- SEC Approves New Reporting Guidelines on NSE
The Nigerian Stock Exchange has said the Securities and Exchange Commission has approved its new sustainability disclosure guidelines.
The NSE, in a statement on Wednesday, said the guidelines were in fulfilment of its desire to champion sustainable capital market practices in Africa.
It added that the new guidelines were expected to further deepen the role played by market operators and regulators in leading sustainability policies and regulations.
The statement read in part, “The guidelines primarily provide the value proposition for sustainability in the Nigerian context. It also articulates a step-by-step approach to integrating sustainability into organisations, indicators that should be considered when providing annual disclosure to the Exchange and timelines for such disclosures.
“The guidelines will become effective on January 1, 2019, and will be mandatory for companies listed on the premium board of the Exchange.
“Accounts to December 31, 2019 must be reported on or before March 30, 2020; accounts to February 28, 2020 must be reported on or before May 30, 2020; accounts to May 31, 2020 must be reported on or before August 29, 2020, and accounts to June 30, 2020 must be reported on or before September 28, 2020.”
The Chief Executive Officer, NSE, Oscar Onyema, said, “We are supporting the global agenda of green and sustainable finance, which is so critical for Africa.
“As the first Exchange to list a sovereign green bond in Africa, our issuance of these guidelines is to further enable investors to ascertain their exposure to Environmental, Social and Governance risks, while providing our issuers with a platform to disclose them along common themes for comparability.”
He encouraged peer exchanges to continue to enhance information disclosure in their markets, saying it would help build trust.
The Head, Corporate Communications, NSE, Olumide Orojimi, noted that the guidelines set out recommendations for good practices in 13 thematic areas under four core principles in ESG reporting.
He said, “With the launch of these guidelines, investors can look forward to a consistent approach to ESG reporting from issuers listed on the NSE.”
The statement added that as a member of the United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges initiative and the World Federation of Exchange, the NSE was committed to providing listed companies with guidance on sustainability reporting.
It said steps had been taken to demonstrate its commitment through a number of pre-implementation activities.
