The Securities and Exchange Commission Nigeria (SEC) has stated that Issuers would henceforth be required to obtain the reference letter of “No-Objection” from their respective primary regulators and file same along with other application documents presented to the Commission.
This was contained in a Circular issued on Thursday by the Commission
The SEC clarified that the directive had become imperative in a bid to further improve its transaction turn-around period and enhance integrity of capital market instruments.
The Circular stated: “the Commission hereby draws the attention of Issuing Houses to the due diligence requirement for a “No-Objection” letter from “primary regulators” of Issuers, especially those in the Banking and Insurance sectors, as a prerequisite for the Commission’s approval of proposed transactions.”
The capital market regulator further stated that the letter of No-Objection should cover Confirmation that there has not been any material change(s) in the financial statements of the Issuer/Sponsor from the last accounting year end to date; Names of current members of the Board of Directors; and No objection to the proposed issuance.
It further stressed that Issuers should note that “where in relevant instances, an application is not accompanied by a letter of “No-Objection”, such submission will be considered to be incomplete and would not be processed.”
