THE Federal Government has said it would strengthen the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to reposition the Nigerias capital market to be at par with its peers globally.

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, made the commitment today in Abuja when she received the Revised Nigerian Capital Market Master Plan (2021-2025).

The plan was submitted to the minister by the Capital Market Master Plan Implementation Council, led by the Director-General of SEC, Lamido Yuguda, and other top officials of the Commission.

The minister said the review of the capital market masterplan underscored the fact that capital market growth resonates with the current administrations unwavering commitment to deepening and re-positioning the countrys financial markets as a key anchor to achieving a private sector-led development of the economy as encapsulated in the National Development Plans objectives.

She said that under her watch, the finance ministry had supported efforts at implementing the masterplan since inception, adding that the plan represented the collective aspirations of the capital market community.

The aspirations, she said, were focused on driving initiatives geared towards growing and deepening the market.

She said the initiatives were being implemented with the ultimate goal of accelerating the emergence of Nigeria as a top 20 global economy by the year 2025.

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Ahmed commended the implementation committee and other stakeholders in the implementation journey, especially in the areas of dematerialization of share certificates, e-dividend mandate, facilitation of access to alternative investments like Sukuk and Specialized Funds, review of CAMA and ongoing review of the ISA, demutualization of the Nigeria Stock Exchange, enhancing the commodities eco-system and design of a National Savings Strategy, among others.

The finance minister said, Our capital market is growing and evolving. To sustain this growth and eventually transform to a world class capital market, transparency and investor confidence is key.

Investor confidence will accelerate the growth of our market and increase both domestic and foreign investor participation. To this end, we will continue to support and strengthen the regulator to effectively do its job of regulating and developing the capital market.

I see the capital market as an important driver of our economic growth objectives and we will continue to support efforts to position our market where it deserves to be a capital market that will broaden access to economic prosperity by enabling the emergence of financially responsible citizens, accelerate wealth creation and wealth distribution, provide capital to small and medium scale enterprises, and catalyze housing finance.

Yuguda said at the event that during the implementation of the 10-year Nigeria Capital Market Master Plan (2015-2025), the Commission established the Commodities Trading Ecosystem, and the West African Securities Regulators Association (WASRA) to encourage integration of capital markets in West Africa.

He added the masterplan document recommended a periodic review of the assumptions, goals and objectives of the plan to align it better with current realities and innovations in the global financial system.

The main objective of reviewing the masterplan is to produce an updated version of the document primarily to engage stakeholders on the current level of market development and opportunities for further capital growth; review and update the assumptions and vision of the CMMP and develop targets for the various thematic areas of the CMMP.

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The SEC Director-General said the comprehensive review of the masterplan had been completed and a revised capital market masterplan produced.

He said, The revised plan has incorporated the views and aspirations of stakeholders in our market, as well as incorporated best practices globally to produce a well-articulated strategic plan for the next four years.

The revised capital market masterplan is designed to chart the strategic position and future direction of the capital markets, while providing both the SEC and market participants clarity on the vision of the capital market and the road map required to facilitate a conducive business environment to encourage innovation, investment, growth and expansion of economic and employment opportunities in our country.

Our vision is to be Africas most modern, efficient, and internationally competitive market that catalyses Nigerias economic growth and development. We believe the Plan provides a solid roadmap for achieving this vision as we collaborate with all our stakeholders under your continued support and proven leadership.

Link:

SEC will be strengthened to reposition Nigeria's capital market, says Finance Minister | The ICIR - ICIR