Nov. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Australia will require credit agencies and research companies to be licensed and to provide annual reports, Corporate Governance Minister Nick Sherry said.

The country will also make permanent an existing ban on so- called naked short selling, he told reporters today in Canberra. A prohibition on covered short sales will end on Jan. 20.

``It's very important for retail and wholesale investors in Australia that we have robust ratings and robust research of financial products,'' Sherry said. ``They have a very important gate-keeping role for wholesale and retail investors and they are therefore very important to the confidence in the financial system.''

Rating agencies in the U.S. were one cause of the subprime mortgage crisis in that country, Sherry said today. Banks, insurers and securities firms globally have lost or written down $950 billion in subprime related losses.

Australia will take its credit agency system to the Group of 20 nations meeting of financial leaders this weekend in Washington, Sherry said.

The ban on short selling of non-financial securities will be lifted from the opening of trade on Nov. 19, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission said today. The ban on covered short sales in financial securities will continue.

ASIC placed a 30-day ban on covered short selling of securities on Sept. 21. The ban was extended on Oct. 21.

The ban on short selling of financial securities will remain until at least Jan. 27, ASIC said today.

To contact the reporter on this story: Madelene Pearson in Canberra on mpearson1@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 13, 2008 01:02 EST