SEC Targets 10m Investors for Capital Market
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The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is working towards ensuring that 10 million Nigerians participate in the market by 2024. Out of over 160 million Nigerians, only about five million currently participate in the market.
Speaking at the centenary Capital Market Committee (CMC) meeting in Lagos, yesterday, the sponsor of the Literacy Committee, who is also the Executive Commissioner, Legal and Enforcement, SEC, Mrs Sa’adatu Bello, said efforts are being made to ensure that more Nigerians invest in the market.
“Our committee is trying to find out why this is so and one of the reasons is lack of knowledge. So the committee is to come up with ways of informing, at least, 40 million Nigerians and getting 25 per cent of that 40 million to participate in the capital market. That is our mandate,” she said.
Speaking in the same vein, the Executive Commissioner, Operations, SEC, Mr. Mounir Gwarzo, who is also the sponsor of the Master Plan Committee, said efforts are being made to ensure that the market capitalisation of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) is about 130 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 2024.
Currently the capitalisation is about 27 per cent of Nigeria’s GDP.
According to him, the capitalisation of Malaysian market is 270 per cent of that country’s GDP, while that of Brazil is 130 per cent, noting that the 130 per cent target in Nigeria is achievable.
“In the next 10 years the Nigerian capital market will be ranked among the top 20 in the world. It is achievable. We are looking at the market capitalisation contributing about 130 per cent over our country’s GDP. Malaysia is 270 per cent and that of India 170 per cent,” he said.
To achieve this target, Gwaro said the Committee will be addressing issues that have to do with regulations and how to make regulations more effective, new products and reducing cost of transactions among others.
Meanwhile, trading at the stock market remained positive yesterday as the NSE All-Share Index appreciated by another 0.34 per cent to close at 37,820.22.
