By Adedapo Adesanya
Acting Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ms Mary Uduk, has said Nigeria was not utilising its full economic potential despite being able to accommodate a bigger and more attractive capital market.
Head of Corporate Communications of SEC, Mrs Efe Ebelo, quoted Ms Uduk as saying in a statement that the country’s capital market contributes less than 10 percent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
She said Nigeria needs a larger capital market, pointing out that, “We think our economy is big enough to have a much bigger market.”
“The capital market makes up less than 10 percent of the GDP of the country. If you look at other countries, even South Africa, it is over 100 percent of GDP.
“We believe we have a large room for expansion and that is what we are pursuing,” the capital market expert said.
Giving an update on the electronic filing system that will ensure efficiency, account for unclaimed dividends and curb any foul play in the capital market, Ms Uduk said the commission was working hard to ensure its met its planned commencement.
The SEC chief said the regulatory body was also in the process of deploying software that would help to actualise the plan, saying, “That will make filing more efficient, easier for capital market operators to send in returns to us and make the market more transparent”.
Ms Uduk said the commission was excited about electronic offering and was in support hence the need to develop the rules to guide its implementation, noting that, “We believe that electronic offerings will help solve the problems of unclaimed dividends so it is something we are backing seriously.”
“Through electronic offerings, we will not have the problems of identity as we had in previous listings. It has a lot of advantages; it means that people who are not close by during an offering can invest.
“We will be able to get the data we need for regulation; the offering is more efficient and it is cost saving. It is something we are working on; the rules will soon be out for everyone to use,’’ she said.
Dipo Olowookere