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FG to collaborate with CIS on market growth, low investors’ confidence

By Helen Oji
22 November 2019   |   3:03 am
To enhance capital market competitiveness, the Federal Government through the National Assembly (NASS), has expressed willingness to collaborate with the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS)

2019 Stockbrokers Conference. Photo: TWITTER/CISNIGERIA

To enhance capital market competitiveness, the Federal Government through the National Assembly (NASS), has expressed willingness to collaborate with the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), to ensure that issues relating to low investors’ confidence and unclaimed dividend are tackled in the capital market.
 
Addressing participants at the 2019 edition of the CIS’s annual conference, which held in Lagos, yesterday, the Chairman, Capital Market and Institutions Committees, House of Reps and other committee members, Babangida Ibrahim, listed low investors’ confidence and rising unclaimed dividend as factors that undermine efforts to grow the market and make it more competitive.
 
Speaking on the theme, “Boosting capital market competitiveness in a challenging macro-environment,” Ibrahim said the topic is timely and underscores the need for effective policies to drive market growth.

   
He urged the Institute to adopt measures that would help restore investors’ confidence in a sustainable manner, and boost the economy.
 
He said: “I want to assure this Institute that the committee is ready to work with the CIS, and already the NASS and House of Reps in particular are aware of the major challenges facing the capital market in recent times.
   
“We have already started engaging with some of the key stakeholders including the institute on the best way forward. I would like to appeal to the Institute to be unofficial advisers to the government and continue to monitor activities of the government as regards policies affecting the market so as to ensure we move the capital market forward.
   
He continued: “the theme is timely, and there are certain actions that must be taken in order to boost the competitiveness of the market. Recently, we brought a motion in the House to investigate unclaimed dividend, and we discovered that it is growing day by day, so I will appeal to this institution and other key players that by the time we commence the public hearing, all these challenges will be tackled.”
   
Corroborating, the Vice-Chairman, Senate Committee on Capital market, Senator Binos Yaroe, charged the Institute to come up with policy proposals that will enhance market competitiveness.
   
“The challenges the Nigerian capital market is facing cannot be over-emphasised, and the economy has never been as bad as it is today, and it is a known fact that the capital market is the barometer of any economy.
   
“The market indices have not been encouraging but for the positive impact of MTNN and Airtel Africa, it would have been much worse. In that regard, the NASS is ready to partner and support the institute to ensure that our market is more competitive,” he said.
   
Also speaking, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Richard Adebayo, also charged the CIS  to initiate policy proposals to support and address Nigeria’s infrastructure challenges, while government will incentivise and provide the enabling environment to support this objective.
 
“We declare our willingness to partner with the CIS in ensuring the necessary enabling environment that will further stimulate and boost competitiveness in the capital market as well as ensure a coordinated and integrated approach to Nigeria’s financial sector is attainable.    
   
“The best way to improve competitiveness is through a mixture of policies designed to help, and improve capital market competitiveness,” Adebayo said.
 
former Director-General, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Dr. Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke, urged government to work with stockbrokers to enhance market development as well as the economy and attract further investments.

She said: “the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is not in charge of investments, they are not wealth creators, but they make policies only when there is money to spend.

“Rather, it is the stock market that creates wealth in any economy. Hence, the interaction between the government and market stakeholders is key to growing the economy at a faster rate.”

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