SEC Moves to Reduce Delisting of Firms from Stock Exchange

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The incidence of delisting of publicly quoted companies from the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) is already causing stakeholders in the capital market to worry and steps are already being taken to reduce it.

On Wednesday, the House of Representatives Committee on Capital Market was at the NSE office in Lagos alongside the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr Lamido Yuguda, who expressed worry over the issue.

Recently, the federal government said it was planning to push for a law to empower it to spend the unclaimed dividend of investors in the stock market worth about N200 billion. The government also wanted a law to make it mandatory for companies to release these funds, failure to attract sanctions.

This move has been kicked against as it was stressed that companies may be forced to delist from the exchange because of the development.

“The SEC has been working collaboratively with the exchange and we will continue to support the NSE to grow the market capitalization, reduce the incidence of delisting and ensure that the market develops into what Nigeria truly needs.

“We have seen the massive infrastructure needs of the country and we are confident that the capital market has the capacity to raise the funds needed to finance infrastructure in Nigeria,” Mr Yuguda said.

While speaking with the CEO of the NSE, Mr Oscar Onyema, the Chairman, House Committee on Capital Market, Mr Ibrahim Babangida, noted that efforts would be taken to address the issue and others.

According to him, “We recognise that some of the rules within the capital market must be revisited to deliver the results we expect, and we, hereby, reiterate our support for the NSE where legislation is required to make the necessary changes,” Mr Babangida said.

In his remarks, Mr Onyema expressed the gratitude of the NSE to the team noting that advancing the Nigerian capital market was the collective goal of all key stakeholders.

He reaffirmed the commitment of the exchange to collaborate with “the government at all levels to advance and deepen this market.”