By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Debt instruments worth N3.5 trillion have been raised from the capital market in 2022 with the assistance of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
These funds were secured by the federal, state governments, and corporate organisations through the issuance of bonds and commercial papers, with the proceeds used to finance projects and business operations.
The NGX has always provided an avenue for organisations to seek cheap capital from investors by positioning itself as the prime location for raising funds.
According to the Divisional Head of Capital Markets at the NGX, Mr Jude Chiemeka, the capital market could serve as the primary source of bulk mobilisation of capital to finance developmental projects, and NGX had implemented an array of incentives, programmes and capacity building workshops for investors.
“The pension fund industry, for example, has been able to leverage the issuances done by the DMO in recent times, and a lot of financing has come from them,” he said at the Nigeria Integrated National Financing Framework (INFF) dialogue on Channels TV with the theme How Can Nigeria Finance its Development Priorities.
“As an exchange, we provide the platform that will enable the government to finance projects through green instruments that these investors can invest in and ultimately benefit from the returns. And that is why it’s critical to ensure there’s constant investor education, sound governance and regulation.
“If you take a look at the recently revamped Capital Market Master Plan, there’s a conversation there around increasing retail investor participation in our markets,” he added.
INFF emanated as a result of a partnership among the FG, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and European Union (EU) to support Nigeria in mobilising greater amounts of private and public resources to finance its development agenda.
Speaking further, Mr Chiemeka said the goal is to revamp the current active retail participation level to 5 million by 2025.
“NGX has been able to facilitate the raise of about N3.5 trillion since January 2022 for corporates, federal and state governments. We are very well equipped to support the financing of these capital projects because we have the right platform.
“Today, you talk about the African Exchanges Linkage Project, which commenced on November 18 and will be launched in December. That gives Nigeria the ability to leverage the investor base in other capital markets to fund the projects to grow the economy and lift people out of poverty,” he stated.
