LUSAKA - The Lusaka Securities Exchange (LuSE) has urged families to come forward and claim uncollected dividends belonging to deceased relatives who held shares in Copperbelt Energy Corporation (CEC).
LuSE says millions of kwacha in dividends declared by listed companies remain unclaimed, with some beneficiaries unaware that their deceased relatives owned shares and were entitled to dividend payments.
The exchange has joined CEC and its transfer secretary, Corpserve Zambia, in an effort to trace shareholders and beneficiaries whose contact and payment details are no longer up to date.
The issue has become more significant as CEC continues to grow. With a market value of more than US$1.6 billion, CEC is currently one of Zambia's most valuable listed companies and a consistent dividend payer.
CEC has approximately 14,000 shareholders, about 80 percent of whom are retail investors. Some of these shareholders have become difficult to reach because their contact and payment details are outdated.
According to LuSE Business Development Manager Rose Soko, one of the main reasons for the accumulation of unclaimed dividends is that some investors fail to inform their families about their investments.
Ms. Soko said this is particularly common among retail investors who acquired CEC shares during the company's initial public offering and have continued holding the investments for many years.
She said families may only discover the existence of the shares after the shareholder has died, leaving beneficiaries unaware that they are entitled to the investment and any outstanding dividends.
"A lot of unclaimed dividends are sitting with families that didn't even know that deceased members of their family had left shares," Ms. Soko said.
She encouraged families to have open conversations about investments and financial assets so that beneficiaries can access them when necessary.
"Shares are assets and can be bequeathed. Let's have a more honest conversation about what investments we have and how families can benefit should the worst happen," she said.
Ms. Soko urged anyone who remembers a deceased relative mentioning an investment in CEC to contact the company or Corpserve Zambia to establish whether there are outstanding dividends or shares registered in the deceased person's name.
CEC has also introduced mobile money dividend payments as an alternative to traditional bank transfers and mailed cheques, a move intended to make it easier for shareholders, particularly those in rural and less-banked communities, to receive their payments.
The issue also has wider implications for Zambia's capital market. Ms. Soko said unclaimed dividends contribute to inactive shareholder accounts and reduce the circulation of capital within the market.
"When your dividend sits unclaimed, that's literally like having capital that is frozen - it's not being used," she said.
LuSE and its partners are therefore encouraging shareholders and families of deceased investors to verify their records and claim any outstanding dividends to ensure that investments reach their rightful beneficiaries.
Source: Kalemba