Equities free fall stalls new one kobo par value policy implementation at NSE

Free fall of listed equities prices at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has stalled the implementation of the new par value approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Investigations revealed that the implementation of the new policy was temporarily suspended following the depressed character of returns on investments at the nation’s bourse.

A management source, who pleaded anonymity, said on Tuesday that “the exchange was worried about the free fall of equities prices and decided to halt implementation of the policy at this critical period.”

According to him, the exchange was being mindful that implementation of the policy might contribute to further fall of equities.

The All-Share Index, which stood at 34,061.89 as of June 2, lost 3,013.90 points or 8.85 per cent to close trading on July 16 at 31,047.99 points due to equities price depreciation, particularly blue chip equities.

The market capitalization, in the same vein, lost N998 billion to close trading at N10.576 trillion on July 16 as against N11.574 trillion recorded on June 2.

SEC had on June 2 approved the one kobo new par value rule submitted by the National Council of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

The exchange, in a statement issued to stockbrokers, said “notwithstanding its par value, the price of every share listed on the exchange shall be determined by the market, save that no share shall trade below one kobo per unit.”

It added that the par value of the company shares traded on the NSE floors had been revised downwards to one kobo from the previous 50k.

Par value is the nominal value of a share as stated in the Memorandum of Association of an Issuer.