NASD PLC is a Securities Exchange registered by the Securities and Exchange Commission [“SEC”] to operate a formal Over-The-Counter [“OTC”] market in Nigeria. The acronym NASD was derived from the company’s origin - the "National Association of Securities Dealers".

NASD PLC provides a regulated market place for OTC transactions [the “NASD OTC Market”] where all instruments not listed on a registered Exchange but duly registered by the Securities and Exchange Commission can be traded through licensed Participating Institutions. It also provides an avenue for shareholders to trade securities of unquoted public companies; and a centralised source of information and price discovery on unquoted public companies.

The trading platform is an electronic inter-dealer quotation system that displays historical price data, current price quotes, and market depth information on all long term securities registered by the Securities and Exchange Commission but not listed on any other exchange in Nigeria. The official name for the NASD OTC Securities Exchange trading platform is – Bilateral Inter-Dealer Trading System [“BiTS”]. The platform provides an avenue for securities to be traded without the issuer being admitted thereby providing more transparency; and ultimately liquidity to the shareholder and the capital market in general.

NASD PLC is currently owned by fifty-nine (59) capital market operators in Nigeria and has an authorized Share Capital of N500 Million. Being a public quoted company, the shares are freely transferable to any interested investor and may be traded on the NASD OTC Market upon availability.

The NASD OTC Securities Exchange is a Self-Regulatory Organization [“SRO”].

The BiTS platform has encrypted login access, security certificates, clustering and replication of environment for continuous market availability.

» Broker, Broker/Dealers and Custodians are licensed with NASD OTC Securities Exchange to introduce securities and make market (either buy or sell)..

» Accredited Issuing Houses are licensed with NASD OTC Securities Exchange to provide financial and Investment advice to Issuers about participating on the NASD OTC Market.

» 6 Settlement banks act on behalf of the Broker, Broker/ Dealers to ensure that all deals are settled and paid for on the appropriate transaction date.

» Central Securities Clearing System [“CSCS”] is the central depository for NASD OTC Market and ensures completion on delivery of transactions.

Trades can be executed on NASD OTC market between the hours of 10.00 a.m. and 3.00 p.m. on weekdays (with the exception of public holidays)

The rules and regulations of the NASD OTC market are designed to protect investors, regulate the activities of Participating Institutions and create an orderly environment for efficient trading of unquoted public securities. The NASD OTC Market rules are avaiblable . here

» Transparency in trade which enhances investors’ confidence

» A centralized platform for price discovery

» A source of long-term funding for companies

» Access to broad range of asset classes

» Access to specialized market data

» Innovation of new and unique investment solutions

» Increased corporate visibility

» Improved investor / Shareholder relations

The requirements for admission on the NASD OTC Securities Exchange is available on the official website here

Securities can be introduced either by the company or by individual shareholders. Where the securities are introduced by the Company, the Board of the Company shall undertake to comply with NASD OTC Market rules and provide any information as may be reasonably required by NASD PLC. This is known as "Company Admission".

Where the security is introduced by Shareholders who wish to trade his/her holdings of unquoted public companies. This is referred to as "Security Admission". This is done through a licensed Participating Institution; the company has no obligation to NASD PLC.

Admission is completed between two to four weeks (subject to compliance with the NASD OTC Market Rules and fulfillment of all admission requirements).

Prices are determined by demand and supply. Investors are advised to appoint Participating Institution who can analyse the Company’s financials and advise on appropriate bid and offer values for securities of interest. Where bids exceed offers, the price of the security may rise and where offers exceed bids, the price may be expected to fall to a level where a deal may be struck.

There is a 10% free float requirement for admitted companies. No such requirement exists for admitted securities

NASD's administrative control facility carries out surveillance on market activities. Traders' activities are actively monitored both on and off the trading platform.

The integrity of the market is critical to the continued growth of the OTC market in Nigeria. Defaulters will face sanctions, fines and/or suspension from trading as may be imposed by the NASD Disciplinary Committee.

NASD has established a Disciplinary Committee to handle disputes arising from dealings on the OTC market and have put in place rules and regulations guiding market activity. Investors can submit complaints or report any market infraction directly to NASD or via email to whistleblowing@nasdng.com.

The Disciplinary Committee investigates all complaints received before arriving at a decision.

A public unquoted equity stock is a unit of share of a public limited company [“PLC”] that is not quoted on the board of any registered Exchange in Nigeria. It is commonly referred to as “shares”.

Section 54 (1) of the Investment and Securities Act states that "All securities of public companies and all Investments of a collective investment scheme shall be registered with the Commission under the terms and conditions contained herein". Accordingly, NASD will not trade the securities of public companies that are not registered with the Commission. Such securities contravene investment laws, attract penalties and may expose the investor to undue risk.

The issuer of such securities should immediately register the securities with the Commission. Once the Commission has registered the securities, they can then be traded on the NASD OTC market.

All trades are settled through the Central Securities Clearing System [“CSCS”] on T+3 basis (i.e. Transaction date plus three days).

Yes. NASD operates a 15% +/- price bands as prices will be determined solely by the forces of demand and supply.

Price movements are documented in the market index. Daily movements are also available on the market ticker on our website. The Daily Market summary highlights the volumes traded and the deal prices.

Transfer and trading refers to the same thing, both words connotes change of ownership of a share certificate.

Securities listed on a registered Exchange can not be traded on NASD OTC Market

By default all securities of public companies not quoted on another Exchange qualify to be traded on the NASD OTC Market. Once a security has been approved for admission on another Exchange, that Exchange will notify NASD. Upon receipt of this written notification, NASD will immediately cease trading on that security and discharge the security from the NASD OTC Securities Exchange.

You can get the Pricelist of securities trading on NASD OTC market from our website under the heading “Daily Market Summary”. View price list here

No, NASD is an organised market that provides a platform where all unquoted securities can be traded between sellers and buyers on behalf of the investors. All trades on the platform are executed by NASD licensed Participating Institutions.

No. NASD Plc is a neutral operator in the financial markets. It only provides platforms for trades to be executed.

Corporate actions of admitted securities are announced on the website. As an OTC market, we do not intervene in valuation and pricing but shall make all information necessary for appropriate pricing available to the public.

Yes. Lenders will be pleased to learn that OTC trading stocks qualify for lien arrangements. NASD provides universally acceptable prices as a reference while the CSCS will hold dematerialised shares according to the terms of the borrower / lender agreement. For a full list of NASD OTC licensed Particpating Institutions who can structure your lien arrangement. Click here to view a list of licensed Particpating Institutions.

i. Instruct a licensed Particpating Institution to verify signature and open a depository account with CSCS.

ii. The Particpating Institution will attach the certificate with a duly signed transfer form and send to the Company’s Registrar for verification.

iii. The Registrar will verify the signature securing the certificate and confirm the Investor's holding. Once verified, the Registrar will send a book entry of the Investor’s holding to the depository account held in CSCS

iv. CSCS will credit the Investor’s account with the units of shares verified and the Participating Institution can offer to sell the amount credited at the start of the next trading day.

This is a process in which physical share certificates are converted into electronic format and domiciled with a registered depository. CSCS is officially the only company that provides depository services to the Nigerian capital market. Share certificates must be converted into electronic form before they can be traded on the NASD OTC Market.

Yes, you need to open a CSCS account for transactions on NASD OTC Market. Simply contact any of our licesned Participating Institutions and a new account will be created with CSCS.

Take your share certificates to a licensed Participating Institution of the NASD OTC Securities Exchange

You need to sign in the two specified places to cover both verification and dematerialisation of the certificate into your CSCS account.

Your Participating Institution should contact the Registrar and obtain your certificate for you.

Yes. Although the dematerialization process is set up to provide greater security and easy access; Investors may approach the Registrars and request for a physical certificate.

Securities are negotiable financial instrument that holds some type of monetary value and are frequently traded in the financial markets. These include Equity, Bonds, Notes, Options, Collective Investment Schemes, Mutual Funds, Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITS). Securities can be broadly categorized into two distinct types: Equities and Debts.

Equity is a stock or any other security representing an ownership interest in a company.

A Bond is an instrument of indebtedness of the bond issuer to the holders. It is a debt security, under which the issuer owes the holders a debt and depending on the terms of the bond agreement; the bond issuer is obliged to pay the holder interest (the coupon) and/or to repay the principal at a later date, termed the maturity.

Collective Investment Scheme is a way of investing money alongside other investors in order to benefit from the inherent advantages of working as part of a group. This allows for sharing of risks and returns for the underlying investments of the scheme

Derivatives are financial instruments that derives its value from the underlying entities such as asset, index or interest rate. It has no intrinsic value in itself.

A Mutual Fund is a type of professionally managed collective investment vehicle that pools money from many Investors to purchase securities. It could be "open-ended," meaning Investors can trade shares of the fund at any time or close ended.

REITS is a vehicle that invests in the ownership and management of a pool of real estate assets and mortgages, and packages them as tradable securities into which individual investors can subscribe.

The securities of Linked Notes will go through the same process of dematerialization and admission to trade on NASD OTC Market as regular equities. Any modifications to the process will be communicated to the client ahead of the trade.