President Bola Tinubu has backed efforts to deepen the capital market and leverage it to mobilise long-term funds for businesses, infrastructure and other productive sectors.

This comes as the management of Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) Plc and the President discussed plans to list Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) on the exchange.

Tinubu gave the backing during a meeting with the board and management of NGX and members of the Economic Management Team at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, at the weekend.

The meeting focused on how to move the capital market beyond its recent recovery and make it a major source of long-term capital for economic growth.

The NGX team presented the progress recorded in the market in the past three years, with market capitalisation rising from about N30 trillion in 2023 to around N160 trillion, while the NGX All-Share Index increased from about 52,000 points to 244,000 points.

The group also highlighted growth in trading activities, domestic participation and foreign portfolio investment (FPI), saying the next phase of growth would focus on converting the market’s strong performance to sustained capital formation.

According to a statement, Tinubu said the $1 trillion economy target was achievable, stressing the need to encourage greater private sector investment in the economy.

He also disclosed plans to reform and list the NNPCL on the capital market, a move that could broaden public ownership and provide another avenue for raising funds for economic development.

The President commended the NGX Group for its contribution to the development of the Nigerian capital market and acknowledged the role of the Economic Management Team in implementing reforms aimed at improving macroeconomic stability and restoring investor confidence.

Chairman of NGX Group, Umaru Kwairanga, said the performance of the capital market had shown that sound economic reforms, policy consistency and strong institutions could help to restore investor confidence and unlock private capital.

He said the capital market should be viewed as critical national infrastructure for financing businesses, supporting industrialisation, creating jobs and promoting inclusive economic growth.

Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NGX Group, Temi Popoola, said the challenge before Nigeria was to convert the strong market performance into a sustained cycle of capital formation, enterprise expansion, infrastructure development and wealth creation.

He said achieving $1 trillion would require deep pools of domestic and international capital, with the capital market playing a central role in financing leading companies, infrastructure and productive sectors.

To deepen the market, NGX Group proposed the privatisation and listing of commercially viable government assets, domestic or dual listing of leading Nigerian companies, clearer policy on capital gains tax treatment of listed securities and greater use of capital market instruments to finance infrastructure and industrial development.

Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, described the Nigerian capital market as one of the fastest avenues for creating wealth for millions of Nigerians and urged NGX and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to work towards expanding the market.