By Chukwuma Umeorah
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has declared its support for the Nigeria Exchange Group (NGX) as it prepares to launch a new digital platform designed to streamline and fully digitise the process of rights issues and public offerings in the Nigerian capital market.
This move aims to modernize and enhance efficiency within the market, making it more accessible, particularly to younger investors.
During a stakeholders engagement and press conference held in Lagos on Wednesday, the Director General of the SEC, Emomotimi Agama, expressed strong support for the initiative, highlighting the importance of modernization in achieving a world-class market. “You can not be a world-class market while using paper, unable to capture adequate information, with loads of unclaimed dividends,” Agama said.
He pointed out the necessity of appealing to the younger generation citing Nigeria’s abundance of youthful population.
According to him, “74 per cent of Nigerians are below 24, and that speaks to the fact that you cannot do analog anymore. We are not looking to onboard 500 investors but our population of over 200 million people.”
Agama emphasized that the creation of the platform would help onboard more people to the capital market, contributing to President Bola Tinubu’s goal of achieving a $1 trillion economy.
He stated, “Achieving a $1 trillion economy is a must for us, and we must all make concerted efforts to achieve the goals of the current administration.”
Although the SEC has not yet granted the approval of the platform, Agama reiterated the backing of Commission towards deepening and strengthening the market by engaging with all stakeholders.
“The Commission is committed to every initiative and innovation that will add to the growth of the market, we would ensure that we deliver our role as regulators to foster growth and protection of investors interests.”
The CEO of NGX Group, Temi Popoola, addressing the stakeholders present, the said that the move aims to enhance convenience, efficiency, and modernity in the market.
He echoed that the platform will foster inclusion, particularly making the market more attractive to younger demography who sought new investments landscape.
Coming at a crucial time when Nigerian banks are undertaking recapitalization programs, Popoola emphasized the importance of the E-platform and digitization.
He stated, “We want offerings to be digital from end to end, removing paper from our market. The banks are the first to adopt this technology, and any bank you see doing a public offer recently has connected to this technology.”
Popoola, further noted that the E-platform would cater for various other segments of the market. This is even as he announced that the launch of the digital platform awaits approval from the SEC.
“We are still waiting for the approval of the SEC to roll out this platform after which an official launch date will be announced,” Popoola noted.
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