The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) has launched its Claim It campaign, urging South Africans to check if they are potential shareholders owed a portion of the R4,5-billion in unclaimed dividends.
The Claim It initiative is a collaborative effort between the JSE and some of the largest companies listed on the JSE, and aims to return unclaimed dividends to their rightful owners. To achieve this, the JSE currently has access to 19 issuer share registries, and will endeavour to reunite nearly 375 000 former employees, shareholders or beneficiaries of deceased estates with their unclaimed funds.
There are various factors that contribute to people not knowing that they have unclaimed dividends owed to them. These include people changing jobs, moving homes to a new address or updating banking information without notifying listed companies. This, in turn, has made it difficult to verify beneficiaries, delaying the distribution of unclaimed funds.
The Claim It verification process for determining if a person is owed unclaimed dividends is easy.
- South Africans can visit the JSE website on www.jse.co.za/claimit and complete the online form; or
- Contact the JSE Claim It call centre on 0861 401 105 to find out if they are entitled to unclaimed dividends.
The documents that are required for the verification process are:
- A valid South African ID;
- Current contact information, such as a cellphone and landline number as well as an email address; and
- Proof of address.
The JSE will then verify whether the details provided correlate with those of the shareholders in the registries.
The 19 listed companies that the JSE has joined forces with to reconnect South Africans with their dividends are:
- African Media Entertainment
- Wilson Bayly Holmes-Ovcon
- Finbond Group
- Advtech
- YeboYethu
- Cashbuild
- Super Group
- Naspers
- Mpact
- JSE
- Reunert
- Merafe Resources
- Northam Platinum Holdings
- Growthpoint Properties
- Old Mutual
- Sasol Ltd
- Sasol SA Ltd/Khanyisa
- Sasol Inzalo
- Quilter
The JSE has appointed Lucas Radebe as an ambassador of the campaign.
For assistance and more information on how to claim your dividends, visit www.jse.co.za/claimit or contact the JSE Claim It call centre on 0861 401 105 and follow the exchange’s social media accounts on Facebook (The JSE Group) X (@JSE_Group) and LinkedIn (JSE Limited).