e.c.;

(11)  investments made by the Société in Société en commandite Essor et Coopération;

(12)  investments made by the Société in Capital Croissance PME II S.E.C.; and

(13)  investments described in section 19.0.0.1, where it must be determined whether the Société is complying with the requirements of the second paragraph for a fiscal year that begins after 31 December 2017 and ends before 1 January 2023.

For the purposes of this section, the following investments are also eligible investments:

(1)  investments entailing a security that are made by the Société in an enterprise that is a partnership or a legal person pursuing economic objectives and whose assets are less than $100,000,000 or whose net equity is less than $50,000,000, provided those investments are part of a financing package, in which Fonds Relève Québec, s.e.c. participates, for the succession of the enterprise;

(2)  investments made in an eligible entity through Desjardins Capital PME S.E.C. and that are either investments entailing no security or hypothec or investments made after 31 December 2017 and entailing a security or a hypothec, up to the proportion of the Société’s direct or indirect interest in that limited partnership; and

(3)  investments with or without a security or a hypothec made through Desjardins Capital Transatlantique, S.E.C. or Siparex Transatlantique, a professional private equity fund governed by the laws of the French Republic, in an enterprise described in paragraph 1 of section 19.0.0.1 in accordance with the joint investment agreement referred to in that section, up to the proportion of the Société’s direct or indirect interest in that limited partnership or that professional private equity fund, as the case may be.

For the purposes of the fifth and sixth paragraphs, the following rules apply:

(1)  investments that the Société has agreed to make, for which it has committed but not yet disbursed sums at the end of a fiscal year, and that would have been described in any of subparagraphs 1 to 4, 6 and 11 of the fifth paragraph or in subparagraph 1 of the sixth paragraph had they been made by the Société, are deemed to have been made by the Société;

(2)  investments that Desjardins Capital PME S.E.C. has agreed to make, for which it has committed but not yet disbursed sums at the end of a fiscal year, and that would have been referred to in subparagraph 2 of the sixth paragraph had they been made by that limited partnership, are deemed to have been made by the limited partnership;

(3)  investments that an entity that is either Desjardins Capital Transatlantique, S.E.C. or Siparex Transatlantique, a professional private equity fund governed by the laws of the French Republic, has agreed to make, for which it has committed but not yet disbursed sums at the end of a fiscal year, and that would have been referred to in subparagraph 3 of the sixth paragraph had they been made by that entity, are deemed to have been made by the entity; and

(4)  for a particular fiscal year, the aggregate of the deemed investments made by the Société under subparagraph 1 and all amounts each of which is the Société’s share in an investment deemed to be made by Desjardins Capital PME S.E.C., by Desjardins Capital Transatlantique, S.E.C. or by Siparex Transatlantique, a professional private equity fund governed by the laws of the French Republic, under subparagraph 2 or 3, as the case may be, may not exceed 12% of the Société’s net assets at the end of the preceding fiscal year.

For the purposes of the fifth paragraph, the investments that the Société has agreed to make, for which it has committed but not yet disbursed sums at the end of a fiscal year, and that would have been described in any of subparagraphs 7 to 10 and 12 of that paragraph had they been made by the Société, are deemed to have been made by the Société.

For the purposes of subparagraph 2 of the fifth paragraph, a dealer acting as an intermediary or firm underwriter is not considered to be a first purchaser of securities.

For the application of the fifth paragraph to a particular fiscal year, the following rules apply:

(0.1)  the investments described in subparagraph 1 of that paragraph that are made, after 31 December 2013 and before 1 January 2018, in an eligible entity situated in a territory referred to in Division I of Schedule 3 are, up to $500,000 per investment, deemed to be increased by 100% and the investments described in that subparagraph 1 that are made, after 31 December 2017 and before 1 January 2021, in an eligible entity situated in a territory referred to in Division II of that Schedule are, up to $750,000 per investment, deemed to be increased by 100%;

(1)  the aggregate of the investments described in subparagraphs 2 and 3 of that paragraph may not exceed 20% of the Société’s net assets at the end of the preceding fiscal year;

(2)  the aggregate of the investments described in subparagraph 4 of that paragraph may not exceed 7.5% of the Société’s net assets at the end of the preceding fiscal year;

(2.1)  the Société’s share in an investment described in subparagraph 5 of that paragraph that is made, after 31 December 2013 and before 1 January 2018, in an eligible entity situated in a territory referred to in Division I of Schedule 3 is, up to $500,000, deemed to be increased by 100% and the Société’s share in such an investment that is made, after 31 December 2017 and before 1 January 2021, in an eligible entity situated in a territory referred to in Division II of that Schedule is, up to $750,000, deemed to be increased by 100%;

(2.2)  the amount of the investments described in that paragraph, other than those described in subparagraph 5 of that paragraph, made by the Société in a limited partnership is deemed to be increased by the Société’s share in any investment of the limited partnership that entails no security or hypothec that is made, after 31 December 2013 and before 1 January 2018, in an eligible entity situated in a territory referred to in Division I of Schedule 3, up to $500,000 per investment, or by the Société’s share in any investment of the limited partnership that entails no security or hypothec that is made, after 31 December 2017 and before 1 January 2021, in an eligible entity situated in a territory referred to in Division II of that Schedule, up to $750,000 per investment;

(3)  the aggregate of the investments described in subparagraph 6 of that paragraph may not exceed 10% of the Société’s net assets at the end of the preceding fiscal year;

(4)  if the particular fiscal year ends before 1 January 2022, the investments described in subparagraph 7 of that paragraph, up to 5% of the Société’s net assets at the end of the preceding fiscal year, are deemed to be increased by 50%;

(5)  (subparagraph repealed);

(6)  if the particular fiscal year ends before 1 January 2012, the portion of the investments described in subparagraph 8 of that paragraph that, taking into account the participation of the Société in FIER Partenaires, s.e.c., is dedicated to the creation of seed investment funds after 21 September 2006 is deemed to be increased by 50%;

(7)  the investments described in subparagraph 10 of that paragraph are deemed to be increased by 50%;

(8)  the aggregate of the investments described in subparagraph 11 of the fifth paragraph may not exceed $85,000,000.

For the purposes of subparagraphs 2 and 3 of the sixth paragraph, the Société’s share in an investment described in that subparagraph 2 or 3, as the case may be, that is made after 31 December 2017 and before 1 January 2021 in an eligible entity situated in a territory referred to in Division II of Schedule 3 is, up to $750,000, deemed to be increased by 100%.

For the purposes of this section, the following rules apply:

(1)  the eligible investments described in subparagraph 4 of the fifth paragraph are not considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2;

(1.1)  a portion of the eligible investments described in subparagraph 6 of the fifth paragraph that are made in a corporation acting as an investment fund is considered, in the proportion determined by the Minister of Finance, to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2 if, in the opinion of the Minister, the concentration of that corporation’s capital in those resource regions is satisfactory;

(2)  the eligible investments described in subparagraph 6 of the fifth paragraph that are made in a corporation or legal person are considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2 if, in the opinion of the Minister of Finance, the investments have an impact on the economic activity of those regions;

(3)  the eligible investments described in subparagraph 7 of the fifth paragraph are considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2 if, in the opinion of the Minister of Finance, it is reasonable to believe that the local fund will have an impact on the economic activity of those regions or on the cooperative sector;

(4)  the eligible investments described in subparagraph 8 of the fifth paragraph are considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2;

(5)  a portion representing 35% of the eligible investments described in subparagraph 9 of the fifth paragraph is considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2;

(6)  a portion representing 35% of the eligible investments described in subparagraph 10 of the fifth paragraph is considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2;

(7)  the eligible investments described in subparagraph 11 of the fifth paragraph are considered to have been made in eligible cooperatives;

(8)  a portion representing 35% of the eligible investments described in subparagraph 12 of the fifth paragraph is considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2; and

(9)  the eligible investments made, after 31 December 2013 and before 1 January 2018, in an entity situated in a regional county municipality referred to in Division I of Schedule 4 and those made, after 31 December 2017 and before 1 January 2021, in an entity situated in a regional county municipality referred to in Division II of that Schedule are considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2.

The third paragraph of section 18 applies, with the necessary modifications, in relation to the determination of the assets or net equity of a Québec partnership or legal person described in subparagraph 7 of the fifth paragraph.

The requirement set out in the second paragraph applies from the fiscal year that began on 1 January 2006.

2001, c. 36, s. 19; 2004, c. 21, s. 3; 2005, c. 38, s. 3; 2006, c. 36, s. 6; 2011, c. 6, s. 13; 2012, c. 8, s. 26; 2015, c. 21, s. 30; 2017, c. 1, s. 21; 2017, c. 29, s. 5; 2019, c. 14, s. 26.

2017-12-07

19. The Société may make investments with or without a guarantee or security.

However, for a particular fiscal year, the Société shall comply with the following requirements:

(1)  its eligible investments must represent, on the average, at least the following percentage of its average net assets for the preceding fiscal year:

(a)  60%, if the particular fiscal year ends on 31 December 2015,

(b)  61%, if the particular fiscal year ends on 31 December 2016,

(c)  62%, if the particular fiscal year ends on 31 December 2017,

(d)  63%, if the particular fiscal year ends on 31 December 2018,

(e)  64%, if the particular fiscal year ends on 31 December 2019, or

(f)  65%, if the particular fiscal year begins after 31 December 2019; and

(2)  its eligible investments made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2 or in eligible cooperatives must represent, on the average, at least 35% of the percentage applicable under subparagraph 1.

For the purposes of this section, the following rules apply:

(1)  the average net assets for a fiscal year must be determined by adding the net assets at the beginning of that year to the net assets at the end of that year and by dividing the sum so obtained by 2;

(2)  the net assets do not include the movable or immovable property used by the Société to carry on its operations; and

(3)   the average eligible investments for a fiscal year must be determined by the formula

(A + B + C + D) / 2.

In the formula in subparagraph 3 of the third paragraph,

(1)  A is the Société’s eligible investments at the beginning of the fiscal year;

(2)  B is the Société’s eligible investments at the end of the fiscal year;

(3)  C is the amount by which an amount that is the total of the eligible investments already made by the Société that were disinvested in the fiscal year, exceeds an amount equal to 2% of the Société’s average net assets for the preceding fiscal year; and

(4)  D is the amount determined under subparagraph 3 for the preceding fiscal year.

For the purposes of this section, investments that entail no security or hypothec and consist in any of the following investments are eligible investments:

(1)  investments made by the Société in eligible entities;

(2)  investments made by the Société otherwise than as first purchaser for the acquisition of securities issued by an eligible entity;

(3)  investments that are made by the Société in addition to an investment entailing no security or hypothec already made in an entity that was, at the time of the investment, an eligible entity, and that are made in an entity that would be an eligible entity under subparagraph 2 of the first paragraph of section 18 if the amounts of “$100,000,000” and “$50,000,000” mentioned in that subparagraph were replaced by the amounts of “$350,000,000” and “$150,000,000”, respectively;

(4)  strategic investments made by the Société after 11 March 2003, in accordance with an investment policy adopted by the board of directors of the Société and approved by the Minister of Finance, in an entity whose assets are less than $500,000,000 or whose net equity is not over $200,000,000;

(5)  an investment made after 11 March 2003 in an eligible entity through a limited partnership in which the Société holds an interest, directly or through another limited partnership, not exceeding the proportion of the Société’s direct or indirect interest in the limited partnership that made the investment;

(6)  investments made by the Société in a partnership or legal person that consist of an initial capital outlay of at least $25,000,000 or an additional capital outlay, provided that the strategic value of the initial capital outlay and, where applicable, of the additional capital outlay has been recognized, after 21 April 2005, by the Minister of Finance, and that those investments are not otherwise eligible investments;

(7)  investments made by the Société in the period beginning on 22 April 2005 and ending on 31 May 2021 in a local venture capital fund established and managed in Québec or in a local fund recognized by the Minister of Finance, provided that the investments are made with the expectation that the local fund invest an amount at least equal to 150% of the aggregate of the sums received from the Société, the Fonds de solidarité des travailleurs du Québec (F.T.Q.) and Fondaction, le Fonds de développement de la Confédération des syndicats nationaux pour la coopération et l’emploi, in Québec partnerships or legal persons pursuing economic objectives and whose assets are less than $100,000,000 or whose net equity is less than $50,000,000 and the investments are not already taken into account as eligible investments for the purposes of the second paragraph;

(8)  investments made by the Société after 21 March 2005 in FIER Partenaires, s.e.c.;

(9)  investments made by the Société after 30 March 2010 in Capital Croissance PME S.E.C.;

(10)  investments made by the Société after 10 November 2011 in Fonds Relève Québec, s.e.c.;

(11)  investments made by the Société in Société en commandite Essor et Coopération; and

(12)  investments made by the Société in Capital Croissance PME II S.E.C.

For the purposes of this section, investments entailing a security that are made by the Société in an enterprise that is a partnership or a legal person pursuing economic objectives and whose assets are less than $100,000,000 or whose net equity is less than $50,000,000 are also eligible investments, provided those investments are part of a financing package, in which Fonds Relève Québec, s.e.c. participates, for the succession of the enterprise.

For the purposes of the fifth and sixth paragraphs, the investments that the Société has agreed to make, for which it has committed but not yet disbursed sums at the end of a fiscal year, and that would have been described in any of subparagraphs 1 to 4, 6 and 11 of the fifth paragraph or in the sixth paragraph had they been made by the Société, are deemed to have been made by the Société. However, for a particular fiscal year, the aggregate of those deemed investments may not exceed 12% of the Société’s net assets at the end of the preceding fiscal year.

For the purposes of the fifth paragraph, the investments that the Société has agreed to make, for which it has committed but not yet disbursed sums at the end of a fiscal year, and that would have been described in any of subparagraphs 7 to 10 and 12 of that paragraph had they been made by the Société, are deemed to have been made by the Société.

For the purposes of subparagraph 2 of the fifth paragraph, a dealer acting as an intermediary or firm underwriter is not considered to be a first purchaser of securities.

For the application of the fifth paragraph to a particular fiscal year, the following rules apply:

(0.1)  the investments described in subparagraph 1 of that paragraph that are made, after 31 December 2013 and before 1 January 2018, in an eligible entity situated in a territory referred to in Schedule 3, up to $500,000 per investment, are deemed to be increased by 100%;

(1)  the aggregate of the investments described in subparagraphs 2 and 3 of that paragraph may not exceed 20% of the Société’s net assets at the end of the preceding fiscal year;

(2)  the aggregate of the investments described in subparagraph 4 of that paragraph may not exceed 7.5% of the Société’s net assets at the end of the preceding fiscal year;

(2.1)  the Société’s share in an investment described in subparagraph 5 of that paragraph that is made, after 31 December 2013 and before 1 January 2018, in an eligible entity situated in a territory referred to in Schedule 3, up to $500,000, is deemed to be increased by 100%;

(2.2)  the amount of the investments described in that paragraph, other than those described in subparagraph 5 of that paragraph, made by the Société in a limited partnership is deemed to be increased by the Société’s share in any investment of the limited partnership that entails no security or hypothec made, after 31 December 2013 and before 1 January 2018, in an eligible entity situated in a territory referred to in Schedule 3, up to $500,000 per investment;

(3)  the aggregate of the investments described in subparagraph 6 of that paragraph may not exceed 10% of the Société’s net assets at the end of the preceding fiscal year;

(4)  if the particular fiscal year ends before 1 January 2022, the investments described in subparagraph 7 of that paragraph, up to 5% of the Société’s net assets at the end of the preceding fiscal year, are deemed to be increased by 50%;

(5)  (subparagraph repealed);

(6)  if the particular fiscal year ends before 1 January 2012, the portion of the investments described in subparagraph 8 of that paragraph that, taking into account the participation of the Société in FIER Partenaires, s.e.c., is dedicated to the creation of seed investment funds after 21 September 2006 is deemed to be increased by 50%;

(7)  the investments described in subparagraph 10 of that paragraph are deemed to be increased by 50%;

(8)  the aggregate of the investments described in subparagraph 11 of the fifth paragraph may not exceed $85,000,000.

For the purposes of this section, the following rules apply:

(1)  the eligible investments described in subparagraph 4 of the fifth paragraph are not considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2;

(1.1)  a portion of the eligible investments described in subparagraph 6 of the fifth paragraph that are made in a corporation acting as an investment fund is considered, in the proportion determined by the Minister of Finance, to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2 if, in the opinion of the Minister, the concentration of that corporation’s capital in those resource regions is satisfactory;

(2)  the eligible investments described in subparagraph 6 of the fifth paragraph that are made in a corporation or legal person are considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2 if, in the opinion of the Minister of Finance, the investments have an impact on the economic activity of those regions;

(3)  the eligible investments described in subparagraph 7 of the fifth paragraph are considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2 if, in the opinion of the Minister of Finance, it is reasonable to believe that the local fund will have an impact on the economic activity of those regions or on the cooperative sector;

(4)  the eligible investments described in subparagraph 8 of the fifth paragraph are considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2;

(5)  a portion representing 35% of the eligible investments described in subparagraph 9 of the fifth paragraph is considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2;

(6)  a portion representing 35% of the eligible investments described in subparagraph 10 of the fifth paragraph is considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2;

(7)  the eligible investments described in subparagraph 11 of the fifth paragraph are considered to have been made in eligible cooperatives;

(8)  a portion representing 35% of the eligible investments described in subparagraph 12 of the fifth paragraph is considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2; and

(9)  the eligible investments made, after 31 December 2013 and before 1 January 2018, in an entity situated in a regional county municipality referred to in Schedule 4 are considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2.

The third paragraph of section 18 applies, with the necessary modifications, in relation to the determination of the assets or net equity of a Québec partnership or legal person described in subparagraph 7 of the fifth paragraph.

The requirement set out in the second paragraph applies from the fiscal year that began on 1 January 2006.

2001, c. 36, s. 19; 2004, c. 21, s. 3; 2005, c. 38, s. 3; 2006, c. 36, s. 6; 2011, c. 6, s. 13; 2012, c. 8, s. 26; 2015, c. 21, s. 30; 2017, c. 1, s. 21; 2017, c. 29, s. 5.

2017-02-08

19. The Société may make investments with or without a guarantee or security.

However, for a particular fiscal year, the Société shall comply with the following requirements:

(1)  its eligible investments must represent, on the average, at least the following percentage of its average net assets for the preceding fiscal year:

(a)  60%, if the particular fiscal year ends on 31 December 2015,

(b)  61%, if the particular fiscal year ends on 31 December 2016,

(c)  62%, if the particular fiscal year ends on 31 December 2017,

(d)  63%, if the particular fiscal year ends on 31 December 2018,

(e)  64%, if the particular fiscal year ends on 31 December 2019, or

(f)  65%, if the particular fiscal year begins after 31 December 2019; and

(2)  its eligible investments made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2 or in eligible cooperatives must represent, on the average, at least 35% of the percentage applicable under subparagraph 1.

For the purposes of this section, the following rules apply:

(1)  the average net assets for a fiscal year must be determined by adding the net assets at the beginning of that year to the net assets at the end of that year and by dividing the sum so obtained by 2;

(2)  the net assets do not include the movable or immovable property used by the Société to carry on its operations; and

(3)   the average eligible investments for a fiscal year must be determined by the formula

(A + B + C + D) / 2.

In the formula in subparagraph 3 of the third paragraph,

(1)  A is the Société’s eligible investments at the beginning of the fiscal year;

(2)  B is the Société’s eligible investments at the end of the fiscal year;

(3)  C is the amount by which an amount that is the total of the eligible investments already made by the Société that were disinvested in the fiscal year, exceeds an amount equal to 2% of the Société’s average net assets for the preceding fiscal year; and

(4)  D is the amount determined under subparagraph 3 for the preceding fiscal year.

For the purposes of this section, investments that entail no security or hypothec and consist in any of the following investments are eligible investments:

(1)  investments made by the Société in eligible entities;

(2)  investments made by the Société otherwise than as first purchaser for the acquisition of securities issued by an eligible entity;

(3)  investments that are made by the Société in addition to an investment entailing no security or hypothec already made in an entity that was, at the time of the investment, an eligible entity, and that are made in an entity that would be an eligible entity under subparagraph 2 of the first paragraph of section 18 if the amounts of “$100,000,000” and “$50,000,000” mentioned in that subparagraph were replaced by the amounts of “$350,000,000” and “$150,000,000”, respectively;

(4)  strategic investments made by the Société after 11 March 2003, in accordance with an investment policy adopted by the board of directors of the Société and approved by the Minister of Finance, in an entity whose assets are less than $500,000,000 or whose net equity is not over $200,000,000;

(5)  an investment made after 11 March 2003 in an eligible entity through a limited partnership in which the Société holds an interest, directly or through another limited partnership, not exceeding the proportion of the Société’s direct or indirect interest in the limited partnership that made the investment;

(6)  investments made by the Société in a partnership or legal person that consist of an initial capital outlay of at least $25,000,000 or an additional capital outlay, provided that the strategic value of the initial capital outlay and, where applicable, of the additional capital outlay has been recognized, after 21 April 2005, by the Minister of Finance, and that those investments are not otherwise eligible investments;

(7)  investments made by the Société in the period beginning on 22 April 2005 and ending on 31 May 2021 in a local venture capital fund established and managed in Québec or in a local fund recognized by the Minister of Finance, provided that the investments are made with the expectation that the local fund invest an amount at least equal to 150% of the aggregate of the sums received from the Société, the Fonds de solidarité des travailleurs du Québec (F.T.Q.) and Fondaction, le Fonds de développement de la Confédération des syndicats nationaux pour la coopération et l’emploi, in Québec partnerships or legal persons pursuing economic objectives and whose assets are less than $100,000,000 or whose net equity is less than $50,000,000 and the investments are not already taken into account as eligible investments for the purposes of the second paragraph;

(8)  investments made by the Société after 21 March 2005 in FIER Partenaires, s.e.c.;

(9)  investments made by the Société after 30 March 2010 in Capital Croissance PME S.E.C.;

(10)  investments made by the Société after 10 November 2011 in Fonds Relève Québec, s.e.c.;

(11)  investments made by the Société in Société en commandite Essor et Coopération; and

(12)  investments made by the Société in Capital Croissance PME II S.E.C.

For the purposes of this section, investments entailing a security that are made by the Société in an enterprise that is a partnership or a legal person pursuing economic objectives and whose assets are less than $100,000,000 or whose net equity is less than $50,000,000 are also eligible investments, provided those investments are part of a financing package, in which Fonds Relève Québec, s.e.c. participates, for the succession of the enterprise.

For the purposes of the fifth and sixth paragraphs, the investments that the Société has agreed to make, for which it has committed but not yet disbursed sums at the end of a fiscal year, and that would have been described in any of subparagraphs 1 to 4 and 6 of the fifth paragraph or in the sixth paragraph had they been made by the Société, are deemed to have been made by the Société. However, for a particular fiscal year, the aggregate of those deemed investments may not exceed 12% of the Société’s net assets at the end of the preceding fiscal year.

For the purposes of the fifth paragraph, the investments that the Société has agreed to make, for which it has committed but not yet disbursed sums at the end of a fiscal year, and that would have been described in any of subparagraphs 7 to 12 of that paragraph had they been made by the Société, are deemed to have been made by the Société.

For the purposes of subparagraph 2 of the fifth paragraph, a dealer acting as an intermediary or firm underwriter is not considered to be a first purchaser of securities.

For the application of the fifth paragraph to a particular fiscal year, the following rules apply:

(0.1)  the investments described in subparagraph 1 of that paragraph that are made, after 31 December 2013 and before 1 January 2018, in an eligible entity situated in a territory referred to in Schedule 3, up to $500,000 per investment, are deemed to be increased by 100%;

(1)  the aggregate of the investments described in subparagraphs 2 and 3 of that paragraph may not exceed 20% of the Société’s net assets at the end of the preceding fiscal year;

(2)  the aggregate of the investments described in subparagraph 4 of that paragraph may not exceed 7.5% of the Société’s net assets at the end of the preceding fiscal year;

(2.1)  the Société’s share in an investment described in subparagraph 5 of that paragraph that is made, after 31 December 2013 and before 1 January 2018, in an eligible entity situated in a territory referred to in Schedule 3, up to $500,000, is deemed to be increased by 100%;

(2.2)  the amount of the investments described in that paragraph, other than those described in subparagraph 5 of that paragraph, made by the Société in a limited partnership is deemed to be increased by the Société’s share in any investment of the limited partnership that entails no security or hypothec made, after 31 December 2013 and before 1 January 2018, in an eligible entity situated in a territory referred to in Schedule 3, up to $500,000 per investment;

(3)  the aggregate of the investments described in subparagraph 6 of that paragraph may not exceed 10% of the Société’s net assets at the end of the preceding fiscal year;

(4)  if the particular fiscal year ends before 1 January 2022, the investments described in subparagraph 7 of that paragraph, up to 5% of the Société’s net assets at the end of the preceding fiscal year, are deemed to be increased by 50%;

(5)  (subparagraph repealed);

(6)  if the particular fiscal year ends before 1 January 2012, the portion of the investments described in subparagraph 8 of that paragraph that, taking into account the participation of the Société in FIER Partenaires, s.e.c., is dedicated to the creation of seed investment funds after 21 September 2006 is deemed to be increased by 50%;

(7)  the investments described in subparagraph 10 of that paragraph are deemed to be increased by 50%;

(8)  the aggregate of the investments described in subparagraph 11 of the fifth paragraph may not exceed $40,000,000.

For the purposes of this section, the following rules apply:

(1)  the eligible investments described in subparagraph 4 of the fifth paragraph are not considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2;

(1.1)  a portion of the eligible investments described in subparagraph 6 of the fifth paragraph that are made in a corporation acting as an investment fund is considered, in the proportion determined by the Minister of Finance, to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2 if, in the opinion of the Minister, the concentration of that corporation’s capital in those resource regions is satisfactory;

(2)  the eligible investments described in subparagraph 6 of the fifth paragraph that are made in a corporation or legal person are considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2 if, in the opinion of the Minister of Finance, the investments have an impact on the economic activity of those regions;

(3)  the eligible investments described in subparagraph 7 of the fifth paragraph are considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2 if, in the opinion of the Minister of Finance, it is reasonable to believe that the local fund will have an impact on the economic activity of those regions or on the cooperative sector;

(4)  the eligible investments described in subparagraph 8 of the fifth paragraph are considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2;

(5)  a portion representing 35% of the eligible investments described in subparagraph 9 of the fifth paragraph is considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2;

(6)  a portion representing 35% of the eligible investments described in subparagraph 10 of the fifth paragraph is considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2;

(7)  the eligible investments described in subparagraph 11 of the fifth paragraph are considered to have been made in eligible cooperatives;

(8)  a portion representing 35% of the eligible investments described in subparagraph 12 of the fifth paragraph is considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2; and

(9)  the eligible investments made, after 31 December 2013 and before 1 January 2018, in an entity situated in a regional county municipality referred to in Schedule 4 are considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2.

The third paragraph of section 18 applies, with the necessary modifications, in relation to the determination of the assets or net equity of a Québec partnership or legal person described in subparagraph 7 of the fifth paragraph.

The requirement set out in the second paragraph applies from the fiscal year that began on 1 January 2006.

2001, c. 36, s. 19; 2004, c. 21, s. 3; 2005, c. 38, s. 3; 2006, c. 36, s. 6; 2011, c. 6, s. 13; 2012, c. 8, s. 26; 2015, c. 21, s. 30; 2017, c. 1, s. 21.

2015-10-21

19. The Société may make investments with or without a guarantee or security.

However, for each fiscal year, the Société’s eligible investments must represent, on the average, at least 60% of the Société’s average net assets for the preceding year, and a portion representing at least 35% of that percentage must be made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2 or in eligible cooperatives.

For the purposes of this section, the following rules apply:

(1)  the average net assets for a fiscal year must be determined by adding the net assets at the beginning of that year to the net assets at the end of that year and by dividing the sum so obtained by 2;

(2)  the net assets do not include the movable or immovable property used by the Société to carry on its operations; and

(3)   the average eligible investments for a fiscal year must be determined by the formula

(A + B + C + D) / 2.

In the formula in subparagraph 3 of the third paragraph,

(1)  A is the Société’s eligible investments at the beginning of the fiscal year;

(2)  B is the Société’s eligible investments at the end of the fiscal year;

(3)  C is the amount by which an amount that is the total of the eligible investments already made by the Société that were disinvested in the fiscal year, exceeds an amount equal to 2% of the Société’s average net assets for the preceding fiscal year; and

(4)  D is the amount determined under subparagraph 3 for the preceding fiscal year.

For the purposes of this section, investments that entail no security or hypothec and consist in any of the following investments are eligible investments:

(1)  investments made by the Société in eligible entities;

(2)  investments made by the Société otherwise than as first purchaser for the acquisition of securities issued by an eligible entity;

(3)  investments that are made by the Société in addition to an investment entailing no security or hypothec already made in an entity that was, at the time of the investment, an eligible entity, and that are made in an entity that would be an eligible entity under subparagraph 2 of the first paragraph of section 18 if the amounts of “$100,000,000” and “$50,000,000” mentioned in that subparagraph were replaced by the amounts of “$350,000,000” and “$150,000,000”, respectively;

(4)  strategic investments made by the Société after 11 March 2003, in accordance with an investment policy adopted by the board of directors of the Société and approved by the Minister of Finance, in an entity whose assets are less than $500,000,000 or whose net equity is not over $200,000,000;

(5)  an investment made after 11 March 2003 in an eligible entity through a limited partnership in which the Société holds an interest, directly or through another limited partnership, not exceeding the proportion of the Société’s direct or indirect interest in the limited partnership that made the investment;

(6)  investments made by the Société in a partnership or legal person that consist of an initial capital outlay of at least $25,000,000 or an additional capital outlay, provided that the strategic value of the initial capital outlay and, where applicable, of the additional capital outlay has been recognized, after 21 April 2005, by the Minister of Finance, and that those investments are not otherwise eligible investments;

(7)  investments made by the Société in the period beginning on 22 April 2005 and ending on 31 May 2016 in a local venture capital fund established and managed in Québec or in a local fund recognized by the Minister of Finance, provided that the investments are made with the expectation that the local fund invest an amount at least equal to 150% of the aggregate of the sums received from the Société, the Fonds de solidarité des travailleurs du Québec (F.T.Q.) and Fondaction, le Fonds de développement de la Confédération des syndicats nationaux pour la coopération et l’emploi, in Québec partnerships or legal persons pursuing economic objectives and whose assets are less than $100,000,000 or whose net equity is less than $50,000,000 and the investments are not already taken into account as eligible investments for the purposes of the second paragraph;

(8)  investments made by the Société after 21 March 2005 in FIER Partenaires, s.e.c.;

(9)  investments made by the Société after 30 March 2010 in Capital Croissance PME S.E.C.;

(10)  investments made by the Société after 10 November 2011 in Fonds Relève Québec, s.e.c.;

(11)  investments made by the Société in Société en commandite Essor et Coopération; and

(12)  investments made by the Société in Capital Croissance PME II S.E.C.

For the purposes of this section, investments entailing a security that are made by the Société in an enterprise that is a partnership or a legal person pursuing economic objectives and whose assets are less than $100,000,000 or whose net equity is less than $50,000,000 are also eligible investments, provided those investments are part of a financing package, in which Fonds Relève Québec, s.e.c. participates, for the succession of the enterprise.

For the purposes of the fifth and sixth paragraphs, the investments that the Société has agreed to make, for which it has committed but not yet disbursed sums at the end of a fiscal year, and that would have been described in any of subparagraphs 1 to 4 and 6 of the fifth paragraph or in the sixth paragraph had they been made by the Société, are deemed to have been made by the Société. However, for a particular fiscal year, the aggregate of those deemed investments may not exceed 12% of the Société’s net assets at the end of the preceding fiscal year.

For the purposes of the fifth paragraph, the investments that the Société has agreed to make, for which it has committed but not yet disbursed sums at the end of a fiscal year, and that would have been described in any of subparagraphs 7 to 12 of that paragraph had they been made by the Société, are deemed to have been made by the Société.

For the purposes of subparagraph 2 of the fifth paragraph, a dealer acting as an intermediary or firm underwriter is not considered to be a first purchaser of securities.

For the application of the fifth paragraph to a particular fiscal year, the following rules apply:

(0.1)  the investments described in subparagraph 1 of that paragraph that are made, after 31 December 2013 and before 1 January 2018, in an eligible entity situated in a territory referred to in Schedule 3, up to $500,000 per investment, are deemed to be increased by 100%;

(1)  the aggregate of the investments described in subparagraphs 2 and 3 of that paragraph may not exceed 20% of the Société’s net assets at the end of the preceding fiscal year;

(2)  the aggregate of the investments described in subparagraph 4 of that paragraph may not exceed 7.5% of the Société’s net assets at the end of the preceding fiscal year;

(2.1)  the Société’s share in an investment described in subparagraph 5 of that paragraph that is made, after 31 December 2013 and before 1 January 2018, in an eligible entity situated in a territory referred to in Schedule 3, up to $500,000, is deemed to be increased by 100%;

(2.2)  the amount of the investments described in that paragraph, other than those described in subparagraph 5 of that paragraph, made by the Société in a limited partnership is deemed to be increased by the Société’s share in any investment of the limited partnership that entails no security or hypothec made, after 31 December 2013 and before 1 January 2018, in an eligible entity situated in a territory referred to in Schedule 3, up to $500,000 per investment;

(3)  the aggregate of the investments described in subparagraph 6 of that paragraph may not exceed 10% of the Société’s net assets at the end of the preceding fiscal year;

(4)  if the particular fiscal year ends before 1 January 2017, the investments described in subparagraph 7 of that paragraph, up to 5% of the Société’s net assets at the end of the preceding fiscal year, are deemed to be increased by 50%;

(5)  (subparagraph repealed);

(6)  if the particular fiscal year ends before 1 January 2012, the portion of the investments described in subparagraph 8 of that paragraph that, taking into account the participation of the Société in FIER Partenaires, s.e.c., is dedicated to the creation of seed investment funds after 21 September 2006 is deemed to be increased by 50%;

(7)  the investments described in subparagraph 10 of that paragraph are deemed to be increased by 50%;

(8)  the aggregate of the investments described in subparagraph 11 of the fifth paragraph may not exceed $40,000,000.

For the purposes of this section, the following rules apply:

(1)  the eligible investments described in subparagraph 4 of the fifth paragraph are not considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2;

(1.1)  a portion of the eligible investments described in subparagraph 6 of the fifth paragraph that are made in a corporation acting as an investment fund is considered, in the proportion determined by the Minister of Finance, to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2 if, in the opinion of the Minister, the concentration of that corporation’s capital in those resource regions is satisfactory;

(2)  the eligible investments described in subparagraph 6 of the fifth paragraph that are made in a corporation or legal person are considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2 if, in the opinion of the Minister of Finance, the investments have an impact on the economic activity of those regions;

(3)  the eligible investments described in subparagraph 7 of the fifth paragraph are considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2 if, in the opinion of the Minister of Finance, it is reasonable to believe that the local fund will have an impact on the economic activity of those regions or on the cooperative sector;

(4)  the eligible investments described in subparagraph 8 of the fifth paragraph are considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2;

(5)  a portion representing 35% of the eligible investments described in subparagraph 9 of the fifth paragraph is considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2;

(6)  a portion representing 35% of the eligible investments described in subparagraph 10 of the fifth paragraph is considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2;

(7)  the eligible investments described in subparagraph 11 of the fifth paragraph are considered to have been made in eligible cooperatives;

(8)  a portion representing 35% of the eligible investments described in subparagraph 12 of the fifth paragraph is considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2; and

(9)  the eligible investments made, after 31 December 2013 and before 1 January 2018, in an entity situated in a regional county municipality referred to in Schedule 4 are considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2.

The third paragraph of section 18 applies, with the necessary modifications, in relation to the determination of the assets or net equity of a Québec partnership or legal person described in subparagraph 7 of the fifth paragraph.

The requirement set out in the second paragraph applies from the fiscal year that began on 1 January 2006.

2001, c. 36, s. 19; 2004, c. 21, s. 3; 2005, c. 38, s. 3; 2006, c. 36, s. 6; 2011, c. 6, s. 13; 2012, c. 8, s. 26; 2015, c. 21, s. 30.

2012-05-09

19. The Société may make investments with or without a guarantee or security.

However, for each fiscal year, the Société’s eligible investments must represent, on the average, at least 60% of the Société’s average net assets for the preceding year, and a portion representing at least 35% of that percentage must be made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2 or in eligible cooperatives.

For the purposes of this section, the following rules apply:

(1)  the average net assets for a fiscal year must be determined by adding the net assets at the beginning of that year to the net assets at the end of that year and by dividing the sum so obtained by 2;

(2)  the net assets do not include the movable or immovable property used by the Société to carry on its operations; and

(3)   the average eligible investments for a fiscal year must be determined by the formula

(A + B + C + D) / 2.

In the formula in subparagraph 3 of the third paragraph,

(1)  A is the Société’s eligible investments at the beginning of the fiscal year;

(2)  B is the Société’s eligible investments at the end of the fiscal year;

(3)  C is the amount by which an amount that is the total of the eligible investments already made by the Société that were disinvested in the fiscal year, exceeds an amount equal to 2% of the Société’s average net assets for the preceding fiscal year; and

(4)  D is the amount determined under subparagraph 3 for the preceding fiscal year.

For the purposes of this section, investments that entail no security or hypothec and consist in any of the following investments are eligible investments:

(1)  investments made by the Société in eligible entities;

(2)  investments made by the Société otherwise than as first purchaser for the acquisition of securities issued by an eligible entity;

(3)  investments that are made by the Société in addition to an investment entailing no security or hypothec already made in an entity that was, at the time of the investment, an eligible entity, and that are made in an entity that would be an eligible entity under subparagraph 2 of the first paragraph of section 18 if the amounts of “$100,000,000” and “$50,000,000” mentioned in that subparagraph were replaced by the amounts of “$350,000,000” and “$150,000,000”, respectively;

(4)  strategic investments made by the Société after 11 March 2003, in accordance with an investment policy adopted by the board of directors of the Société and approved by the Minister of Finance, in an entity whose assets are less than $500,000,000 or whose net equity is not over $200,000,000;

(5)  an investment made after 11 March 2003 in an eligible entity through a limited partnership in which the Société holds an interest, directly or through another limited partnership, not exceeding the proportion of the Société’s direct or indirect interest in the limited partnership that made the investment;

(6)  investments made by the Société in a partnership or legal person that consist of an initial capital outlay of at least $25,000,000 or an additional capital outlay, provided that the strategic value of the initial capital outlay and, where applicable, of the additional capital outlay has been recognized, after 21 April 2005, by the Minister of Finance, and that those investments are not otherwise eligible investments;

(7)  investments made by the Société in the period beginning on 22 April 2005 and ending on 31 May 2016 in a local venture capital fund established and managed in Québec or in a local fund recognized by the Minister of Finance, provided that the investments are made with the expectation that the local fund invest an amount at least equal to 150% of the aggregate of the sums received from the Société, the Fonds de solidarité des travailleurs du Québec (F.T.Q.) and Fondaction, le Fonds de développement de la Confédération des syndicats nationaux pour la coopération et l’emploi, in Québec partnerships or legal persons pursuing economic objectives and whose assets are less than $100,000,000 or whose net equity is less than $50,000,000 and the investments are not already taken into account as eligible investments for the purposes of the second paragraph;

(8)  investments made by the Société after 21 March 2005 in FIER Partenaires, s.e.c.;

(9)  investments made by the Société after 30 March 2010 in Capital Croissance PME s.e.c.;

(10)  investments made by the Société after 17 November 2011 in Fonds Relève Québec, s.e.c.

For the purposes of this section, investments entailing a security that are made by the Société in an enterprise that is a partnership or a legal person pursuing economic objectives and whose assets are less than $100,000,000 or whose net equity is less than $50,000,000 are also eligible investments, provided those investments are part of a financing package, in which Fonds Relève Québec, s.e.c. participates, for the succession of the enterprise.

For the purposes of the fifth and sixth paragraphs, the investments that the Société has agreed to make, for which it has committed but not yet disbursed sums at the end of a fiscal year, and that would have been described in any of subparagraphs 1 to 4 and 6 of the fifth paragraph or in the sixth paragraph had they been made by the Société, are deemed to have been made by the Société. However, for a particular fiscal year, the aggregate of those deemed investments may not exceed 12% of the Société’s net assets at the end of the preceding fiscal year.

For the purposes of the fifth paragraph, the investments that the Société has agreed to make, for which it has committed but not yet disbursed sums at the end of a fiscal year, and that would have been described in any of subparagraphs 7 to 10 of that paragraph had they been made by the Société, are deemed to have been made by the Société.

For the purposes of subparagraph 2 of the fifth paragraph, a dealer acting as an intermediary or firm underwriter is not considered to be a first purchaser of securities.

For the application of the fifth paragraph to a particular fiscal year, the following rules apply:

(1)  the aggregate of the investments described in subparagraphs 2 and 3 of that paragraph may not exceed 20% of the Société’s net assets at the end of the preceding fiscal year;

(2)  the aggregate of the investments described in subparagraph 4 of that paragraph may not exceed 7.5% of the Société’s net assets at the end of the preceding fiscal year;

(3)  the aggregate of the investments described in subparagraph 6 of that paragraph may not exceed 7.5% of the Société’s net assets at the end of the preceding fiscal year;

(4)  if the particular fiscal year ends before 1 January 2017, the investments described in subparagraph 7 of that paragraph, up to 5% of the Société’s net assets at the end of the preceding fiscal year, are deemed to be increased by 50%;

(5)  (subparagraph revoked);

(6)  if the particular fiscal year ends before 1 January 2012, the portion of the investments described in subparagraph 8 of that paragraph that, taking into account the participation of the Société in FIER Partenaires, s.e.c., is dedicated to the creation of seed investment funds after 21 September 2006 is deemed to be increased by 50%;

(7)  the investments described in subparagraph 10 of that paragraph are deemed to be increased by 50%.

For the purposes of this section, the following rules apply:

(1)  the eligible investments described in subparagraph 4 of the fifth paragraph are not considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2;

(1.1)  a portion of the eligible investments described in subparagraph 6 of the fifth paragraph that are made in a corporation acting as an investment fund is considered, in the proportion determined by the Minister of Finance, to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2 if, in the opinion of the Minister, the concentration of that corporation’s capital in those resource regions is satisfactory;

(2)  the eligible investments described in subparagraph 6 of the fifth paragraph that are made in a corporation or legal person are considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2 if, in the opinion of the Minister of Finance, the investments have an impact on the economic activity of those regions;

(3)  the eligible investments described in subparagraph 7 of the fifth paragraph are considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2 if, in the opinion of the Minister of Finance, it is reasonable to believe that the local fund will have an impact on the economic activity of those regions or on the cooperative sector;

(4)  the eligible investments described in subparagraph 8 of the fifth paragraph are considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2; and

(5)  a portion representing 35% of the eligible investments described in subparagraph 9 of the fifth paragraph is considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2.

The third paragraph of section 18 applies, with the necessary modifications, in relation to the determination of the assets or net equity of a Québec partnership or legal person described in subparagraph 7 of the fifth paragraph.

The requirement set out in the second paragraph applies from the fiscal year that began on 1 January 2006.

2001, c. 36, s. 19; 2004, c. 21, s. 3; 2005, c. 38, s. 3; 2006, c. 36, s. 6; 2011, c. 6, s. 13; 2012, c. 8, s. 26.

2011-06-06

19. The Société may make investments with or without a guarantee or security.

However, for each fiscal year, the Société’s eligible investments must represent, on the average, at least 60% of the Société’s average net assets for the preceding year, and a portion representing at least 35% of that percentage must be made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2 or in eligible cooperatives.

For the purposes of this section, the following rules apply:

(1)  the average net assets for a fiscal year must be determined by adding the net assets at the beginning of that year to the net assets at the end of that year and by dividing the sum so obtained by 2;

(2)  the net assets do not include the movable or immovable property used by the Société to carry on its operations; and

(3)   the average eligible investments for a fiscal year must be determined by the formula

(A + B + C + D) / 2.

In the formula in subparagraph 3 of the third paragraph,

(1)  A is the Société’s eligible investments at the beginning of the fiscal year;

(2)  B is the Société’s eligible investments at the end of the fiscal year;

(3)  C is the amount by which an amount that is the total of the eligible investments already made by the Société that were disinvested in the fiscal year, exceeds an amount equal to 2% of the Société’s average net assets for the preceding fiscal year; and

(4)  D is the amount determined under subparagraph 3 for the preceding fiscal year.

For the purposes of this section, investments that entail no security or hypothec and consist in any of the following investments are eligible investments:

(1)  investments made by the Société in eligible entities;

(2)  investments made by the Société otherwise than as first purchaser for the acquisition of securities issued by an eligible entity;

(3)  investments that are made by the Société in addition to an investment entailing no security or hypothec already made in an entity that was, at the time of the investment, an eligible entity, and that are made in an entity that would be an eligible entity under subparagraph 2 of the first paragraph of section 18 if the amounts of “$100,000,000” and “$50,000,000” mentioned in that subparagraph were replaced by the amounts of “$350,000,000” and “$150,000,000”, respectively;

(4)  strategic investments made by the Société after 11 March 2003, in accordance with an investment policy adopted by the board of directors of the Société and approved by the Minister of Finance, in an entity whose assets are less than $500,000,000 or whose net equity is not over $200,000,000;

(5)  an investment made after 11 March 2003 in an eligible entity through a limited partnership in which the Société holds an interest, directly or through another limited partnership, not exceeding the proportion of the Société’s direct or indirect interest in the limited partnership that made the investment;

(6)  investments made by the Société in a partnership or legal person that consist of an initial capital outlay of at least $25,000,000 or an additional capital outlay, provided that the strategic value of the initial capital outlay and, where applicable, of the additional capital outlay has been recognized, after 21 April 2005, by the Minister of Finance, and that those investments are not otherwise eligible investments;

(7)  investments made by the Société in the period beginning on 22 April 2005 and ending on 23 March 2011 in a local venture capital fund established and managed in Québec or in a local fund recognized by the Minister of Finance, provided that the investments are made with the expectation that the local fund invest an amount at least equal to 150% of the aggregate of the sums received from the Société, the Fonds de solidarité des travailleurs du Québec (F.T.Q.) and Fondaction, le Fonds de développement de la Confédération des syndicats nationaux pour la coopération et l’emploi, in Québec partnerships or legal persons pursuing economic objectives and whose assets are less than $100,000,000 or whose net equity is less than $50,000,000 and the investments are not already taken into account as eligible investments for the purposes of the second paragraph;

(8)  investments made by the Société after 21 March 2005 in FIER Partenaires, s.e.c.;

(9)  investments made by the Société after 30 March 2010 in Capital Croissance PME s.e.c.

For the purposes of the fifth paragraph, the investments that the Société has agreed to make, for which it has committed but not yet disbursed sums at the end of a fiscal year, and that would have been described in any of subparagraphs 1 to 4 and 6 of that paragraph had they been made by the Société, are deemed to have been made by the Société. However, for a particular fiscal year, the aggregate of those deemed investments may not exceed 12% of the Société’s net assets at the end of the preceding fiscal year.

For the purposes of the fifth paragraph, the investments that the Société has agreed to make, for which it has committed but not yet disbursed sums at the end of a fiscal year, and that would have been described in any of subparagraphs 7 to 9 of that paragraph had they been made by the Société, are deemed to have been made by the Société.

For the purposes of subparagraph 2 of the fifth paragraph, a dealer acting as an intermediary or firm underwriter is not considered to be a first purchaser of securities.

For the application of the fifth paragraph to a particular fiscal year, the following rules apply:

(1)  the aggregate of the investments described in subparagraphs 2 and 3 of that paragraph may not exceed 20% of the Société’s net assets at the end of the preceding fiscal year;

(2)  the aggregate of the investments described in subparagraph 4 of that paragraph may not exceed 5% of the Société’s net assets at the end of the preceding fiscal year;

(3)  the aggregate of the investments described in subparagraph 6 of that paragraph may not exceed 7.5% of the Société’s net assets at the end of the preceding fiscal year;

(4)  if the particular fiscal year ends before 1 January 2012, the investments described in subparagraph 7 of that paragraph are deemed to be increased by 50%;

(5)  the aggregate of the investments described in subparagraph 7 of that paragraph may not exceed, if the particular fiscal year ends before 1 January 2012, 7.5% of the Société’s net assets at the end of the preceding fiscal year and, in any other case, 5% of those assets; and

(6)  if the particular fiscal year ends before 1 January 2012, the portion of the investments described in subparagraph 8 of that paragraph that, taking into account the participation of the Société in FIER Partenaires, s.e.c., is dedicated to the creation of seed investment funds after 21 September 2006 is deemed to be increased by 50%.

For the purposes of this section, the following rules apply:

(1)  the eligible investments described in subparagraph 4 of the fifth paragraph are not considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2;

(1.1)  a portion of the eligible investments described in subparagraph 6 of the fifth paragraph that are made in a corporation acting as an investment fund is considered, in the proportion determined by the Minister of Finance, to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2 if, in the opinion of the Minister, the concentration of that corporation’s capital in those resource regions is satisfactory;

(2)  the eligible investments described in subparagraph 6 of the fifth paragraph that are made in a corporation or legal person are considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2 if, in the opinion of the Minister of Finance, the investments have an impact on the economic activity of those regions;

(3)  the eligible investments described in subparagraph 7 of the fifth paragraph are considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2 if, in the opinion of the Minister of Finance, it is reasonable to believe that the local fund will have an impact on the economic activity of those regions or on the cooperative sector;

(4)  the eligible investments described in subparagraph 8 of the fifth paragraph are considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2; and

(5)  a portion representing 35% of the eligible investments described in subparagraph 9 of the fifth paragraph is considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2.

The requirement set out in the second paragraph applies from the fiscal year that began on 1 January 2006.

2001, c. 36, s. 19; 2004, c. 21, s. 3; 2005, c. 38, s. 3; 2006, c. 36, s. 6; 2011, c. 6, s. 13.

2006-12-06

19. The Société may make investments with or without a guarantee or security.

However, for each fiscal year, the Société’s eligible investments must represent, on the average, at least 60% of the Société’s average net assets for the preceding year, and a portion representing at least 35% of that percentage must be made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2 or in eligible cooperatives.

For the purposes of this section, the following rules apply:

(1)  the average net assets for a fiscal year must be determined by adding the net assets at the beginning of that year to the net assets at the end of that year and by dividing the sum so obtained by 2;

(2)  the net assets do not include the movable or immovable property used by the Société to carry on its operations; and

(3)   the average eligible investments for a fiscal year must be determined by the formula

(A + B + C + D) / 2.

In the formula in subparagraph 3 of the third paragraph,

(1)  A is the Société’s eligible investments at the beginning of the fiscal year;

(2)  B is the Société’s eligible investments at the end of the fiscal year;

(3)  C is the amount by which an amount that is the total of the eligible investments already made by the Société that were disinvested in the fiscal year, exceeds an amount equal to 2% of the Société’s average net assets for the preceding fiscal year; and

(4)  D is the amount determined under subparagraph 3 for the preceding fiscal year.

For the purposes of this section, investments that entail no security or hypothec and consist in any of the following investments are eligible investments:

(1)  investments made by the Société in eligible entities;

(2)  investments made by the Société otherwise than as first purchaser for the acquisition of securities issued by an eligible entity, except to the extent that they represent more than one third of the aggregate of the investments made by the Société as first purchaser in that entity;

(3)  investments that are made by the Société in addition to an investment entailing no security or hypothec already made in an entity that was, at the time of the investment, an eligible entity, and that are made in an entity that would be an eligible entity under subparagraph 2 of the first paragraph of section 18 if the amounts of “$100,000,000” and “$50,000,000” mentioned in that subparagraph were replaced by the amounts of “$350,000,000” and “$150,000,000”, respectively;

(4)  strategic investments made by the Société after 11 March 2003, in accordance with an investment policy adopted by the board of directors of the Société and approved by the Minister of Finance, in an entity whose assets are less than $500,000,000 or whose net equity is not over $200,000,000;

(5)  an investment made after 11 March 2003 in an eligible entity through a limited partnership in which the Société holds an interest, directly or through another limited partnership, not exceeding the proportion of the Société’s direct or indirect interest in the limited partnership that made the investment;

(6)  investments made by the Société in a partnership or legal person that consist of an initial capital outlay of at least $25,000,000 or an additional capital outlay, provided that the strategic value of the initial capital outlay and, where applicable, of the additional capital outlay has been recognized, after 21 April 2005, by the Minister of Finance, and that those investments are not otherwise eligible investments;

(7)  investments made by the Société in the period beginning on 22 April 2005 and ending on 23 March 2011 in a local venture capital fund established and managed in Québec or in a local fund recognized by the Minister of Finance, provided that the investments are made with the expectation that the local fund invest an amount at least equal to 150% of the aggregate of the sums received from the Société, the Fonds de solidarité des travailleurs du Québec (F.T.Q.) and Fondaction, le Fonds de développement de la Confédération des syndicats nationaux pour la coopération et l’emploi, in Québec partnerships or legal persons pursuing economic objectives and whose assets are less than $100,000,000 or whose net equity is less than $50,000,000, and are not otherwise eligible investments; and

(8)  investments made by the Société after 21 March 2005 in FIER Partenaires, s.e.c.

For the purposes of the fifth paragraph, the investments that the Société has agreed to make, for which it has committed but not yet disbursed sums at the end of a fiscal year, and that would have been described in any of subparagraphs 1 to 4 and 6 of that paragraph had they been made by the Société, are deemed to have been made by the Société. However, for a particular fiscal year, the aggregate of those deemed investments may not exceed 12% of the Société’s net assets at the end of the preceding fiscal year.

For the purposes of the fifth paragraph, the investments that the Société has agreed to make, for which it has committed but not yet disbursed sums at the end of a fiscal year, and that would have been described in subparagraph 7 or 8 of that paragraph had they been made by the Société, are deemed to have been made by the Société.

For the purposes of subparagraph 2 of the fifth paragraph, a dealer acting as an intermediary or firm underwriter is not considered to be a first purchaser of securities.

For the application of the fifth paragraph to a particular fiscal year, the following rules apply:

(1)  the aggregate of the investments described in subparagraphs 2 and 3 of that paragraph may not exceed 20% of the Société’s net assets at the end of the preceding fiscal year;

(2)  the aggregate of the investments described in subparagraph 4 of that paragraph may not exceed 5% of the Société’s net assets at the end of the preceding fiscal year;

(3)  the aggregate of the investments described in subparagraph 6 of that paragraph may not exceed 7.5% of the Société’s net assets at the end of the preceding fiscal year;

(4)  if the particular fiscal year ends before 1 January 2012, the investments described in subparagraph 7 of that paragraph are deemed to be increased by 50%;and

(5)  the aggregate of the investments described in subparagraph 7 of that paragraph may not exceed, if the particular fiscal year ends before 1 January 2012, 7.5% of the Société’s net assets at the end of the preceding fiscal year and, in any other case, 5% of those assets.

For the purposes of this section, the following rules apply:

(1)  the eligible investments described in subparagraph 4 of the fifth paragraph are not considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2;

(2)  the eligible investments described in subparagraph 6 of the fifth paragraph are considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2 if, in the opinion of the Minister of Finance, the investments have an impact on the economic activity of those regions;

(3)  the eligible investments described in subparagraph 7 of the fifth paragraph are considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2 if, in the opinion of the Minister of Finance, it is reasonable to believe that the local fund will have an impact on the economic activity of those regions or on the cooperative sector; and

(4)  the eligible investments described in subparagraph 8 of the fifth paragraph are considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2.

The requirement set out in the second paragraph applies from the fiscal year that began on 1 January 2006.

2001, c. 36, s. 19; 2004, c. 21, s. 3; 2005, c. 38, s. 3; 2006, c. 36, s. 6.

2005-12-13

19. The Société may make investments, with or without a guarantee or security.

However, in the course of each fiscal year, the proportion of the Société’s investments in eligible entities, entailing no security or hypothec, must represent, on the average, at least 60 % of the average net assets of the Société for the preceding year, and of which a part representing at least 35 % of that percentage must be invested in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2 or in eligible cooperatives.

For the purposes of this section, the following rules apply:

(1)  the average net assets for the preceding fiscal year shall be determined by adding the net assets at the beginning of that preceding year to the net assets at the end of that preceding year and by dividing the sum so obtained by 2;

(2)  the net assets do not include the movable or immovable property used by the Société to carry on its operations; and

(3)  the average investments for the current fiscal year shall be determined by the formula

(A + B + C + D) / 2.

In the formula provided for in subparagraph 3 of the third paragraph,

(1)  A is the Société’s investments permitted under this section and entailing no security or hypothec, at the beginning of the current fiscal year;

(2)  B is the Société’s investments permitted under this section and entailing no security or hypothec, at the end of the current fiscal year;

(3)  C is the amount by which an amount that is the total of the disinvestments for the current fiscal year that relate to investments entailing no security or hypothec, already made by the Société and permitted under this section, exceeds an amount equal to 2% of the Société’s average net assets for the preceding fiscal year; and

(4)  D is the amount determined under subparagraph 3 for the fiscal year preceding the current fiscal year.

For the application of the above requirement, the following investments are also eligible investments:

(1)  investments made otherwise than as first purchaser for the acquisition of securities issued by an eligible entity, except to the extent where they represent more than one third of the total investments made as first purchaser in that entity;

(2)  investments made in addition to an investment already made in an entity where the investment is eligible under the second paragraph and where the entity would be an eligible entity under subparagraph 2 of the first paragraph of section 18 if the amounts “$100,000,000” and “$50,000,000” mentioned in that subparagraph were replaced by “$350,000,000” and “$150,000,000” respectively;

(3)  strategic investments made after 11 March 2003, in accordance with an investment policy adopted by the board of directors of the Société and approved by the Minister of Finance, in an entity whose assets are less than $500,000,000 or whose net equity is not over $200,000,000; and

(4)  the investment made after 11 March 2003 in an eligible entity through a limited partnership in which the Société holds an interest, directly or through another limited partnership, not exceeding the proportion of the Société’s direct or indirect interest in the limited partnership that made the investment;

(5)  investments made in a partnership or legal person that consist of an initial capital outlay of at least $25,000,000 or an additional capital outlay, provided that the strategic value of the initial capital outlay and, where applicable, of the additional capital outlay has been recognized, after 21 April 2005, by the Minister of Finance, and provided that those investments are not otherwise eligible for the purposes of the requirement set out in the second paragraph;

(6)  investments made after 21 April 2005, in accordance with an investment policy adopted by the board of directors of the Société and approved by the Minister of Finance, in a local venture capital fund whose primary mission is to make investments in eligible entities, not exceeding the Société’s share, determined with reference only to investments permitted under this subparagraph, in investments made by that local fund in eligible entities; and

(7)  investments made after 21 March 2005 in FIER-Partenaires, s.e.c..

The total investments permitted under subparagraphs 1 and 2 of the fifth paragraph may not exceed 20 % of the net assets of the Société at the end of the preceding fiscal year. For the purposes of subparagraph 1 of the fifth paragraph, a broker acting as an intermediary or underwriter is not considered to be a first purchaser.

The total investments permitted under subparagraph 3 of the fifth paragraph may not exceed 5 % of the net assets of the Société at the end of the preceding fiscal year.

For the purposes of the second paragraph, the investments permitted under subparagraph 3 of the fifth paragraph are not considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2.

The total investments permitted under subparagraph 5 of the fifth paragraph may not exceed 7.5 % of the net assets of the Société at the end of the preceding fiscal year.

For the purposes of the second paragraph, investments permitted under subparagraph 5 of the fifth paragraph are considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2 if, in the opinion of the Minister of Finance, the investments have an impact on the economic activity of those regions.

The total investments permitted under subparagraph 6 of the fifth paragraph, determined without reference to the presumption provided for in the twelfth paragraph, may not exceed 5 % of the net assets of the Société at the end of the preceding fiscal year.

For the purposes of the second paragraph, the total investments permitted under subparagraph 6 of the fifth paragraph are deemed to be equal to the amount obtained by multiplying that total by 1.5.

For the purposes of the second paragraph, the investments permitted under subparagraph 7 of the fifth paragraph are considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2.

The investments the Société has agreed to make and for which sums have been committed but not yet disbursed at the end of a fiscal year shall be taken into account in computing investments eligible for the purposes of the requirements set out in this section, other than the investments permitted under subparagraphs 6 and 7 of the fifth paragraph, up to an overall sum not exceeding 12 % of the net assets of the Société at the end of the preceding fiscal year.

The investments the Société has agreed to make and for which sums have been committed but not yet disbursed at the end of a fiscal year shall be taken into account in computing investments permitted under subparagraphs 6 and 7 of the fifth paragraph.

The requirement set out in the second paragraph applies from the fiscal year beginning on 1 January 2006.

2001, c. 36, s. 19; 2004, c. 21, s. 3; 2005, c. 38, s. 3.

2004-11-03

19. The Société may make investments, with or without a guarantee or security.

However, in the course of each fiscal year, the proportion of the Société’s investments in eligible entities, entailing no security or hypothec, must represent, on the average, at least 60 % of the average net assets of the Société for the preceding year, and of which a part representing at least 35 % of that percentage must be invested in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2 or in eligible cooperatives.

For the purposes of this section, the following rules apply:

(1)  the average net assets for the preceding fiscal year shall be determined by adding the net assets at the beginning of that preceding year to the net assets at the end of that preceding year and by dividing the sum so obtained by 2 ;

(2)  the net assets do not include the movable or immovable property used by the Société to carry on its operations ; and

(3)  the average investments for the current fiscal year shall be determined by the formula

(A + B + C + D) / 2.

In the formula provided for in subparagraph 3 of the third paragraph,

(1)  A is the Société’s investments permitted under this section and entailing no security or hypothec, at the beginning of the current fiscal year ;

(2)  B is the Société’s investments permitted under this section and entailing no security or hypothec, at the end of the current fiscal year ;

(3)  C is the amount by which an amount that is the total of the disinvestments for the current fiscal year that relate to investments entailing no security or hypothec, already made by the Société and permitted under this section, exceeds an amount equal to 2% of the Société’s average net assets for the preceding fiscal year ; and

(4)  D is the amount determined under subparagraph 3 for the fiscal year preceding the current fiscal year.

For the application of the above requirement, the following investments are also eligible investments:

(1)  investments made otherwise than as first purchaser for the acquisition of securities issued by an eligible entity, except to the extent where they represent more than one third of the total investments made as first purchaser in that entity ;

(2)  investments made in addition to an investment already made in an entity where the investment is eligible under the second paragraph and where the entity would be an eligible entity under subparagraph 2 of the first paragraph of section 18 if the amounts “$50,000,000” and “$20,000,000” mentioned in that subparagraph were replaced by “$350,000,000” and “$150,000,000” respectively ;

(3)  strategic investments made after 11 March 2003, in accordance with an investment policy adopted by the board of directors of the Société and approved by the Minister of Finance, in an entity whose assets are less than $500,000,000 or whose net equity is not over $200,000,000 ; and

(4)  the investment entailing no security or hypothec made after 11 March 2003 in an eligible entity through a limited partnership in which the Société holds an interest, directly or through another limited partnership, not exceeding the proportion of the Société’s direct or indirect interest in the limited partnership that made the investment.

The total investments permitted under subparagraphs 1 and 2 of the fifth paragraph may not exceed 20 % of the net assets of the Société at the end of the preceding fiscal year. For the purposes of subparagraph 1 of the fifth paragraph, a broker acting as an intermediary or underwriter is not considered to be a first purchaser.

The total investments permitted under subparagraph 3 of the fifth paragraph may not exceed 5 % of the net assets of the Société at the end of the preceding fiscal year.

For the purposes of the second paragraph, the investments permitted under subparagraph 3 of the fifth paragraph are not considered to have been made in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2.

The investments the Société has agreed to make and for which sums have been committed but not yet disbursed at the end of a fiscal year shall be taken into account in computing investments eligible for the purposes of the requirements set out in this section, up to an overall sum not exceeding 12 % of the net assets of the Société at the end of the preceding fiscal year.

The requirement set out in the second paragraph applies from the fiscal year beginning on 1 January 2006.

2001, c. 36, s. 19; 2004, c. 21, s. 3.

2001-07-01

19. The Société may make investments, with or without a guarantee or security.

However, in the course of each fiscal year, the proportion of the Société’s investments in eligible entities, entailing no security or hypothec, must represent, on the average, at least 60 % of the average net assets of the Société for the preceding year, and of which a part representing at least 35 % of that percentage must be invested in entities situated in the resource regions of Québec referred to in Schedule 2 or in eligible cooperatives.

For the purposes of this section, the average net assets for the preceding fiscal year and the average investments for the current fiscal year shall be determined by adding the net assets or, as the case may be, the investments at the beginning of the years concerned, to the net assets or, as the case may be, to the investments at the end of the years concerned and by dividing each of the sums thus obtained by 2. Furthermore, net assets do not include the movable or immovable property used by the Société to carry on its operations.

For the application of the above requirement, the following investments are also eligible investments:

(1)  investments made otherwise than as first purchaser for the acquisition of securities issued by an eligible entity, except to the extent where they represent more than one third of the total investments made as first purchaser in that entity;

(2)  investments made in addition to an investment already made in an entity where the investment is eligible under the second paragraph and where the entity would be an eligible entity under subparagraph 2 of the first paragraph of section 18 if the amounts “$50,000,000” and “$20,000,000” mentioned in that subparagraph were replaced by “$100,000,000” and “$40,000,000” respectively.

The total investments permitted under the fourth paragraph may not exceed 20 % of the net assets of the Société at the end of the preceding fiscal year. For the purposes of subparagraph 1 of the fourth paragraph, a broker acting as an intermediary or underwriter is not considered to be a first purchaser.

The investments the Société has agreed to make and for which sums have been committed but not yet disbursed at the end of a fiscal year shall be taken into account in computing investments eligible for the purposes of the requirements set out in this section, up to an overall sum not exceeding 12 % of the net assets of the Société at the end of the preceding fiscal year.

The requirement set out in the second paragraph applies from the fiscal year beginning on 1 January 2006.

2001, c. 36, s. 19.