Guardian

THE Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Wednesday, unfolded plans to achieve $1tr market capitalisation by 2016 through the strengthening of its regulatory framework, in line with international best practice.

NSE however urged Federal Government to fast track its reform processes to facilitate the realization of the target.

The Chief Executive Officer of the NSE, Oscar Onyema, pointed out that the market reform initiatives cannot be actualised without collaborative efforts of the government.

Onyema, while speaking at the 2013 yearly capital market conference in Lagos Wednesday, stressed that if the government would effectively harness activities in the key sectors of the economy such as agriculture, oil and gas, information technology and utility, it would go a long way in boosting NSE’s efforts in the Primary Market Segment (PMS).

Highlighting the progress made so far in the PMS, and future plans to boost the segment, the NSE boss said the Exchange is putting measures in place to ensure that only companies with clean slate and world-class corporate governance structure would be listed on the bourse.

To this effect, Onyema said the Exchange is partnering with the Institute of Directors IOD) to create a standardised corporate governance structure as tool for listed companies.

He added that plans are underway to create a broker track tool that would indicate those brokers that comply with NSE’s rules and requirements.

“The Primary Market Marking (PMM) will be completed by the end of this month. Therefore, we would start the Supplementary Market Making (SMM). The PMM will have higher obligation and incentive than the SMM.

“For the alternative securities lending, five securities lending has been registered and it is expected that this would generate additional lending. Investors can borrow the security at short term. We are launching at least five Exchange Traded Funds this year and by 2014, we should have features and options in derivatives as they drive activities in the underlining market.

“We expect more liquidity as these programmes are rolled out and we would to collaborate with appropriate authorities to see how we can fast track activities in the market.” he added.

Earlier, the Director- General, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Arunma Oteh said the commission is doing every thing within its powers to transform and make the market more attractive in order to restore the confidence of those retail investors that left during the recession.

Oteh, who was represented by the Director and Head, CIS Department, Mrs Louisa Eni said SEC is working with the Exchange to revamp its second-tier market to an Alternative Securities Market (ASM), to enable Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) that are emerging and showing good growth potentials to participate and access finance from the Nigerian capital market.

She urged the government to access finance from the market to fund infrastructure and critical sectors of the economy.