By Nse Anthony-Uko
(Sundiata Post) — The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said the unclaimed dividend stood at N103 billion as at December 2017, stressing the need for capital market investors to enroll in the e-dividend registration platform.
The e-registration platform was designed as part of efforts by the Capital market regulatory authority to eradicate the difficulties encountered by retail investors in claiming their dividends through their savings account.
Addressing shareholders at the maiden edition of ‘Dividend Payment Awards For Nigeria’s Listed Companies,’ organised by Third Observers Nigeria Limited in Lagos, the director-general of SEC, Dr. Abdul Zubair maintained that the era of stale dividends and huge unclaimed dividends in the market will be a thing of the past if investors’ would keyed into the e-dividend payment platform.
The SEC acting DG represented by the Director of the commission, Rowland Henry bemoaned the poor investors’ patronage on e-dividend registration in the market, noting that huge amount of unclaimed dividend discourages investors from investing in the stock market.
“We must energise the law that will stop the issuance of paper warrant and until the market can successfully stop the issuance if paper dividend warrant, that will force every body to enroll and once every body enroll, all your outstanding shares that you have not collected, you will have the alert on your account directly.
“We need to encourage people to key into the platform. As at last count in December 2017, total amount of unclaimed dividend is N103 billion. The continuous growth of unclaimed dividend needs urgent steps for it to be curbed. Huge amount of unclaimed dividend will discourage both local and foreign investors and make them to look at other asset classes like the fixed income market.”
He called on all shareholders and investors in the Nigerian capital market to complete the e-dividend mandate documents with their banks and registrars
He advised registrars to exercise caution while validating names generated by the system to avoid dissimilarity with the physical forms.
Zubair recently announced that the deadline for the free registration, that has been paid for by the commission since the introduction of the e-dividend would continue till February 28, 2018.
At the event, Vitafoam Nigeria, Flourmill Nigeria and Nigerian Breweries Plc were awarded for consistent paying dividend to their shareholders in the last 35 years.
Managing director of Third Observers Nigeria, Abiodun Ayodele said it is organising the event to sensitize the Nigerian Public and particularly the shareholders of quoted companies in Nigeria to the availability of dividend income every year from investment in the quoted companies in the country and to identify the various companies’ performances to date on dividend payment.