SEC hints of strategies to align master plan with economic realities

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has disclosed plans to align the 10-year capital market master plan with current economic realities and ensure that the planned review is concluded on time.

Acting Director General of SEC, Ms. Mary Uduk, stated this during a meeting with capital market stakeholders in Abuja at the weekend.

She disclosed that the purpose of the review was to align the master plan with current realities on macroeconomic, political and market developments in Nigeria.

On SEC’s implementation efforts, Uduk said of the over 90 initiatives outlined in the master plan, 66 initiatives have been unveiled since 2015 out of which 13 have been completed.

According to her, some of the concluded initiatives are dematerialisation of shares, recapitalisation of capital market operators, setting up of a National Investment Protection Fund (NIPF) and establishment of the West African Securities Regulators Association (WASRA), among others.

Other achievements are, e-dividend mandate, direct cash settlement, roadmap on commodities ecosystem, new listings, financial literacy, law reviews and non-interest capital market products.

She added that 55 initiatives are at various stages of implementation and it is hoped that many of them will be concluded before the end of the year.

While commending the stakeholders for their cooperation and support, Uduk also disclosed that the commission has approved the rules on green bonds, adding that SEC soon would introduce rules on derivatives trading to move the market forward.

Uduk pointed out that the implementation of the master plan commenced in earnest under the guidance of the Capital Market Master Plan Implementation Council headed by Olutola Mobolurin and have made great strides in its implementation efforts.

She said SEC and market stakeholders have taken up the initiatives outlined in the master plan document in a systematic manner, while also engaging with government, its agencies and other critical stakeholders, whose support and collaboration are required to achieve the objectives of the master plan.

“These would not have been possible without your support, cooperation and collaboration. We are indeed grateful to the different committees through which a lot of the work on these initiatives has been carried out. It would have been impossible without your commitment of time, energy and resources, drive and focus,” she added.

She said SEC appreciates the support and collaboration it has received from market operators and various stakeholders, adding that the partnership has advanced the collective aspiration to accelerate the market growth and contribute to the development of the nation’s economy.

Uduk also urged investors to take advantage of the multiple subscription exercise to regularise their shareholding and get the benefits of their investments.