By Oluwakemi Abimbola
The total value of unclaimed dividends has risen to N190bn, representing a 7.35 per cent rise from N177bn recorded in 2021, which was the last figure from the Securities and Exchange Commission.
This was revealed on Friday at the media briefing, following the quarterly Capital Market Committee meeting in Abuja.
The SEC’s Executive Commissioner, Operations, Dayo Obisan, stated that while the figure for the unclaimed dividend had gone up, there was a need to pay attention to the pace of increase.
Obisan said, “It is estimated to be N190bn, but I think one of the most important questions to keep asking is the trajectory of growth. Is it growing at a reduced pace? One of the major issues that keeps the figure of unclaimed dividends high is having the final beneficiaries of this money have access to them.”
He added that efforts were being made to reduce the figure.
“At our meeting yesterday (Thursday), we discussed that efforts are being made by the regulators and other capital market operators to ensure that the spate and volume of unclaimed dividends is reduced by transmitting them to the beneficial owners.
“We keep putting a lot of efforts and activities towards making sure that investors on their own come forward to claim their dividends, update their information and other Know Your Customers details, which will not only help us reduce the volume of unclaimed dividend but ensure that future benefits, which is not only limited to unclaimed dividends, get quickly transmitted.
“Thirdly, that everyone in the capital market is rightly and adequately accounted for, so that our data is more robust to aid our planning.”
Last year, the SEC declared that the total value of unclaimed dividends in the country rose to N177bn in 2021 from N168bn in the prior year. The figure was N158.44bn in 2019.
The value of unclaimed soared by a whopping 8,369 per cent from N2.09bn in 1999 to N177bn in 2021 and went up by 96.67 per cent from N90bn in 2015, when the e-dividend mandate was introduced by SEC.
Meanwhile, the SEC Director-General, Lamido Yuguda, revealed that registered exchanges in Nigeria outperformed global indices in the first half of the year.
Yuguda said, “The registered exchanges present at the meeting informed members that Nigeria outperformed global indices on gains in the All-Share Index and market capitalisation.
“This exceptional performance can be attributed to several factors such as appealing dividend yields offered by certain stocks, the recovery of corporate earnings and a notable improvement in sentiments among domestic retail investors. Also, all indicators reflecting investor involvement including volume, value and the number of transactions have demonstrated month-on-month increase throughout the first half of 2023.”
Also, the SEC DG allayed fears about the proposal of the Nigerian Exchange Limited to allow the listing of dollar-denominated bonds by some selected companies and later equities.
He said, “For dollar-denominated bonds listed on the NGX, I don’t see any problem. Any bond should be an obligation. It is backed by the ability of the obligor to repay the bonds. So, while that bond has that attribute, then it doesn’t matter the currency or the denomination.
“Of course, that bond could be a corporate bond, a sovereign bond or an agency bond. What matters really is person or entity that has borrowed the money through that bond is able to meet the requirement of both interest and principal as they fall due. Once, it is there, it is a good investment for those who wish to participate in those kinds of funds.”
