NGX Holds Inaugural Capital Markets Conference

…as Vice-President, Others laud digitization efforts

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited has urged the federal,State governments and the private sector to embrace capital market for long-term funds to address the country’s infrastructure deficit.

The chief executive officer of NGX, Mr Temi Popoola, said this at a news conference in Lagos in preparation for the Exchange Capital Markets Conference.

The NGX will be holding its inaugural Nigerian Capital Markets Conference ‪on November 30, 2021. The conference, a hybrid event; physical and virtual will bring together policymakers, government, financial experts, business leaders, investors, international development partners, regulators and other market stakeholders, to share insights and broaden the thinking needed for greater capital flows through innovative sources of financing.

Popoola said, the government and the private sector must harness opportunities in the country’s capital market for infrastructure development and employment, instead of depending on external borrowings.

Popoola noted that the challenges facing the country in terms of infrastructure would be resolved through capital market instruments, saying, “most countries have used the capital market to boost their infrastructure. The capital market is the appreciative way of resolving our infrastructural issue.”

Divisional head, Trading Business, NGX, Mr Jude Chiemeka, said asset-backed securities could be harnessed by both government and private sector to address the country’s infrastructure needs.

Chiemeka said the conference would highlight how investors, more importantly issuers can utilise the capital market to raise funds, saying, the government could focus on green bond, Sukuk, in addressing the infrastructural gap.

“Our focus will also be around diversification of the capital market. For a long time our market had a lot of international flows and each time we have global financial crises or foreign exchange issue as we are having now, the market takes a huge hit.

“The PFAs have assets of over N30 billion and with proper development, we should be able to have, like other markets, control 70 per cent of domestic flows,” he pointed out.

 

December 01, 2021