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The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is updating its records on all public limited liability companies (Plcs) for it to properly monitor the companies that will participate at the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) over-the-counter (OTC) securities market.

BusinessDay investigations reveal that there are over 19,000 public limited companies registered at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), which records are either obsolete or non existent.

The exercise, according to our source, is to have detailed records on the companies and institute a measure of credibility and transparency in the OTC securities market.

Suleyman Abdu Ndanusa, chairman of board of Securities and Exchange Commission, who disclosed this on Monday in Lagos at the official launch of NASD plc Over-The-Counter (OTC) market, said this renewed move by the commission is in recognition that the new OTC platform will ensure transparency in transfer of ownership in unlisted equities.

A public limited company is one which has a minimum of 50 shareholders, but before the take-off of NASD-OTC market, transferability of shareholding in most public limited companies have been perceived by many stakeholders as not being transparent.

The SEC board chairman emphasised that the existence of NASD OTC market is very important because there should not be limitation in transferability of ownership of unlisted equities. “It is envisaged that the market will bring transparency and liquidity of unlisted equities. This will further deepen the market and encourage listings,” he added.

Following Monday’s formal launch of NASD OTC platform, deals will begin today (Tuesday) on this market which offers an opportunity to buy and sell non-listed securities in an organised and transparent market.

Unlike a traditional exchange, NASD OTC market will not have a trading floor. Instead, it is a virtual market via two platforms. The first is an internet based bulletin board –christened BITS (Bilateral Interdealer Trading System) and the second is a hosted platform leased from the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) – x-stream – and both systems can be accessed from any part of the world.

“This is a dream that has been long coming since late ‘80s and early ‘90s. The ideal commenced during my tenure as the director general of SEC. I thank the current director general for making this dream a reality. The global focus after financial market crisis has shifted to management of risk, corporate governance… The launch of this market is a step in the right direction”, Ndanusa stated.