The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Thursday announced the full suspension of trading on the shares of 17 companies which failed to file their relevant accounts at the end of the permissible periods.
A breakdown of the list showed that the insurance sub-sector of the financial services sector was the most prominent with six listed companies: African Alliance Insurance Plc; Equity Assurance; Goldlink Insurance, Guinea Insurance; Sovereign Trust Insurance; Great Nigeria Insurance; and Universal Insurance Company.
Others are: Two healthcare sector operators: Evans Medical and Ekocorp (owners of Eko Hospital); two Primary Mortgage Institutions: Resort Savings & Loans; and Union Homes Savings & Loans (subsidiary of Union Bank of Nigeria); as well as Fortis Microfinance Bank.
Also on the list are: Omatek Ventures, the only computer manufacturing firm listed on the NSE in 2008 and founded by late Mrs. Florence Seriki; as well as two chemical and paint makers- Premier Paints and African Paints; as well as Union Dicon Salt.
The NSE in the notice to dealing members explained that the suspension is “pursuant to Rule 3.1, Rules for Filing of Accounts and Treatment of Default Filing, Rulebook of the Exchange (Issuers’ Rules).
It states 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 & Exchange Commission (SEC) and the market within 24 hours of the suspension.”
Consequently, the NSE in a statement by Godstime Iwenekhai, acting head of its Listings Regulation Department explained that “in accordance with the rules set forth above, the suspension of the afore-listed companies will only be lifted upon the suspension of the relevant accounts, provided the Exchange is satisfied that the accounts comply with all application rules of the Exchange.”
Meanwhile, the board of Guinea Insurance wrote to the exchange acknowledging that indeed its audited financials for the year ended December 31, 2016 is yet to be filed, even as of the 90-day deadline, which ended March 31, 2017.
As required, the statement said the 2016 full year result has been submitted to “the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), its primary regulator for verification and subsequent approval, before dissemination to other stakeholders.”
It could not however give a specific date for submission of the said audited financials, because, according to the statement by jointly signed by Pius Edobor, its Executive Director (Finance & Admin) and Oluranti Oke, Team Lead (Legal Advisory Services), “we are not in control of the approval process of the National Insurance Commission.”