For the Nigerian capital market to realise its potential, a strong regulatory framework is critical, the Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Stock Exchange, Mr. Oscar Onyema, has said.
Onyema said in a document made available by the Exchange on Sunday, “The Nigerian capital market, and indeed our business, will always be impacted by shifting investor demands.
“Achieving competitiveness and enhancing the NSE’s value proposition are important to our success in the short term and beyond, but safe-guarding our market and maintaining a high level of attractiveness with a strong regulatory framework, are critical to our objectives.”
The NSE CEO, who stressed that the world had woken to the reality that its fastest-growing markets were emerging from Africa, explained that entrenching corporate governance had been the first step taken in 2011 to transform the Exchange.
He said, “We embedded appropriate governance in all of our dealings from the National Council, to its committees, all the way down to the day-to-day running of the Exchange. We developed, documented, optimised and automated multiple policies and procedures to achieve operational efficiency. Today we hold ourselves to the same standards we ask of our listed companies.”
Bearing in mind the importance of a strong regulatory environment to protecting investors against infractions and enhancing investor confidence in the market, he said the Exchange went on to ensure that it had clear and enforceable rules, with a zero tolerance policy on all infractions.
Onyema said, “We have worked tirelessly to revise key rules for dealing members and issuers, and developed several new rules to create the much-needed order, equitable treatment, efficiency and protection for all participants in our market. We congratulate the Securities and Exchange Commission for approving these rules.”
Steps taken to strengthen regulation and boost confidence, he said, included among others the introduction of the X-Issuer for the electronic submission of relevant information by issuers; X-Whistle to enable market participants to confidently report fraud and infractions and X-Compliance Report, a transparency initiative designed to help maintain market integrity, by providing compliance related updates on all listed companies.
These compliance measures, Onyema said, “are supported by tight enforcement procedures which include inspections, market surveillance and a vigorous penalty system.”
Copyright PUNCH.
All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.
Contact: editor@punchng.com
Source : Punch