Tourist Company of Nigeria Shares Remain Flat After 10-month Embargo

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

Investors finally started to trade shares of Tourist Company of Nigeria Plc on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited after being unable to do so for the past 10 months.

This was because the management of the NGX placed an embargo on the company, making it impossible for shareholders to trade their equities on the platform.

On July 2, 2021, the NGX suspended the Tourist Company of Nigeria over the failure of the board to file the organisation’s financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2020.

The firm was among the four public-quoted companies disallowed from transacting their stocks on the exchange.

But last Monday, trading of the shares resumed after the company did the needful and since then, the value of the equities has remained unchanged at N2.84 per unit.

“We refer to our market bulletin dated July 2, 2021, with reference number: NGXREG/LRD/MB23/21/07/02, wherein we notified trading licence holders and the investing public of the suspension of four listed companies for non-compliance with the provisions of Rule 3.1: Rules for Filing of Accounts and Treatment of Default Filing, Rulebook of the exchange (issuers’ rules) (default filing rules), which provides that: If an issuer fails to file the relevant accounts by the expiration of the cure period1, the exchange will: a. send to the issuer a second filing deficiency notification within two business days after the end of the cure period; b. suspend trading in the issuer’s securities; and c. notify the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the market within 24 hours of the suspension.

“Tourist Company of Nigeria Plc, one of the four listed companies that were suspended on July 2, 2021, has now filed its Audited Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2020, December 31, 2021, and Unaudited Financial Statements for the quarter ended March 31, 2022.

“In view of the company’s submission of these financial statements, and pursuant to Rule 3.3 of the default filing rules, which states that; The suspension of trading in the issuer’s securities shall be lifted upon submission of the relevant accounts provided the exchange is satisfied that the accounts comply with all applicable rules of the exchange. The exchange shall thereafter also announce through the medium by which the public and the SEC was initially notified of the suspension, that the suspension has been lifted.

“Trading licence holders and the investing public are hereby notified that the suspension placed on trading on the shares of Tourist Company of Nigeria Plc was lifted on May 11, 2022,” the notice read.