JSE stopped from suspending Trustco
The High Court of South Africa today ruled in favour of Trustco Holdings in an urgent application for an interim interdict restraining the JSE from suspending the Namibian-based group from the stock exchange.
The JSE wants to suspend Trustco because the group refuses to restate its financials. The South African bourse reviewed Trustco’s group annual financial statements for the year ending 31 March 2019, and Trustco’s interim results for the six months ending 31 August 2018.
The issue revolves around the waiver of two loans by Trustco’s majority shareholder, Quinton van Rooyen – one of N$545.6 million and the other N$1 billion – as well as certain of Trustco’s Elisenheim properties.
The JSE referred the issue of the two loans and the Elisenheim properties to the Financial Reporting Investigation Panel (FRIP) - an advisory body to the JSE, consisting of a panel of IFRS experts. IFRS is short for a set of global accounting standards called the International Financial Reporting Standards.
The FRIP advised the JSE that, in its view, Trustco’s reporting of the loan issue and the property issue did not comply with IFRS. Trustco maintain that it does. This resulted in a legal battle of about two years.
Late last month, Trustco filed an urgent application with the High Court of South Africa in Pretoria for interim relief to prevent the JSE from enforcing a decision to suspend its listing.
Judge N. Janse van Nieuwenhuizen today ordered that, pending the outcome of a review application by Trustco in the High Court, the JSE is interdicted and restrained from suspending the group’s listing on the stock exchange.
The JSE is furthermore not allowed to implement, or attempt to implement, the decision that Trustco restate its annual financial statements for the year ending 31 March 2019 and in the interim results for the six months ending 30 September 2018.
The JSE wants to suspend Trustco because the group refuses to restate its financials. The South African bourse reviewed Trustco’s group annual financial statements for the year ending 31 March 2019, and Trustco’s interim results for the six months ending 31 August 2018.
The issue revolves around the waiver of two loans by Trustco’s majority shareholder, Quinton van Rooyen – one of N$545.6 million and the other N$1 billion – as well as certain of Trustco’s Elisenheim properties.
The JSE referred the issue of the two loans and the Elisenheim properties to the Financial Reporting Investigation Panel (FRIP) - an advisory body to the JSE, consisting of a panel of IFRS experts. IFRS is short for a set of global accounting standards called the International Financial Reporting Standards.
The FRIP advised the JSE that, in its view, Trustco’s reporting of the loan issue and the property issue did not comply with IFRS. Trustco maintain that it does. This resulted in a legal battle of about two years.
Late last month, Trustco filed an urgent application with the High Court of South Africa in Pretoria for interim relief to prevent the JSE from enforcing a decision to suspend its listing.
Judge N. Janse van Nieuwenhuizen today ordered that, pending the outcome of a review application by Trustco in the High Court, the JSE is interdicted and restrained from suspending the group’s listing on the stock exchange.
The JSE is furthermore not allowed to implement, or attempt to implement, the decision that Trustco restate its annual financial statements for the year ending 31 March 2019 and in the interim results for the six months ending 30 September 2018.
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