The front regulators at Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) are all set to de-list at least 26 listed companies at the bourse for committing various defaults of the listing regulations.
Also, the Exchange has extended the deadline up to for July 14 for the defaulting Hashimi Can Company which has opted for voluntary delisting through buy-back of shares by the sponsors under the Listing Regulation No.30-A. “The following companies have failed to rectify the default(s) within the stipulated time and therefore liable for action under the said Regulation,” reads a KSE notice issued here Wednesday.
The firms facing delisting include Al-Mal Securities and Services, Dominion Stock Fund, Harum Textile Mills, Investec Securities, Kashmir Polytex, Pakistan Industrial and Commercial Leasing, Sahrish Textile Mills, Usman Textile Mills, Union Insurance Company of Pakistan, Dadabhoy Insurance Company, First Islamic Modaraba, Ittefaq General Insurance Company, Ittefaq Textile Mills, MacDonald Layton and Co., Mian Muhammed Sugar Mills, Zahur Textile Mills, Accord Textiles, AL-Azhar Textile Mills, Al-Qaim Textile Mills, Amin Spinning Mills, Fawad Textile Mills, Indus Fruit Products, Libaas Textile, Mubarik Dairies, Shahpur Textile Mills and AMZ Ventures Limited. “The Exchange in the interest of investors’ protection and in accordance with Listing Regulation No. 30(1)(b)(iii) intends to now de-list these companies,” the KSE noted.
These companies attracted the regulator’s ire for their failure to comply with clause (b)(c)(e) and (g) of the Listing Regulation No.30 of the KSE. These rules apply when a listed firm fails to hold AGM or pay annual listing fee for two years, starts winding up proceedings and refuses to join the Central Depositary System. “The companies have failed to rectify the default(s) within the stipulated time and therefore liable for action under the said Regulation,” the KSE said. The managements of the concerned companies have been asked to inform, in black and white, the Exchange if they tend to challenge their delisting within 30 days of publication of the KSE notice.
“Otherwise the Exchange in compliance with the above referred Regulation will proceed further and take action of delisting of the companies,” it said. There would be no trading in the shares of the defaulting firms under Sub-section (7) of Section 9 of the Securities and Exchange Ordinance, 1969 and the Listing Regulations of the Exchange. In another notice issued on Wednesday, the KSE observed that Hashimi Can Company was put on notice for defaults like non-holding of AGMs, non-payment of listing fee and non-induction of ordinary shares of the company into the CDS of the Central Depository Company. The company was required to rectify the above defaults within 90 days, up to May 15. The company, however, had expressed its desire to opt for a voluntary delisting through buy-back of shares by the sponsors. “The company has been allowed extension in time to fulfill the requirements of Listing Regulation No.30-A within 60 days i.e. upto July 14,” the Exchange said. In case of non-compliance, the regulator would initiate further action that includes the delisting of the company from the Stock Exchange.
'Investors interest protection' sounds weird. Which investors? Those holding shares? What happens to them? Clearly the management of these companies have gotten away and the investors are the ones who've suffered. Moreover, the KSE initially gives a notice in February giving companies till May and then suddenly the very next day revokes the same notice and suspends trading immediately. So investors clearly didnot get any protection. Take AMZ for example. SECP approved its extention in dividend announcement in 2011 till June 30, 2012, its exist from NBFC and didnot at any time during one year issue any notice. If the company had shut down, wasn't the SECP aware and didn't it feel necessary to issue a notice to warn the shareholders. Infact one got a feeling that the company was in for a turnaround given the SECP approvals. Perhaps KSE should also look at other companies who may pay annual listing fee and hold AOGM but donot have a rupee of revenue and their shares go from 50 paisas to Rs.6 and then down again. Shouldn't investors be protected from such companies too?
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