SEC EXTENDS FORBEARANCE FOR MULTIPLE SHARE SUBSCRIPTION TO MARCH

Photo Caption: Director, External Relations, Securities and Exchange Commission Mr. Henry Rowlands, Coordinating Director Operations, SEC, Ms Mary Uduk and Acting Director General SEC Dr. Abdul Zubair during a Press Briefing on the ongoing Capital Market initiatives in Abuja Tuesday.

Acting Director General of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Dr. Abdul Zubair, on Tuesday announced a three-month extension of the deadline for investors with multiple subscription to consolidate such into a single account.

Addressing newsmen in his Abuja office, he said the forbearance now ends on March 31, 2018, he said, explained that “investors that bought shares of the same company during public offers, using different names, are allowed till 31st March, 2018 to continue to approach their Stockbrokers or Registrars, to regularize their shareholdings, in line with SEC Rules on customer identification.”
At the expiration of the deadline, all such unregulaised shares, he warned “shall be transferred, on trust, to the Capital Market Development Fund”.

Zubair disclosed further that in line with approved rules of the Commission; all Registrars have been directed to stop the issuance of dividend paper warrants with effect from January 1, 2018.
Consequently, he said, all paper dividend warrants issued up till December 31, 2017 remain valid and should be honoured by banks and registrars.
Also, with the expiration of the free electronic dividend registration deadline on December 31, 2017, the SEC urged investors who did not take advantage of the window to continue the enrollment, at the cost of N150 only.

Such investors, he advised, “should continue to approach their banks or registrars, as usual, to seamlessly mandate their bank accounts for the collection of their dividends electronically, including unclaimed dividends, not exceeding 12 years of issue; as the N150 would not be demanded from them at the point of registration.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the N150 fee would not be demanded from the investors at the point of registration and/or submission of completed e-Dividend Mandate Forms.”
Commenting, Director External Relations of the SEC, Henry Rowlands said the commission consulted with other stakeholders to ensure that the process is seamless; adding that investors should entertain no fear of being charged until their registration is approved.

He however explained that, “Where the investor’s account is not funded, the parties have agreed that such an enrolment request will be disapproved because the account is not funded and the investor will be alerted accordingly”

http://investdata.com.ng/2018/01/sec-extends-forbearance-multiple-share-subscription-march/