By Gbenga Agbana   Thursday, 27 Jan 2011

BGL Securities Limited, the stockbroking arm of the BGL Group, has been readmitted to the league of recapitalised dealing firms on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

A statement on Wednesday said the NSE lifted the suspension of the trading rights of the company because it had met its recapitalisation requirement.

Meanwhile, a competent source within the UBA Group told our correspondent on Wednesday that the UBA Securities Limited was making moves to recapitalise.

The source, who asked not to be named because he was not authorised to speak on the issue, added that the company had already transferred the accounts of its clients to another stockbroking firm, pending the completion of its recapitalisation process. After this, he said, the company would resume full operations.

A statement signed by the Head, Corporate Communications of BGL, Ms. Flora Fabian, on Tuesday, said the issue had been resolved and the company’s trading rights reinstated.

She said, “We are glad that this issue was resolved quickly by the NSE. The inclusion of our name on the list came as a shock to us. This is because we had earlier taken steps to meet the capitalisation requirements prescribed by the NSE. Once we provided the NSE with the required documentation, BGL Securities Limited’s trading rights were immediately reinstated. We would like to reassure our clients and the general public of our ability to continue to meet and surpass regulatory requirements in the discharge of our daily activities.”

The Interim Administrator of the NSE, Mr. Emmanuel Ikazoboh, had told our correspondent on Tuesday, that some of the 57 firms suspended recently by the NSE over inadequate capital base were making moves to meet the Exchange’s recapitalisation requirement.

Investigation by our correspondent had revealed that some of the affected firms were already raising funds to enable them to meet the requirements.

Another dealing member, Afrinvest West Africa Limited, had also floated a N2bn private placement to enhance its shareholders’ fund.

Source: Punch