The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has announced that it has lifted the suspension placed on LASACO Assurance. The capital market regulator suspended eleven listed companies, including LASACO, for non-compliance with Rule 3.1, Rules for Filing of Accounts and Treatment of Default Filing, Rulebook of The Exchange (Issuers’ Rules) (Default Filing Rules), in the first week of this month, July 2019.
According to the NSE, LASACO Assurance has now filed its Audited Financial Statement for the year ended 31 December 2018 to the Exchange. This was revealed by Godstime Iwenekhai, Head, Listings Regulation Department of the Commission.
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The rule stated that, by the expiration of the Cure Period, if an Issuer fails to file the relevant accounts, the Exchange will:
- send to the Issuer a “Second Filing Deficiency Notification” within two (2) business days after the end of the Cure Period;
- suspend trading in the Issuer’s securities; and
- notify the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Market within 24 hours of the suspension.
NSE proceeded to inform the dealing members and the general public of the suspension of the following companies:
- FTN Cocoa Processors Plc;
- Goldlink Insurance Plc;
- Guinea Insurance Plc;
- Lasaco Assurance Plc;
- Niger Insurance Plc;
- R.T. Briscoe (Nigeria) Plc;
- Resort Savings & Loans Plc;
- Royal Exchange Plc;
- Standard Alliance Insurance Plc; and
- Universal Insurance Plc.
However, both Conoil and LASACO Assurance have now been excluded from the list, following the submission of the relevant accounts demanded by the NSE. The Exchange disclosed that it had lifted the suspension of Conoil in the same week the companies were suspended.
“The suspension of trading in the Issuer’s securities shall be lifted upon submission of the relevant accounts provided The Exchange is satisfied that the accounts comply with all applicable rules of The Exchange. The Exchange shall thereafter also announce through the medium by which the public and the SEC were initially notified of the suspension,” NSE’s Iwenekhai said.
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Why this matters: Companies on suspension are prevented from trading their shares on the Exchange, and this causes stagnation in stock price. Such companies are also be fined for the late submission of the results.
What this means for LASACO: Trading on the companies shares will resume with price exiting the stagnant status. Dealing members can now invest into LASACO Assurance.