Economy
Unclaimed Dividends: SEC Engages Registrars, Stockbrokers, Others
By Dipo Olowookere
The stubborn demon in the Nigerian capital market, unclaimed dividends, may soon become a thing of the past if the latest move by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) yields meaningful results.
The Director-General of the agency, Mr Lamido Yuguda, said to tackle the issue, key stakeholders in the market were engaged and it was discovered that one of the major reasons for the rising cases was identity management.
While addressing the House of Representatives Committee on Capital Markets and Institutions in Abuja, Tuesday, the DG said the commission has concluded plans to resolve issues of identity management to eliminate unclaimed dividends in the capital market as well as other issues.
At the presentation of the 2022 budget of the commission to the lawmakers, Mr Yuguda said an identity management committee has been established to harmonise various databases of investors and facilitate data accuracy in the market.
According to him, the committee comprises the SEC, the registrars, the stockbrokers, the issuing houses, the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS), and the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, in addition to the e-dividend management committee.
He said the committee’s assignment would address the challenges of identity management and help tackle some of the issues of unclaimed dividends, direct cash settlement and multiple subscriptions.
“We have engaged with the industry to see where the issues are. We have understood the problem better and we are working in collaboration with them to ensure that by the end of the first half of 2022 we will be able to report back to this committee some of the milestones achieved in solving some of these issues and we believe it will have a massive impact,” he stated.
The SEC boss disclosed that the commission was also working to combat challenges confronting the commission on Information Technology.
“We need to transform our IT infrastructure as we superintendent over a market that is vast and technology-driven. The Steering committee has started work and we are already looking at the proposals,” the SEC chief disclosed.
Mr Yuguda said the SEC has been collaborating with the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to develop standards for commodities and the commission has already held two workshops in Lagos and Kano, expressing the hope that it will make the nation’s agricultural commodities acceptable to the world over as well as create wealth for the country.
The DG also disclosed that the agency recently approved the first electronic offer in the capital market for MTN.
According to him, “Before now, we had rules on electronic offers which we developed but they are only being used now with the MTN offer. These are some of the achievements the Commission has been able to record recently.”
On funding, the SEC boss stated that the commission does not rely on the federal government for funding as it is self-funding adding that the downturn in the capital market due to the ongoing pandemic has adversely affected the revenue of the agency.
He said “The budget of 2021 has been a huge departure from the past as we have worked on new sources of income and reduced our expenditures. With these efforts, we know that we will have a commission that everyone will be proud of.”
The DG commended the Chairman and the committee members for their unwavering support to the commission and the capital market.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the Committee, Mr Babangida Ibrahim, commended the organisation on its efforts so far and assured that the committee would continue to provide support where necessary to ensure that the nation has a vibrant capital market.
“It is our responsibility to oversight the SEC and that is why we invited them here today to brief us on the performance of their 2021 budget, including the success and challenges they have faced in the year under review. We will continue to engage with the commission to attain the progress we desire for our capital market,” he stated.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Nigeria’s First Lady, Mrs Oluremi Tinubu, has given Nigerians business advice that may not involve a lot of money to start.
Speaking with newsmen recently, the wife of President Bola Tinubu said businesses like akara (fried bean cake), kulikuli (a crunchy snack from roasted peanuts or groundnuts) and roasted corn can be set up without breaking the bank.
She disclosed that to support her husband’s Renewed Hope agenda, she has provided funding packages to traders and others to the tune of N3.5 billion.
“To start akara business doesn’t take a lot of money. To start roasting corn and kuli-kuli doesn’t take much. We didn’t give them a loan; we gave it to them as a grant,” she stated.
She further said, “We’ve encouraged Nigerians as best as we could, what is within our hands, I have given, and I keep giving. Those are the things we’ve done.”
“I remember giving for TB (tuberculosis) when I heard of many TB cases; I gave N2 billion, to breast cancer, I gave N1 billion, and to [tackle] malnutrition, I gave N500 million.
“These are the things we’ve been doing to assist the government. So, we’ve had impact in agriculture, social investment, education (as scholarship and ICT training) and others. We are still open to doing more,” she disclosed.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rallied by 1.70 per cent on Thursday, June 25, after three price gainers overpowered the two price losers recorded at the close of business.
Consequently, the market capitalisation of the trading platform increased by N43.79 billion to N2.618 trillion from N2.574 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 72.96 points to close at 4,362.32 points, in contrast to Wednesday’s 4,289.36 points.
Yesterday, the price advancers were led by Nipco Plc, which chalked up N31.79 to close at N349.76 per unit versus the preceding day’s N317.97 per unit. Okitipupa Plc gained N18.00 to end at N298.00 per share versus the previous session’s N280.00 per share, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went up by N7.11 to N86.79 per unit from N79.68 per unit.
On the flip side, Nitrox Industrial Gases Plc crumbled by 32 Kobo to close at N21.09 per share compared with the N21.41 per share it closed at midweek, and Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 25 Kobo to N2.51 per unit from N2.76 per unit.
During the session, the value of securities traded by investors went down by 86.7 per cent to N10.9 million from the preceding session’s N82.9 million, and the volume of securities dropped 84.9 per cent to 10.9 million units from the previous 82.9 million, while the number of deals grew by 84.2 per cent to 35 deals from 19 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 68.4 million units exchanged for N4.7 billion.
GNI Plc was also the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited further suffered a 0.64 per cent decline on Thursday as the bears tightened their grip on the bourse.
For the second straight session, all the key sectors of Customs Street pointed south, with the energy counter down by 5.22 per cent. The insurance index slumped by 2.59 per cent, the banking space depreciated by 0.28 per cent, and the consumer goods segment moderated by 0.06 per cent, while the industrial goods sector was flat, though with a marginal fall.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) contracted by 1,493.71 points to 233,580.83 points from 235,074.54 points, and the market capitalisation retreated by N959 billion to N149.888 trillion from N150.847 trillion.
Investor sentiment remained weak after a negative market breadth index, as there were 21 price gainers and 34 price losers.
Aradel and Deap Capital went down by 10.00 per cent each to N1,575.00 and N4.05, respectively. Trans-Nationwide Express fell by 9.90 per cent to N3.64, Regency Alliance slipped by 9.57 per cent to N85 Kobo, and C&I Leasing dipped by 9.48 per cent to N28.12.
Conversely, Red Star Express grew by 9.60 per cent to N24.55, Legend Internet expanded by 9.09 per cent to N6.00, Neimeth appreciated by 7.10 per cent to N8.30, Abbey Mortgage Bank rose by 5.45 per cent to N8.70, and Ellah Lakes improved by 4.65 per cent to N9.00.
Yesterday, market participants traded 393.7 million equities valued at N19.2 billion in 45,813 deals compared with the 488.1 million equities worth N20.9 billion transacted in 46,239 deals recorded a day earlier, implying a shortfall in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 19.34 per cent, 8.13 per cent, and 0.92 per cent, respectively.
The most active stock for the session was Access Holdings with a turnover of 39.1 million units worth N896.2 million, Chams traded 24.5 million units valued at N96.5 million, Fidelity Bank sold 24.1 million units for N436.9 million, Sterling Holdings exchanged 23.8 million units valued at N182.2 million, and Zenith Bank transacted 18.9 million units worth N2.1 billion.
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