By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr Oscar Onyema, has described the launch of Nigeria’s first association of domestic securities exchanges as a good development for the nation’s capital market.
According to him, “Coming together provides a wealth of benefits for the ecosystem,” which he said will in turn strengthen the market and be beneficial to investors.
On Wednesday, the Association of Securities Exchange of Nigeria (ASEN) was officially launched at the Nigerian Stock Exchange event centre in Lagos.
The event was attended by Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Capital Markets and Institutions, Mr Yusuf Tajudeen; Acting Director-General of the Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC), Mrs Mary Uduk; Director-General of the Debt Management Office (DMO), Mrs Patience Oniha and the President, National Council of the NSE, Mr Abimbola Ogunbanjo.
ASEN was incorporated in 2017 as a non-profit industry association to support the advancement of the Nigerian capital market and the development of members via knowledge-sharing, collaboration, capacity-building and advocacy.
It was also established to accelerate the development of domestic securities exchanges and support the Nigerian capital market to achieve greater global competitiveness.
The group is made up of five bodies; AFEX Commodities Exchange (AFEX), FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange (FMDQ), NASD OTC Securities Exchange (NASD), Nigeria Commodity Exchange (NCX) and NSE.
Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Onyema, who is also Chairman of ASEN Board of Trustees, disclosed that, “This event is the culmination of deliberate efforts between the various exchanges in the Nigerian capital market to enhance our global competitiveness.”
According to him, “ASEN is not only Nigeria’s premier exchange association–but also the world’s first example of a national exchange association. In coming together we had to ask ourselves tough questions relating to how we, as exchanges and businesses, can collaborate more closely to ensure the competitiveness of our market, and support the growth of individual members along their natural trajectories.”
He said further that, “ASEN is poised to support and partner with market participants by advocating for enabling market policies; amplifying financial outreach and capacity-building efforts of member exchanges; and deploying emerging technologies that can unlock new opportunities and efficiencies in our market.
“Ultimately key stakeholders in the Nigerian capital market -regulators, issuers, investors and operators will be the real beneficiaries of our collaborative efforts. Like exchange associations, such as the WFE and ASEA, we hope that ASEN will provide a sterling example of the progress that can be achieved when forces combine to achieve positive change.”
Also speaking at the event, Mr Bola Ajomale, Member, Board of Trustees, ASEN and CEO, NASD Plc, stated that, “This event is the culmination of deliberate cooperation between the various exchanges in the Nigerian capital market.
“Collaboration between exchanges in this manner will ensure some level of uniformity and consistency in governance whilst allowing each member to continue along its natural trajectory.
“Ultimately key stakeholders in the Nigerian capital market – Regulators, issuers, investors and operators will be the real beneficiaries. We also believe the existence of such an association will significantly support market structure in Nigeria.”
Dipo Olowookere 
Adedapo Adesanya