NICOL cleared to re-list on stock market

ABDUEL ELINAZA

CMSA Principal Public Relations Manager Charles Shirima

CAPITAL Markets and Securities Authority (CMSA) yesterday issued an approval for the relisting of National Investments Company Limited (NICOL) on Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE).

The approval came after the authority blessed NICOL prospectus and agreed to the proposed date of relisting on May 16. Though, CMSA approved the prospectus date, final confirmation is supposed to be issued by NICOL and then DSE.

However, NICOL failed to confirm the exact date by the time the paper goes to bed. CMSA Principal Public Relations Manager Charles Shirima said NICOL had to submit afresh prospectus after being delisted for a long period.

“NICOL prospectus proposed a relisting on May 16 but the final date is subject for DSE and NICOL approval,” Mr Shirima told ‘Daily News’ yesterday.

DSE Chief Executive Officer Moremi Marwa said NICOL has yet to indicate the actual re-listing date.

“No, they [NICOL] haven’t indicated when,” Mr Marwa said. NICOL bid to return on the bourse started last year after the new management turned around the first private mutual fund that ran into management disagreements.

NICOL Shareholders Liaison Irene Nkya said they were in the last stage of returning to the stock exchange as CMSA and DSE were working on their proposal. “We are waiting for DSE to show us [relisting] procedures…but we will be back on the market not beyond quarter three,” Ms Nkya told ‘Daily News.’

She, however, failed to confirm the date as those responsible were out of office. The firm last week announced a net profit slowdown for the group that fell to 1.037bn/- in 2017 from 8.67bn/- in 2016 translating to earnings per share of 33/-.

The revenue climbed up to 1.93bn/- from 1.91bn/- . NICOL also announced a dividend of 25/- a share for 2017, which was the first since inception of the firm and after years of management wrangles.

The bid for NICOL to return started last year after the firm posted strong financials for 2016.

In January, the mutual fund submitted the re-listing application to DSE for evaluation.

NICOL was delisted in mid-2011 after failing to comply with listing regulation including disclosing of their financial statements and reporting the progress of its subsidiary companies. In 2008, NICOL listed all its 1.6 billion shares on the bourse. A share before delisted was traded at 270/-.