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FGN Reiterates Commitment to Deepening the Capital Market to Attract Foreign Investments

Capital Market	1274 VIEWS
Capital Market
1274 VIEWS

Thursday, November 07, 2019 / 07.10PM / Ottoabasi Abasiekong for Proshare WebTV / Header Image Credit: WebTV

Vice-President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, disclosed the decision of the federal government (FGN) to deepen the Nigerian Capital Market at the 2019 Nigerian Capital Market Conference organized by the FMDQ Securities Exchange.

The conference, which centred on the theme "Nigeria: A compelling destination for capital," brought together a wide variety of stakeholders in the capital market.

Professor Osinbajo, who was represented by the Acting Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, Mary Uduk said the progress in the "Ease of Doing Business" Reforms in the country is an attestation to the commitment of the government, to providing an enabling business environment for investors in the country.

He reminded stakeholders that Nigeria moved 15 places to the rank of 130 in the 2020 World Bank Ease of Doing Business Report, as a result of the top priority that the government placed on improving the policy and regulatory framework for businesses.

Speaking on interaction with the Nigerian capital market since the inception of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015, the Vice-President listed the following activities;

The listing of 2 Green bonds valued at N25.7bn
The Listing of 2 Sukuk bonds valued at N200bn
The Listing of the Eurobonds and Diaspora bonds.

Osinbajo added that the Federal Government, through the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, ERGP has given top priority to infrastructure investments and digital-led economic growth.

The Vice-President also assured the private sector that the government would continue to support their activities by creating an enabling fiscal environment.

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mr. Godwin Emefiele in his remarks, said the Bank has been providing a conducive environment for attracting foreign investments.

Mr. Emefiele, who was represented by Mr Emmanuel Ukeje, the Special Adviser on Financial Markets, cited the Import and Export window initiated by the CBN, which has attracted about $50bn worth of investment inflows.

The CBN informed investors that Nigeria remains a high yield investment destination with a huge return on investments.

Emefiele was optimistic that Nigeria's economic outlook remained bright with the expectation that the nation's GDP growth will continue along an upward trajectory.

The Chairman of the FMDQ Securities Exchange, Dr. Joseph Nnanna, in his remarks, said the focus of the conference was to understudy country experiences, to explore how to deepen and facilitate the development of the Nigerian capital market.

Dr. Nnanna who was represented by the Vice-Chairman Mr. Jubril Aku, stressed the determination of the FMDQ to utilize and facilitate the financial market infrastructure for Nigeria's economic development.

FMDQ, according to him, achieved the laudable feat of emerging as Africa's First vertically integrated financial market.