By Chinwendu Obienyi
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued guidelines to regulated entities and capital market stakeholders on the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the circular, the SEC said it has suspended all physical meetings and visits to its offices till further notice adding that in order to protect investors and not disrupt activities in the capital market, its operations will now become fully electronic.
The Commission, which described the market-focused adjustments as temporary, encouraged capital market operators and other stakeholders to conduct meetings and other engagements virtually.
It also advised public companies to take appropriate precautionary measures as recommended by the federal and state governments as well as the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to ensure the safety of shareholders and participants at their Annual General Meetings/Extra-Ordinary General Meetings and other meetings which may be held during the prevalence of the pandemic.
According to SEC, “the adjustments became necessary to sustain the actualisation of its regulatory mandate and maintain the integrity of the Nigerian capital market during this challenging period.
“We will continue to issue updates to market stakeholders as appropriate and closely coordinate with other financial regulators and governmental authorities” the SEC stated.
SEC said, for now, all applications should be made electronically to some dedicated email addresses.
It said for the registration of funds and other relevant filings, a mail can be sent to [email protected], while the registration of securities, public offers, mergers and acquisition, debt issuances and others can be done to [email protected], with fresh applications for registration of capital market operators and pending applications and requests by CMOs for an update of information forwarded to [email protected]
“For filing of returns by public companies, it can be sent to [email protected], while CMOs can send to [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] and [email protected]”, the SEC said.
The Commission further said shareholders with 5 per cent and more stake can file their returns to [email protected], while the AML/CFT can send to [email protected] while adding that investors and CMOs who intend to file complaints to the commission can send a mail to [email protected] or fill the online complaint form on its website.
“The Federal Ministry of Health and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has warned that the country is on the verge of a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“All stakeholders in the Nigerian capital market are encouraged to adhere to all recent directives by the relevant agencies on safety and social distancing” the statement added.
