Stakeholders demand NSE release names of brokerage firms involved in MTN selling, buying of shares

Shareholders and other stakeholders in the Nigerian Capital market are demanding that the list of all brokerage firms that handle the buying and selling of MTN shares. They argue that this will prove to the general populace that its allegiance lies with them and not the powers that be.

According to one of them NSE should “release the names of all brokerage firms that were involved in buying and selling MTN Nigeria’s shares from May 16 – May 22, 2019;  release the actual names, Stanbic Custodian as counterparty name is unacceptable, of the buying and selling party for ALL TRADES across the five trading days specified.  I assure you many people will have heart palpitations on both sides of the aisle; regulators and privileged investors alike.      

According to an analyst Jude Fajoku “Free float worldwide is all about quantity of shares and not about market valuation.  Let us go back to the basics.  The NSE should remove this rule amendment immediately, “the value of its free float is equal to or above N40 billion on the date The Exchange receives the Issuer’s application to list.”  The price of a company’s stock should not be brought into the free float discussion.  The core and only matter should be number of shares freely available to trade relative to total outstanding shares. Amend the rules so that any company with an intended or expected listing market value in excess of $500m (N180B), can only list by IPO.  Listing by Introduction will not be allowed for companies with listing valuation expected to exceed $500m.  The NSE and SEC should never have approved a listing for MTN by introduction.  The regulators had the leverage as this is an involuntary listing and they let it go to waste!  

“MTN Nigeria is dominating the Nigerian telecom industry; has a dominant stake on the NSE (20%)  and is dominating the headlines in scandals ranging from disobeying regulatory directives, exporting cash to its parent market without required documentation and underpaying taxes by $2bn to the Nigerian tax authority.  MTN Nigeria has sued the Attorney General of Nigeria for N3 billion in regards to the underpayment of taxes accusation. The cycle of serenading the BAD and vilifying the GOOD in Nigeria appears to be alive and well.  MTN Nigeria’s listing has been added to a long list of what is wrong by action while espousing what is right by words” he said