Unclaimed dividend rises to N190bn – SEC

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has disclosed that unclaimed dividends in the capital market increased to an estimated N190 billion.

Speaking virtually during the second post-Capital Market Committee (CMC) media briefing, the Director General of the SEC, Mr. Lamido Yuguda, said unclaimed dividend in the capital market has become a serious problem stressing that the capital market regulating body is working with key market stakeholders to curb the trend. 

Yuguda stated that the commission is working strategically to resolve these issues with the introduction of an electronic dividend (E-dividend) portal.

He lamented the trend of companies choosing to de-list from the capital market saying, the SEC is actively collaborating with the exchanges to enhance approval procedures to render listing processes more streamlined, more efficient, and economically viable.

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He added that advocacy initiatives were underway to address hurdles related to issuances and to motivate prospective issuers to consider market-based funding options.

He reminded investors on a series of circulars issued by the commission to protect them from the activities of unregistered schemes.

He warned the public on the activities of Binance, Luno, PaxFul, Coinbase, and other unregistered platforms, as investing in crypto-assets carries a high level of risk and may result in total loss of investments.

He said the listing of a dollar-dominated bond initiative by the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) is a welcomed development, maintaining that the obligor must be ready to pay back in foreign currency.