Dangote Sugar has stopped trading on its shares at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) following the announcement of its closed period. The new disclosure will prevent all Dangote Sugar insiders from trading on the shares of the firm, which is owned by African richest man, Aliko Dangote.
The company announced this in a statement published on the website of NSE. According to the statement seen by Nairametrics, the closed period was prompted by Dangote Sugar’s preparation to release its audited financial statement for the year ended December 2019.
“The company wishes to notify the Exchange and the investing public of its closed period from today (yesterday), January 23, 2020, till 24 hours after the filing of the audited financial statement for the year ended December 31, 2019.”
What this means for shareholders: External shareholders, who have no ties or knowledge of the financial proceedings in Dangote Sugar, can still trade on the company’s shares without any limitation but shareholders who have inside information are barred from conducting any trade on the company’s shares.
Shareholders such as the management of Dangote Sugar, Directors, employees, Advisers, Consultants, and other individuals related or linked to them and the company in terms of dealings are considered as insiders, so they are forbidden from trading the shares of Dangote Sugar on NSE.
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This is done in order to allow for fair play in the stock market. These individuals with insider information could be exposed to financial information that could influence their decisions as related to the stock of Dangote Sugar. This gives them an advantage over other shareholders who are in the dark as regards the financial information of the company.
It’s a tradition in the stock market: The closed period and ban on insiders of a company is a periodical situation. It occurs when quoted companies are preparing to release their financial statement. It is in compliance with the NSE issuers’ rules.