NAN) The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday stressed the need for sustained collaboration of all stakeholders for a more vibrant capital market in Nigeria.
Chairman, SEC’s Literacy Committee, Mr Ariyo Olushekun, stated this at the third quarter Capital Market Committee news conference in Lagos.
Olushekun disclosed that the nation’s capital market’s current literacy level was 16 per cent, adding however, that it could be enhanced through conscious effort of stakeholders.
He pointed out that the development of the nation’s capital market could not be achieved by SEC and the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) alone.
According to him, there is need for enhanced public enlightenment by various stakeholders to increase capital market awareness in the country.
He solicited effective investment programmes, such as road shows and enlightenment programmes in mosques and churches, to increase investor participation.
In his contribution, the Chairman of Capital Market Master Plan Committee, Mr Dotun Suleyman, said that capital market education level was still below par, considering the nation’s population.
Suleyman said that the poor literacy level contributed to the little impact the market made on the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in terms of relevance and active participation in key sectors of the economy.
He said that the Nigerian capital market was underdeveloped and needed to be much more robust if it was going to play significant role in the national aspiration of being part of 20 top economies in the world by 2020.
In his speech, Mr Oscar Onyema, the Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Stock Exchange, allayed investors’ fears on current market trends.
Onyema said that the market was far from the “bear situation”, and attributed the situation to the forthcoming general elections and the health sector issues.
He, however, assured investors and operators that the market would stabilise after the elections. (NAN)
Source : Leadership