By Dipo Olowookere
The chief executive of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, Mr Temi Popoola, has disclosed that the bourse was working on a framework for certifications in carbon credits trading.
Speaking on Wednesday at the NGX 2022 Market Recap and 2023 Outlook in Lagos, he said this is one of the ways the exchange wants to encourage investments in sustainable projects.
According to him, “NGX sees sustainability as not just important but also a profitable frontier of its business and work is ongoing on developing a framework for certifications in carbon credits trading, pending regulatory approval.”
Mr Popoola described 2022 as wonderful for the Nigerian stock market because it witnessed a few landmark listings which shaped the direction of the ecosystem in the year.
“In 2022, the equities market performance was buoyed by the 19.98 per cent increase in the NGX All-Share Index, which rose from 40270.72 points to 51,251.06 points just as the market capitalisation also closed at a high of N27.92 trillion, up from N21.06 trillion the previous year.
“The total turnover of trades in 2022 improved by 27 per cent from N916 billion to N1.16 trillion year-on-year from 2021.
“Market participation was heavily skewed to the domestic investors. The fixed income market saw a slight uptick in turnover to N3.89 billion in 2022 from N3.53 billion recorded in 2021, representing a 10.20 per cent YoY increase.
“The Exchange Traded Funds market capitalisation increased from N7.35 billion in 2021 to N8.42 billion in 2022, representing a 14.56 per cent increase in the market capitalisation.
“Stanbic IBTC ETF 30, which tracks the performance of the NGX 30 index, was the best performing ETF in 2022, having begun the year at N68.5 and closed at N245, reflective of 257.66 per cent returns. ETF transactions fell from N34.22 billion in 2021 to N211.02 million in 2022, representing a 99.38 per cent decline in ETF turnover,” he stated, adding that, “Altogether, this signalled a good year for the Exchange despite global macroeconomic headwinds.”
On the outlook for this year, Mr Popoola said Customs Street would take a flexible approach to strategy execution in 2023, doubling down on its 2022 achievements and expanding on several levers.
“As you know, the NGX Technology Board Listing Rules were approved by the apex regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), in December 2022.
“With this, we aim to drive more technology companies to the Exchange and deepen capital formation in the technology sector.
“Currently, we are in consultations with stakeholders in the sector, and we are confident of securing a few big names within the year.”
“On the capital market’s digital transformation, the Exchange is working on USSD launch in collaboration with Telcos and Banks, unlocking the African Capital markets via payment integration with Afreximbank’s Pan African Payment Settlement System,” he added.
Adedapo Adesanya