April 20, 2018

Worried by increased de-listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday expressed commitment to tackling the issue and ensuring listing of multinationals.

Ms Mary Uduk, the SEC Acting Director-General, gave the assurance at the first 2018 post-Capital Market Committee news conference in Lagos.

Uduk said that de-listing by quoted companies posed a threat to the growth of the capital market.

“Increase in de-listing by public companies pose a threat to the market in view of the fact that quite a number of them are highly capitalised,” she said.

The acting director-general said that the commission mandated the committee to come up with strategies aimed at tackling de-listing and boosting listing of more multinationals.

Uduk said that some highly capitalised companies had delisted, thereby, affecting the growth of the market.

According to her, the committee will meet with stakeholders and find out why they are delisting as well as discuss with eligible ones why they are not listed.

Uduk said that some companies had complained of tax issues, and gave the assurance that the commission would engage the government to address the issue.

She said that the committee would come up with recommendations.

“If they are regulatory issues – more rule amendment – we are open to it, but our rules must be in line with international best practices,” Uduk said.

She gave the assurance that the apex capital market regulator would work in line with the committee’s recommendations.

Uduk said that the commission was collaborating with the Corporate Affairs Commission to obtain the list of companies not quoted on any of the exchanges in the country.

On issuance of electronic annual accounts, the director-general said that the pilot scheme had begun.

Uduk said that the commission had received feedbacks of concerns from various shareholder associations on the electronic annual reports.

She said that shareholders expressed concerns of poor electricity supply and internet services in the rural areas.

Uduk said that the market would deliberate further on the issue, while the pilot scheme of one year would go on.

“We are still looking at it but the pilot scheme will go on,” she said.

The acting director-general said that forbearance window for investors with multiple accounts and subscriptions had been extended to September 2018.

She noted that during the market boom, some investors bought shares with different names which they had forgotten.

The acting director-general called on the affected investors to take advantage of the forbearance window to ratify their accounts.

On e-dividend, she said that the technical committee on e-dividend reported that the total and approved mandate currently stood at 2.5 million, translating into 466,000 unit investors.

Uduk said that the deadline for free e-dividend registration expired on March 31, but noted that an individual shareholder would now pay N150 per e-dividend upload.