SEC Simplifies Process For Shareholders of Dangote, MTN, Others to Claim Dividends in Days

SEC Simplifies Process For Shareholders of Dangote, MTN, Others to Claim Dividends in Days

  • The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is simplifying the process of dividend payment
  • The commission said it is creating an e-dividend portal for unclaimed dividends by shareholders
  • It said the portal would become functional by the end of November and eliminate the hardships of getting dividends

Pascal Oparada has over a decade of experience covering Tech, Energy, Stocks, Investments, and the Economy.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has perfected plans to create an e-dividend portal to help simplify mandating accounts in the capital market.

SEC explained that the procedures to ensure trust in the Collective Investment Scheme (CIS) have raised the fund under management from N1 trillion in 2020 to N2 trillion in 2023.

SEC, dividends
Director General of SEC, Lamido Yuguda Credit: @sec
Source: Facebook

Unclaimed dividends rise to N190 billion IN 2023

The figure increased to N190 billion in August 2023 from N180 billion in December 2021 and N170 billion in 2020, Legit.ng reported.

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The capital market regulator has initiated several measures to eliminate the challenges encountered by investors in claiming their dividends via savings accounts, especially in the introduction of the e-Dividend Management Mandate System.

The initiative was launched in 2015 and is an electronic dividend payment platform enabling an investor’s account to be credited after dividend payment.

SEC also recently inaugurated e-dividend champions for banks and registrars at its Lagos Zonal office, The Guardian reports.

Per the report, the champions will be responsible for sending all shareholders’ complaints on registration to the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBBS) to clarify the challenges within three days.

Experts X-ray reasons for unclaimed dividends

Experts say rising unclaimed dividends have been linked to a lack of awareness, forgotten investments, multiple subscriptions, and inaccurate identity management, which caused the SEC to deploy measures to check the anomaly.

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The commission’s Director-General, Lamido Yuguda, said on Wednesday, November 15, 2023, that SEC was ready to tackle the endless problems of unclaimed dividends.

Yuguda said the portal will become operational in November, boosting efficiency and significantly dropping unclaimed dividends.

He said:

“9,500 shareholders remaining”: MTN releases links, methods to claim dividends

Legit.ng reported that according to MTN Nigeria's annual report, over 9,500 shareholders have yet to claim their dividends.

Dividends are the annual returns a firm pays to shareholders, and unclaimed dividends are the profits yet to be appropriated by shareholders.

MTN’s shareholders whose names appear in its Register of Members are also entitled to a final dividend of N10.00 per 2 kobo ordinary shares paid on March 27, 2023.

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Pascal Oparada avatar

Pascal Oparada (Business editor) For over a decade, Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment, and the economy. He has worked in many media organizations such as Daily Independent, TheNiche newspaper, and the Nigerian Xpress. He is a 2018 PwC Media Excellence Award winner. Email:pascal.oparada@corp.legit.ng