The Nigerian Stock Exchange has extended the due date for the submission of the audited financial statements for listed companies with March 31 year end by 60 days from June 29, 2020 to August 28, 2020.
The extension follows the earlier circular of March 23, 2020, with reference number NSE/RD/LRD/CIR5/20/03/23 wherein listed companies were granted a 60-day grace period for the submission of their audited financial statement for the year ended December 31, 2019.
“Further to the provisions of Rule 17:20 (g): Financial Reporting and Periodic Disclosure, Rulebook of The Exchange, 2015 (Issuers’ Rules) which states that ‘an issuer shall not announce its interim accounts without having first filed its last audited financial statements and any contravention of this provision shall be deemed to be an unauthorised publication under the Rules’, a 60-day extension is also hereby granted for the submission of quarterly returns,” NSE noted.
The Exchange also waived the enforcement of the provision of the rules governing transactions with related parties or interested persons, until further notice.
It noted that the waiver was necessary in order to ensure that the operations of listed companies are not inadvertently constrained at this time.
The NSE said, “An issuer may seek a general mandate from securities holders for recurrent transactions of revenue or trading nature or those necessary for its day-to-day operations such as the purchase and sale of supplies and materials, but not in respect of the purchase or sale of assets, undertakings or businesses. A general mandate is subject to annual renewal.
“Consequently, all listed companies that choose to enter into related party transactions that are within the purview of Rule 20.8 during this period of waiver of enforcement are required to include every resolution proposal setting forth specific details on related party transactions in the notice of board meetings; and obtain the approval of the board before entering into any related party transactions within the purview of Rule 20.8. provided that no transaction’s term shall exceed a term of longer than one financial year;
“Publish an announcement via the Exchange’s Issuers’ Portal within 24 hours of the board’s approval of each transaction, and the announcement shall describe each transaction with specific relevant details as may be required by The Exchange; and disclose all such approved related party transactions as notes in its quarterly financial statements for the period in which they occur, and in the final accounts.”