A Certification Authority (CA) is a trusted third party who issues digital certificates and vouches for the identity of the holder of the digital certificate. A CA is a relied-upon entity that issues, publishes, suspends and revokes digital certificates. The CA's basic role is to verify and vouch for the identity of subscribers and to provide certificate management services. A CA acts like a trusted electronic notary public, telling everyone who the valid user are and what their electronic signatures look like.
Digital certificate
An electronic document that ties each person’s or organisation’s identity to his/her public key. It contains certain digitally signed information, including the identification information of the person to be certified, the public key, purpose and scope of the usage of the key, name of the Certification Authority (CA), etc. Digital certificates are signed by the CA, so that users can verify that the certificates are authentic. A digital certificate, used in conjunction with the private key, serves as a form of electronic identification, much like a digital passport.
Digital signature
The electronic version of a hand-written signature, applied to electronic documents to prove authenticity. Can be used to establish the identity of a party, make legal commitments and/or guarantee that the contents of a file or message have not been altered.
Encryption
Encryption is the process of protecting information by making it impossible for any unauthorised users to read that information in a useable form.
Exercise
The act of purchasing the underlying shares in a share option by paying the exercise price.
Exercise price
The price per share at which a share option is granted and the price the employee must pay in order to exercise his share option. The exercise price is typically the fair market value of the share on the date of the grant. Also known as “strike price” or “grant price”.
Expiry date
The last date a share option can be exercised or converted to the underlying securities.
Grant
A grant is the issuance of share options under a Share Option Plan.
Grant date
The date a share option is granted.
Share option
A share option is a contractual right granted to you by your company to purchase a specified number of shares at a predetermined price for a specified period.
Time-stamp
A time-stamp is the current time of an event that is recorded by a computer.
Vested
This is another word for earned. Before you can exercise your share option, you must have earned it by satisfying an obligation or certain requirements. SGX Listing requires an optionee to observe a moratorium of one year before he/she can exercise his/her options provided options are granted without a discount.
Vesting date
The share option granted may be exercised only to the extent it has become vested. This share option shall vest and become exercisable with respect to the number of share options (set forth on a cumulative basis) as indicated in the vesting schedule on the letter of offer.
Vesting schedule
The schedule that lays out when, and to what extent, options become exercisable (example, an employee can only exercise 25% of his granted share options per year over a period of four years).