Business
SEC Extends Companies Recapitalisation To Sept. 30, 2015
The Securities and Ex
change Commission (SEC) has announced the extension of date in minimum capital requirements for registered capital market operators expected to take off by January 1, 2015.
The apex regulators had on Wednesday approved an extension of the deadline for compliance by nine months, to 30th September 2015.
According to a statement by the SEC made available on their website, the board of the Securities and Exchange Commission at its meeting of 22nd December, 2014 reviewed the status report on the level of compliance by capital market operators with the new minimum capital requirement which has a compliance deadline of 31st December 2014.
The statement added that the Board expressed satisfaction with the efforts made by all operators, particularly those who have complied with the new requirements.
The Board however, took cognizance of the effort of the global economic situation and approved an extension of the deadline for compliance with the new minimum capital requirements by nine months to 30th September 2015.
The Tide learnt that the extension resulted from pressures by market operators on the SEC for an extension of the recapitalization deadline due to the ongoing uncertainties in the economic sector which had hampered market growth and development.
However, the apex capital market regulator had increased minimum capital base for broker/dealer by 329 per cent from the existing N70 million to N300 million.
Broker, which currently operates with capital base of N40 million will now be required to have N200 million representing an increase of 400 per cent.
Issuing house which facilitate new issues in the primary market will now be required to have minimum capital base of N200 million as against the current capital base of N50 million.
The capital requirement for underwriter also doubled from N100 million to N200 million .
A Registrar will now have a minimum capital base of N150 million as against the current requirement of N50 million while the minimum capital base for corporate investment adviser’s capital base is now N2 million from N500,000.