Trustco Group Holdings says it has appealed against a decision by the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) to suspend its listing.
The diversified financial services company, in a SENS announcement issued on Monday, said it lodged its appeal on Friday.
“On Friday 18 February 2022, Trustco filed and lodged in terms of section 230 of the Financial Sector Regulations Act, 2017 (“the Act”) an application for reconsideration of the decision taken by the JSE to suspend Trustco’s listing and Trustco simultaneously filed an application in terms of Section 231 of the Act against the decision by the JSE to suspend Trustco’s listing. Trustco seeks that the JSE’s suspension decision is itself suspended.”
Trustco argues that the JSE has no legal grounds to suspend the company’s listing until its appeal lodged with South Africa’s High Court has been finalised.
“As to the grounds raised in the reconsideration application, Trustco remains of the opinion that there is no legal basis for the suspension decision to be enforced, pending the unresolved dispute (the difference in interpretation of IFRS accounting standards) between Trustco and the JSE.”
The company recently approached the High Court seeking relief against a decision by the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) to revise and restate its financial information for the year ended March 31, 2019 and interim results for the six months to September 30, 2019.
This was after the South African Financial Services Tribunal (FST) had dismissed its appeal against a directive by the bourse.
Trustco accuses the JSE of undermining the independence, accountability and integrity of its board, a development that has seen it securing minority shareholder approval to delist from the bourse and seek new listing elsewhere.
The appeal by Trustco against the suspension, however, comes as the diversified conglomerate’s minority shareholders voted in favour of all resolutions set out in the group’s non-binding advisory vote conducted.
Trustco’s delisting will also result in the diversified group delisting from the Namibian Stock Exchange, where it has a secondary listing.
The Namibia-headquartered company has operations in insurance and investments, resources, and banking and finance.
