SEC extends CMOs’ recapitalisation deadline to December; 150 days for free e-Dividend registration

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced the extension of the new minimum capital requirement deadline for Capital Market Operators (CMOs) to December 31.
The deadline was extended by 15 months against the initial period of September 30, 2015.
Besides, the commission said it has formed a group that would engage MSCI index provider on the recent announcement that it could remove Nigeria from its frontier market index,
Addressing Journalists at the commission’s 2016 first quarter post-Capital Market Committee (CMC) media briefing held in Lagos, Thursday, Director-General of SEC, Mounir Gwarzo, said that the commission had set December. 31, 2016 as the final deadline for the recapitalisation exercise for all CMOs.
“SEC has extended the deadline for registration which expired yesterday April 13th with 150 days, and has magnanimously volunteered to underwrite the N100 cost placed on registration from the date of expiration,” he added.
He stressed that the commission would continue to clear any operator that meet with the recapitalisation exercise till December. 31, 2016.
He pointed out that the licence of any operator that fails to meet up with the requirement will be cancelled after December. 31, 2016, adding that any operator that failed to meet up with the recapitalisation exercise would seek for new licence at the expiration of the deadline if he or she wished to operate in the market in future.
“Any operator that shows proof of compliance will be cleared by the commission to come back to the market within the grace period.
“After the 15 months grace period any operator that wants to come back will begin a new process of licence acquisition,” he stated.
Concerning the announcement by MSCI index provider that it could remove Nigeria from its frontier market index, Gwarzo noted that SEC has formed a small group that would engage the index providers on the implications of the decision.
He added that the action would have a multiplier effect on the economy and SEC status as a board member of IOSCO and AMERC executive members.
Meanwhile, the SEC in collaboration with other market stakeholders in the capital market have initiated plans geared towards tackling the issue of unclaimed dividends by setting up a market-wide committee to come up with the best solution that will benefit investors and encourage more participation in the market.
Unclaimed dividends in the market stood at over N80 billion and various efforts are being made to reduce the volume.
Speaking at the commission’s 2016 first quarter post-Capital Market Committee (CMC) media briefing in Lagos, Gwarzo said a committee comprising market operators, shareholders and regulators, would be set up.
According to him, the 12 years statute barred provision in the Companies Allied Matters Act (CAMA) will be looked into by the committee and recommend a way forward that would enable shareholders have access to their dividends beyond the 12 years as currently provided by the law. He said the decision to set up the committee was part of the the outcome of the CMC meeting.
Also, the SEC is extending the deadline for free e-Dividend registration in the country by 150 days. Gwarzo said the commission would bear the cost of registration on behalf of any investor who registered within the 150 days grace period, noting however that at the expiration of the grace period, subsequent registration of an investor would attract a fee of N100.
He noted that the e-dividend management system which was launched last year by the Commission in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) to enable investors have direct access to their dividends has enjoyed high level of compliance from the investing public.
According to him, within three months the public enlightenment programme began, the commission has achieved over 4000 per cent growth in the number of investors that registered to have access to their dividends.
Gwarzo said the Commission’s concern was to bring back retail investors to the nation’s capital market.
“Our prayer is that in the next 10 years we will raise the participation of the retail investors to 45 per cent from less than two per cent presently,” he said.