Dipo Olowookere
By Dipo Olowookere
Investors can now begin to trade the shares of Niger Insurance Plc on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) from today, Thursday, December 10, 2020.
This is because the embargo earlier placed on the underwriting firm has been lifted by the management of the exchange.
Niger Insurance was among the six organisations banned from trading its securities on the NSE on September 1, 2020, over its failure to file its financial statements.
This morning, the exchange informed stockbrokers in a circular that the suspension has been removed as a result of the compliance with the listing rule.
Checks carried out by Business Post as at the time of filing this report at 11am showed that the company’s stocks were trading flat at 20 kobo each, with sell order at over 13 million units without any buy order.
As earlier stated, Niger Insurance incurred the wrath of the exchange because it failed to file its financial statements on time for public perusal.
“We refer to our market bulletin dated September 1, 2020, with reference number: NSE/RD/LRD/MB43/20/09/01, wherein we notified dealing members of the suspension of six listed companies for non-compliance with Rule 3.1, Rules for Filing of Accounts and Treatment of Default Filing, Rulebook of the exchange, which provides that; if an issuer fails to file the relevant accounts by the expiration of the cure period, 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.
“Niger Insurance, one of the six listed companies that were suspended on September 1, 2020, has now filed its outstanding financial statements with the exchange.
“In view of the company’s submission of its outstanding 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.
“Dealing members are hereby notified that the suspension placed on trading on the shares of Niger Insurance was lifted today, Thursday, December 10, 2020,” the circular said.
