Trustco wins latest round

Namibian investment company Trustco has won the latest round in its row with the JSE after the high court in Pretoria ruled on Monday it may not be suspended by the local bourse. The battle began in November 2020 when the JSE first suspended Trustco for not complying with its listing requirements.

Namibian investment company Trustco has won the latest round with costs in its running battle with the JSE after the high court in Pretoria ruled on Monday that the bourse may not suspend it.

Judge Nicoline Janse van Nieuwenhuizen ruled that Trustco may not be suspended until the financial services tribunal, part of the Financial Sector Conduct Authority, had heard its latest review application.

“The review application will be heard in less than a month and the harm Trustco will suffer if its shares are delisted now far outweighs the harm that could possibly befall traders until the review application is heard,” she said in her judgment.

The battle began in November 2020 when the JSE first suspended Trustco for not complying with its listing requirements and International Financial Reporting Standards in its 2019 annual and 2020 interim results, but Trustco disagreed.

Trustco, with a market cap of R986m, refused to restate its results, which would have affected profit. It made an urgent application to restrain the JSE from suspending it, which it said would be “unjustified”.

Trustco first approached the tribunal, and its application was dismissed in November 2021. The JSE said again in February 2022 it would suspend the company. At Trustco’s request, the JSE postponed the suspension.

In February 2022, Trustco reapplied to the tribunal, and made an urgent court application for an interdict days later for postponement of the JSE’s suspension pending a ruling. The tribunal dismissed Trustco’s second application in July.

The judge ruled on Monday that Trustco presented enough prima facie evidence on the tribunal panel’s composition, saying it did not meet Financial Sector Regulator Act’s requirements. The panel consisted of a retired judge, a senior counsel and an attorney.

Trustco’s share price leapt the most in more than two years on Monday, up 35% at 61c.