Experts urge regulatory, operators’ collaboration to deepen market

Experts at the just-concluded conference of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), have called for effective market regulation and appropriate regulatory collaboration with operators and various stakeholders to deepen the Nigerian capital market, to achieve long-term economic growth.

They argued that for the capital market to remain a globally competitive investment destination, such collaboration is necessary especially in the areas of determining which emerging technologies to pursue within the local context.

According to them, digitalisation is fast gaining momentum in the capital market ecosystem, even as purpose-built solutions are being developed to reduce redundancies, cut costs, and increase efficiencies for greater transparency and alpha returns.

This, they said, would help expand the market by developing various investment instruments and asset classes that would transform the market into an investment hub.

Dean, Faculty of Law, Bayero University, Kano,   Prof. Usman Muhammad Shua’ib, urged that operators be carried along in the process of formulating and implementing policies in the capital market.

“In Nigeria, we are not short of good hands, but our problem is in the area of implementation. Regulators must look at the perspective of operators and seek ways of involving them in policy implementation. Regulators should be up and doing in their duties, especially when it comes to execution which is what is needed in Nigeria.”

Co-founder, Banwo and Ighodalo, Asue Ighodalo, stressed the need for a symbiotic relationship and collaboration between regulators and operators in the market.

“Our regulators should be broader minded to accommodate different views. There will always be disputes but it should be in extreme cases when one is disenfranchised that you go to court.  Other issues should be addressed.”

“Regulators should be more open to operators’ views. Our laws enable us to create different types of instruments. In this case, regulators should know why it is good to create a particular instrument in the market not rejecting it because it is new.

He added: “I see great intellectual capacity in the Nigerian capital market.  We should work together and drive the market to make it the best in the world. Until we have a strong, efficient, and deep capital market, fairly regulated, we may not attract the needed investment to expand the depth of the market.”

The President, Association for the Advancement of the Rights of Nigerian Shareholders, Dr Faruk Umar, said a good collaboration between regulators and stakeholders will enhance market growth.

He added that both foreign and local investors would have confidence in the market and be more comfortable to stake their funds in such a market.