The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) expelled no fewer than 22 companies between 2016 and 2017 over non-performance and failure to meet the required post-quotation standards.
Data obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) from the exchange showed that the delisted companies included Cappa and D’Alberto, Intercontinental Bank Preference shares, IPWA, G Cappa and West African Glass Industries.
Others were Investment & Allied Insurance, Alumaco, Jos International Breweries, Adswitch, Rokanna, Vono Products, Lennards Nigeria, P.S. Mandrides & Company, Premier Breweries, Costain, Navitus Energy, Nigerian Ropes, Beco Petroleum, M Tech Communication, MTI, UTC and Ashaka Cement.
However, Seven-Up Bottling Company, African Paints and Afrik Pharmaceuticals were delisted in 2018.
Delisting is the process of removing a company from the official list of the stock either voluntarily or by compulsion.
NAN reports that under a voluntary delisting window (which seldom happens), a quoted company can decide to delist from the exchange due to reasons such as merger/acquisition.
On the other hand, the NSE can compulsorily delist a firm when it fails to meet up with post-quotation standards.
The exchange, however, listed only five new companies: The Initiatives, in 2016, while Transcorp Hotels, Global Spectrum Energy Service, Jaiz Bank and Med-View Airline were listed in 2017.
Mr Oscar Onyema, Chief Executive Officer, NSE, said recently that companies in their life cycle would be listed, while others would be delisted over time.
Onyema said the development was the reality that exchanges around the world experienced.
“Companies will delist for different reasons from voluntary to regulatory delisting, mergers and acquisitions and other things that would cause them to delist.
“Our job is to make sure that we make it easy for companies to come in and if they want to leave, that they leave in an orderly manner.
“So, what we have tried to do with our listing rules in the last one to two years is that we have tried to enhance the rules to ensure that companies behave in an orderly fashion,” Onyema said.
Speaking on the issue, Prof. Sheriffdeen Tella of the Economics department, Olabisi Onabanjo University Ago-Iwoye, Ogun, told NAN that the development was due to the economic situation.
Tella said the Nigerian economy had not performed creditably in the last three years. “The economy entered recession in 2015 and started coming out sluggishly towards the end of 2017.
