Namibian investment company Trustco has until the end of July to get its affairs in order before it is suspended from the JSE, but is pinning its hopes on an urgent court application.
This follows an almost two-year battle after the local bourse first announced in November 2020 it is suspending the company for not complying with its listing requirements in reporting its 2019 annual and 2020 interim results.
The stand-off started over an accounting issue flagged by the JSE in Trustco’s 2019 results, which the company refused to restate, as it would have affected profit. The JSE said in a statement at the time Trustco failed to meet accounting standards, but the company disagreed.
Trustco first approached the financial services tribunal, which forms part of the Financial Sector Conduct Authority. However, it dismissed its application in November 2021 before the JSE again announced in February 2022 it is to suspend the company.
Trustco then went back to the JSE and asked it to postpone its suspension, which the JSE agreed to.
In February 2022, Trustco reapplied to the tribunal, followed by an urgent application to the high court for an interdict days later, asking for the JSE’s decision to be postponed until a ruling is made.
But the tribunal dismissed Trustco’s second application on Wednesday and now the company has a week to “take any steps it deems necessary”, the company said in a statement on Thursday.
Trustco, valued at R1.3bn on the JSE, said it will now head back to court to lodge an urgent application and asked the local bourse to push its suspension back from July 20 to July 29 to “facilitate the preparation of the urgent application for hearing, following the numerous developments that occurred after the date on which it was initially enrolled for hearing”.
The JSE agreed “to facilitate the orderly resolution of the matter by the court”, Trustco said.
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