Some shareholders of quoted companies listed on the capital market have stressed the need for regulators to always seek for friendly policies and regulations to encourage new listings and bring back investors.
Capital market shareholders, who made the call on enquiry, said the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) should review penalties imposed on quoted companies to attract new listings.
They noted that incessant penalties was discouraging companies from seeking quotation on the nation’s bourse, thereby affecting growth and development of the market.
National Coordinator Emeritus, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), Sir Sunny Nwosu, said that there was need for friendly policies and regulation by capital market regulators.
Nwosu said that lack of proper compensation for investors that lost funds during the market meltdown contributed to poor investor confidence in the market, whereas brokers were given forbearance package.
President, Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Mr. Boniface Okezie, speaking in the same vein, said that market regulators must pursue friendly policies and initiatives to push the market forward.
He said that bank nationalization, to a large extent, also affected investor confidence in the market.
He said the current leadership of SEC and NSE had done well with the introduction of various initiatives and zero tolerance on fraudulent capital market operators.
ISAN Secretary, Mr. Moses Igbrude, noted that issue of penalties must be readdressed by market operators for confidence building.
Igbrude said that some companies had delisted from the exchange due to penalties while new companies were afraid to list.
He added that SEC and NSE should encourage companies to embrace share buy-back initiative instead of approving share reconstruction, which is being used by companies in robbing investors.
He noted that market regulators should be fair in their regulations and penalties, adding that penalties were being paid from shareholders’ funds and was also discouraging investor confidence.
