SDA opens accounts for new investors daily from September 17 to 28

The Central Depository Agency opens accounts daily for new investors who signed a binding offer to purchase shares in the public offering of HT shares the previous day, SDA reported on its website.

SDA has published a daily event log related to the public offering of HT shares, as well as answers to the most frequently asked questions from citizens regarding the public offering. The public offering of HT shares began on Monday, September 17, and will last until October 5, when HT shares are expected to be listed on the Zagreb and London Stock Exchanges. Croatian citizens can submit their binding offers to purchase HT shares from September 17 to September 27. SDA will open accounts for new investors daily from September 18 to September 28, who signed the binding offer the previous day, and will also send notifications about general investor information and PINs by mail to these new investors daily.

According to the event log, SDA will, by October 5, immediately after receiving instructions from agents (the domestic offering agents are Erste&Steiermaerkische Bank and Hrvatska poštanska banka), carry out the transfer of shares to investors’ accounts, and after October 5, will send reports on the transfer by mail to all investors who purchased HT shares in the public offering. In response to citizens’ inquiries about whether SDA will open accounts for citizens or if they must do it themselves, SDA reminds that it will open the accounts, that a securities account is opened for every new investor who signed the binding Offer at the registration site (regardless of payment) the very next day, and then sends a notification and PIN to their mailing address from the offer.

Citizens who already have an account with SDA will have their mailing address updated as provided in the offer, while those who have an open account but have changed their surname in the meantime are informed by SDA that their surname data will not be updated. These individuals are invited by SDA to send a personally signed request for a surname change to the SDA address (Heinzelova 62a, PP 409, 10002 Zagreb), including their personal identification number, to indicate the bank account number for dividend payments, etc. (e.g., current account), and to attach a photocopy of a valid identification document (e.g., ID card) to the request.

In response to citizens’ inquiries about the potential refund of overpaid funds in the public offering for HT, SDA reminds that any refunds will be carried out by the public offering agents (Erste Bank and HPB) to the accounts specified by citizens in the registration form. SDA also reminds that the right to additional shares will be granted to every Croatian citizen who has shares registered with the issuer for an uninterrupted period of one year from the date of acquisition, with one additional share for every 10 shares. In response to the question of whether the right to additional shares is lost by registration with a broker, even if those shares are not sold, SDA reiterates that registration itself means the loss of the right to additional shares. “Based on the Decision of the Government of the Republic of Croatia, by changing the registration, you lose the right to the additional share.

This is because registration is an integral part of the sale process,” SDA states. They also remind that the right to additional shares is not lost in the case of inheritance, registration of a pledge on shares for financing the purchase with a loan, or transfer to a representative account due to loss of legal capacity. The public offering of HT shares has generated exceptionally high interest among Croatian citizens, prompting Prime Minister Ivo Sanader to announce at yesterday’s Government session the possibility of increasing the share package for the public offering above the current 20 to 23 percent. According to announcements from some media, this package could be increased by two to five percent. (H)