The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has concluded arrangements to introduce the first ever Issuers’ Portal in the Nigerian Capital Market known as X-Issuer. The new portal, which will be formally launched on Tuesday, March 26, 2013 at the MUSON Centre in Lagos, is one of a number of new regulatory initiatives of The NSE that will allow online information submission for enhanced interaction between the Exchange and listed companies.
The Head, Listings Regulation of the NSE, Mrs. Josephine Igbinosun, explained that X-Issuer is a secure on-line portal through which Issuers will submit financial and other information to the NSE and the market from the comfort of their offices. She noted that the portal will not only encourage transparency and accountability but will expedite the discharge of Issuers’ post-listings obligations relating to structured and continuous disclosures. She also stressed that X-Issuer will eliminate leakage of price sensitive information because of the minimal time between submission by the Issuer and release to the market.
Igbinosun explained that the portal will offer unique benefits of data capture, form submission validation and other ancillary services such as submission notification mechanisms and tracking of submitted information. With this, listed companies no longer need to submit hard copies of information to The Exchange by post, hand delivery or courier.
The Listings Regulation boss further stressed that the X-Issuer will facilitate comparison of data by international and local investors and analysts, giving issuers’ greater visibility in the market. The mandatory electronic submission will put in place better coordination that will ensure information from companies is released to the market accurately and in a timely manner.
In a bid to enhance the overall user experience, the Exchange commenced a User Acceptance Test (UAT) with a number of listed companies, providing training to build capacity and requisite know-how of the new electronic submission system, as quality and knowledge transfer are key success factors.
“At The Exchange, we intend to be well-positioned to adapt our business to meet the needs of our clients for overall operational efficiency. X-Issuer once again demonstrates our commitment to building an African Institution that competes effectively in the global” Igbinosun added.
Source: NGSE.
