Director General of the SEC, Mr. Lamido Yuguda stated this
in Abuja Weekend in a New Year Message.
The SEC DG stated that as the Year 2022 commences, the
Commission is confident that the results of the various initiatives implemented
will begin to gradually manifest, spurring developments in many aspects of the
market.
He expressed the hope that as the restrictions of Covid-19
and its variants are eased up, the Market will witness renewed confidence
expected to introduce fresh investments from domestic and foreign investors.
According to Yuguda, “As we expect improvements in both
economic and capital market activities, we must remain committed to developing
the market in line with the 10-year Master Plan. Some of the key initiatives to
be pursued in 2022 are as follows: The repeal of the Investment and Securities
Act (ISA) 2007 and passing of the Investment and Securities Bill 2021 to align
the enabling law with the realities and trends in capital market regulation and
practice in Nigeria;
“In conjunction with the NASD Platform, provide the
necessary incentives and support to attract SMEs to get listed. Already, Rules
on Crowdfunding to encourage new funding sources for the SMEs have been
developed;
“The SEC will continue the enhancement of the existing
regulatory framework guiding the operations of the market by keeping pace with
the evolving changes in market practices, especially with the advent of
Financial Technology and digital assets.
Yuguda said the Commission would improve coordination
amongst stakeholders, such as the National Assembly, CBN, PENCOM, CAC, NAICOM,
DMO and FIRS to create synergies and further improve upon our effectiveness
towards ensuring that the objectives of realising the Capital Market Masterplan
are met.
The SEC DG also disclosed that the Commission will carry out
advocacy efforts to the relevant Government Agencies, such as the NNPC and
Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources on listing of shares of the NNPC. Also,
policies would be championed to incentivize companies, like the new Dangote
Refineries to offer its shares to the public and list the shares on any of the
SEC-registered platforms.
He said, “The SEC will continue with the sensitization
programmes and strong capacity building initiatives on Non-Interest Capital
Markets products and services in order to attract sub-nationals and corporate
issuances to this market segment.
“We also plan to provide extra support to the registered
commodities trading platforms to complement government’s renewed
diversification efforts in agriculture and carry out workshops to deepen the
Commodities Trading Ecosystem”.