Lagos The PUNCH - Over the course of three years, The Nigerian Exchange Limited sanctioned 16 companies for various market infractions. LASACO Assurance Plc, Presco Plc, Ardova Plc, CandI Leasing Plc, and 12 other listed companies on the bourse were each fined N779.5m by the NGX between 2020 and 2022. Sanctions were imposed because some post-listing requirements of the Exchange were not met by the companies, particularly the deadline for filing results and financial statements. Seven of the companies received financial sanctions from the NGX totaling N586 million in 2021, while 14 of the companies received sanctions totaling N170 point 6 million in 2022. Three of the companies received N22.9m in 2020.
ETI, FBN Holdings Plc, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, Honeywell Flour Mills Plc, Unity Bank Plc, Presco Plc, Ardova Plc, CandI Leasing Plc, Coronation Insurance Plc, Royal Exchange Plc, PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc, LASACO Assurance Plc, Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc, and Omatek Ventures Plc were the 14 businesses that received fines in 2022. The Exchange fined Coronation Insurance N14.9m in 2022. C and I Leasing and Ardova then each received N11.6m and N9.7m in fines from the Exchange, respectively. The management of the Exchange fined Presco N5.1m, while Honeywell Flour Mills received a N1.2m sanction for missing the deadline for submitting its third quarter 2021 results and accounts.
Financial institutions sanctioned included ETI which was fined N3.2m in 2022; FBN Holdings was fined N8.1m; Union Bank of Nigeria, N1.2m; Fidelity Bank Plc was fined N1.6m in 2021 while Unity Bank Plc was sanctioned N4.2m. It's interesting to note that Omatek Ventures was hit with a N85.3m fine by the Exchange in 2022. The Information and Communications Technology company was also fined N537.2m for failing to provide the investing public with the audited financial statements for the years 2015 to 2018. Additionally, between 2020 and 2022, the Exchange penalized LASACO Assurance N29.2 for not meeting certain post-listing requirements.
According to the breakdown, LASACO Assurance received a N5.3m fine in 2022 for failing to release its 2021 audited financial statements to the investing public. The company was also assessed a N15.1m fine in 2021 for failing to submit the first quarter 2021 results and the audited 2020 accounts. For failing to submit an audited 2019 report, LASACO Assurance was also fined N8.8m in 2020's first and second quarter. Findings revealed that investors had avoided trading in the stocks of some of the impacted companies. The Exchange has also been informed of some of the companies' plans to delist, particularly Omatek Ventures.
The Exchange in a statement stated that “The board of NGX RegCo approved the reclassification of the Omatek Ventures from delisting watch list to restructuring status giving the Company time to source investors and reclassify its operations.”
