SEC extends deadline for e-dividend registration
The Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) has extended the deadline for the issuance of e-dividend till Dec. 31st 2017.
This was disclosed to the News Agency of Nigeria, Wednesday in Lagos by the Head, Corporate Communications, SEC Mr. Nazif Abdussalam.
According to Abdussalam, the deadline was extended to give room for more investors to key into the e-dividend payment platform and as well perfect the commission’s rules on issuance of dividend warrants that was exposed to the public a week ago.
He stated that the issuance of the dividend warrants would be concluded by Dec. 31, 2017, with the amendment of the rules and keying into the e-dividend payment platform by more investors.
This is not the first time deadlines will be extended as SEC had in 2016 moved e-dividend deadline to June 30, 2017 for issuance of physical dividend warrants to shareholders by quoted companies to tackle unclaimed dividends and mitigate the risks associated with warrants.
He also said that SEC had extended the underwriting cost of investors e-dividend registration to Dec. 31, 2017 against the earlier underwriting deadline of June 30, 2017.
Abdussalam explained that the deadline was also extended to give room for enrolment of more investors in the e-dividend payment platform.
He stated that the commission’s decision to continue to underwrite the cost till Dec. 31, was part of its developmental role to curb the menace of unclaimed dividend.
The commission’s spokesman said that the e-dividend would strengthen the Know Your Customer (KYC) platform of all investors in the capital market and curb unclaimed dividend including stopage of unauthorised sale of shares in the market.
He was confident that loss of dividends and unclaimed dividend would be a thing of the past with the e-dividend payment platform.
He said that the commission would continue to leverage on the BVN initiative of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to boost investors’ confidence in the nation’s capital market.
The Director-General of SEC, Mounir Gwarzo, had at a Capital Market Committee meeting in May said that 2.2 million investors had mandated their accounts for the e-dividend payment policy as at April 30, 2017.
The DG maintained that the commission would urge all listed companies to participate in the on-going enlightenment campaign on e-dividend by informing their shareholders at Annual General Meetings (AGM) on the processes put in place to increase the figure.
Explaining the e-dividend process, Gwarzo sad that the e-dividend form could be obtained at all bank branches or in the office of a registrar and stock broking firms, or could be downloaded online.
Throwing more light, he added that the aim of the e-dividend payment system was to curb unclaimed dividends in the market, noting that unclaimed dividend figure was reducing due to the e-dividend system.
