As part of ongoing efforts to check the spread and mitigate the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) in the country, capital market apex regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), on Tuesday said it has adopted interim measures for the good of all.
In a circular to capital market stakeholders on COVID-19, the SEC said market-focused adjustments to be adopted include filing and processing of applications electronically, an extension of deadline on 2019 full-year, and 2020 first quarter reports. Also affected is the Q1 Capital Market Committee meeting earlier scheduled for April 23, 2020, which has now been postponed to a later date.
Applications, the commission explained, “shall be filed electronically while pending applications and requests by CMOs for an update of information would be processed via registration@sec.gov.ng.”
Also, fresh applications for registration of capital market operators are suspended until further notice, the statement said returns shall be filed electronically.
Specifically, the statement said the commission approved a 60-day extension, in the first instance for public companies and capital market operators to file their 2019 annual reports and Q1 2020 reports.
The statement urged public companies “to take appropriate precautionary measures as recommended by the Federal and State Governments as well as the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to ensure the safety of shareholders and participants at Annual General Meetings/Extra-Ordinary General Meetings and other meetings which may be held during the prevalence of the pandemic.”
The guidelines, it stressed, is “not exhaustive, but rather represent an outline of immediate actions “the commission considers necessary to sustain the actualization of its regulatory mandate and maintain the integrity of the Nigerian capital market during this challenging period.
“Accordingly, the commission will continue to issue updates to market stakeholders as appropriate. The Commission will also continue to closely coordinate with other financial regulators and governmental authorities” the SEC stated.
“The SEC enjoins all capital market stakeholders to adhere to all recent directives on safety and social distancing, the Commission stated that it is focused on the following measures, amongst others: ensuring the continuity of its operations; monitoring market functions and systemic risks; providing regulatory flexibility and guidance to issuers, trading platforms, capital market operators and other stakeholders impacted by COVID-19; and continuation of investor protection efforts and relevant enforcement actions,
Photo news: From left, Head Anti-Corruption Unit, Independent Corrupt Practices, and Other Related Offences Commission, Barr Ifeanyi Obialor, Acting, Executive Commissioner, Operations, Securities and Exchange Commission Isyaku Tilde and Acting Director-General of the SEC, Ms. Mary Uduk, during the Inauguration ceremony of the Anti-Corruption, Transparency Unit and Monitoring Unit of SEC in Abuja on Tuesday.
