Tunisian CSD Aligns with International Best Practices

The Tunisian CSD, Tunisie Clearing, is rapidly enhancing its technical expertise and aligning with international best practices.

In a notice issued to issuers and approved intermediaries, Tunisie Clearing announced its decision to end the practice of excluding dividends and adopt the Market Standards for Corporate Actions Processing in securities management. Two key rules will be strictly applied:

Rule 1: Standardized Timelines for Market Operations

• Standardized timelines will be implemented for the distribution of dividends, including:
  • Ex-date
  • Record date
  • Payment date

Rule 2: Equal Treatment of Shareholders

• Dividends will be paid on the same date for both administered accounts and pure accounts, ensuring equal treatment of shareholders.
• The payment of dividends on (J+2) after detachment is justified, as the ownership of securities is linked to consent, not the registration date.
• If the detachment date is J, transactions executed on (J-1) will be settled on (J+1), which is also the record date, when securities positions are frozen at the end of the day to identify dividend beneficiaries. Dividends will be paid the next day, on (J+2).

In accordance with the regulations of the Financial Market Council, issuers must provide Tunisie Clearing with the necessary funds to execute securities operations involving cash payments within the specified timelines. They will be solely responsible in case of fund unavailability or late payment, or non-payment of the Depositary's services.

Tunisie Clearing has invited issuers to comply with these rules, transmitting the total amount of dividends to be distributed, to ensure the smooth execution of the operation, which is a guarantee of confidence for their shareholders.