Business Post Contributor
By Ashemiriogwa Emmanuel
Africa’s vertically integrated financial market infrastructure, FMDQ Group, has urged Nigeria to conceive a way its domestic capital market could fund the international capital market.
This is necessary for Nigeria to pluck its infrastructural rewards, the Managing Director of the exchange, Mr Bola Koko, emphasised during his input at the recently held Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria (FICAN) 30th-anniversary conference and awards themed Financing Infrastructure & SMEs for Inclusive Growth in the Post-COVID-19 Economy.
Mr Koko, represented by the Head of Private Market, Mr Yomi Osinubi, said, however, said the nation’s capital market was not ripe enough to do this because of the operating environment.
“If we want to pluck our infrastructure rewards, first of all, we have to conceive of a way our domestic capital market can fund capital market.
“But the investors in the international debt capital market will come into an environment where capital is expected and there is an expectation of good management of those resources and cash flows will come back to it.
“So, I think there’s the issue of maybe an underlying structure where we want to put in the capital like road infrastructure tax payment,” he noted.
He noted that the energy sector is the largest area of benefit in infrastructure as mentioned by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which is followed by logistics, movements of cargo around the country.
He then said that this is the only structure from which Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) can get optimum benefits of infrastructure development in the country.
Speaking earlier, the CEO of Heritage Bank Plc, Mr Ifie Sekibo, called on governments to provide enabling policies that would support private sector interventions to achieve the vision of infrastructural development.
He noted that the government can only provide enabling policies that will support private sector interventions as it can not singlehandedly solve the country’s infrastructure challenges.
Represented by the bank’s Divisional Head, Strategy and Business Solutions, Mr Olusegun Akanji, Mr Sekibo maintained that SMEs will continue to face financial challenges until the country developed an identity management system that delivers value to its populace.
One of the highlights of the event, which was held in Lagos, was when two Platinum Awards were presented to Mr Sekibo and Heritage Bank for Outstanding Support towards FICAN and Financial Reporting, accordingly.
