Business News
SEC threatens to suspend outdated accounts, to address unclaimed dividends
Bisi Fayemi, First Lady of Ekiti state has called on the Federal Government to ban imported Aso-Oke fabrics saying it would boost economic growth.
The acting Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mary Uduk, has disclosed that outdated accounts would be suspended as SEC makes effort to settle unclaimed dividends in the capital market.
Ban on outdated accounts: Uduk said new initiatives would be implemented to curb unclaimed dividends in 2020. She also said that to resolve all issues and ensure shareholders update their information, capital market operators would be afforded a period of time to comply. The update is necessary as transaction will not occur on any account without updated information.
“Right now, you will not get unclaimed dividends from new issues. Part of the problem of unclaimed dividend has to do with identity management. We are doing all we can to educate the public on this issue and engaging various stakeholders to be able to get a lot of the information that we require.
She said, “Items like the Bank Verification Number have been added to help in identity management; the capital market is also taking advantage of it. The Central Securities Clearing System and the registrars are working together to ensure that more information from the legacy shareholders are being collected to be able to update their information and get them to claim their dividends.
“The registrars do not have direct interface with shareholders, they deal directly with stockbrokers; but there is a committee comprising the SEC, registrars, stockbrokers, issuing houses, the CSCS and the Nigerian Stock Exchange, working on that in addition to the e-dividend management committee.”
[READ MORE: Capital market experiences significant drop of unclaimed dividends)
What you need to know: Uduk said the information update was a legacy issue. According to her, many Nigerians bought shares in the capital market in 2008 before the introduction of Bank Verification Number (BVN). It was disclosed that some of the investors agreed to update their information after initially not providing their account numbers. The updated information was expected to be transmitted to the CSCS, which would update the information and send them to the registrars.
At the last, Capital Market Committee meeting, it was agreed that stockbrokers would update the information of their clients. This, she said would address unclaimed dividends.
“We believe that by the time we commence that, it will address that issue of unclaimed dividend.
“Before you can complete the application, the system will validate your account number; it will not accept incomplete application.
“We believe that in addition to the e-dividend mandate, these other initiatives that the commission is doing with other stakeholders will address the issue of unclaimed dividends,” she said in a Punch report.
Financial Services
Guinea Insurance Plc gives optimistic Q3 earnings forecast in spite of COVID-19
Note that some companies have had to revise their earnings estimates due to pandemic.
Guinea Insurance Plc is being very optimistic, having projected a 78.6% rise in gross premium written to N1.8 in Q3 2020, up from N1 billion during the comparable period in 2019. The insurer also forecasted a profit after tax of N185.8 million for the period, indicating an expected better performance compared to N735 million loss recorded in Q3 2019.
The earnings forecast, which was sent to the Nigerian Stock Exchange earlier today, also estimated that reinsurance expense for Q3 will be at N337.5 million. Claims expenses, underwriting expenses, and other operating experiences were equally put at N331.3 million, N292.6 million, and N692.2 million, respectively.
Note that this forecast is coming amid the negative economic impacts wrought by the Coronavirus pandemic. But while a growing list of companies (including Guinness Nigeria Plc) has downgraded their 2020 earnings and profitability forecasts, Guinea Insurance is expecting growth and that is good.
In Q1 2020, Guinea Insurance Plc reported gross premium written OF N207 million and a profit after tax of N12.6 million. The company’s consolidated half-year 2020 financial has not been released and is expected sometime between this month and next month.
The company’s share price ended today’s trading on the Nigerian Stock Exchange at N0.20. Year to date, this stock has not recorded any price movement.
Economy & Politics
CBN unification of exchange rate a welcome development – MAN
Ahmed urged the CBN to tackle activities that made speculators manipulate the multiple exchange rates.
The President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Mr Mansur Ahmed, announced on Friday that the recent CBN unification of Nigeria’s exchange rate is a welcome development that will boost investor confidence in Nigeria.
He said the exchange rate unification will enable stable planned production for manufacturers in Nigeria leading to economic growth, adding that the Manufacturers Association had urged for an exchange rate unification to enable a market-friendly business environment in Nigeria.
“Clearly, this is a welcome development and a laudable initiative that has come at the right time.”
“This is more so, particularly, now that the economic outlook is gloomy in light of the impact of the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic that has culminated in uninspiring macroeconomic situations,” he said.
He revealed that the World Bank had attributed Nigeria’s falling Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to the multiple exchange rates as investors felt a “manipulation of the foreign exchange market.”
“The unification will also boost investors’ confidence, control rising inflation, and promote transparency, entrench better exchange rate management and eradicate distortions to the barest minimum,” he added.
READ MORE: After hitting a 3-year low during the week, Naira stabilizes as traders wonder what next)
He urged the CBN to tackle activities that made speculators manipulate the multiple exchange rates like “round-tripping” which he says expand the inflows of foreign investment into the economy.
He called on the Central Bank to implement 2 strategies to ensure a smooth transition into a unified exchange rate system.
“The first is to limit the short-term pains until efficiency gains materialize by responding swiftly with an inward-oriented rescue guideline while the second should seek to boost the pace at which such efficiency gains materialize,” he said.
He advised, it’s necessary the CBN “submit all the instruments of exchange rate determination” towards a free-market approach.
Appointments
Seplat appoints Emeka Onwuka as CFO
Onwuka has over 30 years’ experience in financial services across Sub-Saharan Africa.
Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc. has appointed Mr. Emeka Onwuka as Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director, Lagos, and London.
The appointment takes effect from August 1, 2020.
The appointment was announced in a notice sent to the Nigeria Stock Exchange on Friday and has been ratified by the company’s board of directors.
According to the notice which was signed by the company secretary and chief governance compliance officer, Mrs. Edith Onwuchekwa, the Board of Seplat is confident that “the wealth of knowledge and experience Onwuka brings will be a great addition to the Company”.
Mr. Onwuka has over 30 years’ experience in financial services across Sub-Saharan Africa. Mr Onwuka is a Partner at Andersen Tax Nigeria and holds various Board positions as Chairman; FMDQ Securities Exchange Limited; Director FMDQ Holdings Limited; Director, Ecobank Nigeria Limited; and Director, Bharti Airtel Nigeria.
He was also the former Group Managing Director /CEO of Diamond Bank Plc and former Chairman of Enterprise Bank Limited.
READ MORE: This is what Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is up against
He is a Chartered Accountant, a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, and a Fellow of Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria.
Mr. Onwuka received his B.SC. in Political Science from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and holds an MBA from the University of Benin.
He is an alumnus of the Lagos Business School, Wharton Business School and Harvard Business School.
Onwuka also holds the Nigerian National Honor, Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON).
Fake DSS operative remanded for defrauding FCMB Director to the tune of N1.85 million
Guinea Insurance Plc gives optimistic Q3 earnings forecast in spite of COVID-19
CBN unification of exchange rate a welcome development – MAN
Seplat appoints Emeka Onwuka as CFO
E-payments ecosystem continues to show promise
COVID-19 Update in Nigeria
Top 10 highest earning CEO’s in Nigeria
These foreign tech companies must now pay tax to Nigerian Government
Ripple payment now operational in U.S, 22 geopolitical regions
Nigeria’s excess crude account falls to $72 million
Stanley
December 30, 2019 at 12:24 am
I don’t see any need for an investor who is buying shares in this age to be burdened with the process of completing the e-dividend mandate form separately, taking it to the bank for signature verification etc, and submitting at the registrars’. It’s a lot of burden on some investors who don’t have the time. Rather, the stockbrokers should process these as a standard for a fee, on behalf of their clients (investors) since they already have their current account details and bvn.