By Dipo Olowookere
Stakeholders in the capital market in Nigeria have been assured of an enabling regulatory environment that will, in turn, unlock value for them.
This assurance was given by the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Group Plc, Mr Oscar Onyema, at the 25th Annual Conference of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) held on Thursday, October 28, 2021.
At the event themed Capital Market as a Catalyst for Economic Development and Sustainable Growth, Mr Onyema commended “the efforts of the members and executives of the institute for implementing your role of developing sound professionals for the capital market and the entire economy over the years.”
He remarked that the milestone event was aimed at inspiring and enhancing innovation and creativity in business for the benefit of not only the members of the great institute but all stakeholders in the capital market ecosystem.
The NGX Group chief said his organisation was “more committed than ever to supporting efforts aimed at stimulating economic growth and sustainability by providing platforms for businesses and individuals to raise capital through innovation, diversified products and services, and enabling regulatory environment which will, in turn, unlock value for stakeholders. Our activities are designed to improve the state of the Nigerian, and indeed African, economy.”
In his welcome address, the President and Chairman of Council of CIS, Mr Olatunde Amolegbe, explained that activities such as national workshops and conferences were ultimately aimed at sustaining the Institute’s advocacy role.
Mr Amolegbe noted both the institute’s national workshop held in Abuja in August this year and the current conference were geared towards economic development.
“The annual conference is slightly different in concept from the national workshop because it is primarily a family event.
“However, the two events are strategically similar, because of their focus on economic and capital market advocacy, with the intention of ultimately achieving significantly increased economic activity nationwide using a strong, inclusive and efficient capital market as an essential tool,” he explained.
In his remarks, the Chairman, House Committee on Capital Market, Mr Babangida Ibrahim, assured CIS of continuous support of the government in ensuring that the capital market attracts more participants across different levels.
On his part, the Governor of Edo State, Mr Godwin Obaseki, explained that there was a nexus between the development of a country’s capital market and the economy as reflected in the percentage of market capitalisation to the Gross Domestic Products (GDP) of developed economies.
Business Post reports that during the event, the CIS inducted 321 new associates and 40 fellows.
