Senate Lauds NSE’s Contributions to National Development

By Osigbemhe Apeaye

The Senate Committee on Capital Market has commended the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on its efforts to create a truly sustainable exchange hub for wealth creation and capital formation in Africa.

This was expressed by the Chairman of the Committee, Mr Ibikunle Amosun, during an engagement session with the Council Members and Executive Committee of the exchange and other capital market stakeholders on Thursday, March 19, 2020.

In recognising the NSE’s collaborative approach to delivering on the capital market’s mandate to enable efficient allocation of resources and spur growth and development, Mr Amosun said, “We have met a very professionally run exchange during this visit and we encourage you to keep up the good work.

“The Nigerian Stock Exchange has been a critical player in the development of the Nigerian economy. Your efforts have culminated in moving Nigeria out of a monolithic phase and we thank you for all the good work.

“On behalf of the Senate Committee, I assure you that we will continue to create that enabling environment that will support you in growing our market and providing Nigerians innovative opportunities to create wealth.”

At the meeting, the Chief Executive Officer of NSE, Mr Oscar Onyema, expressed a positive outlook on the Nigerian economy and the NSE’s commitment to national development stating, “Nigeria remains an attractive investment destination as Africa’s most populous country, positioned to be a top 20 economy by 2030 and top 10 by 2050.

“The exchange is, therefore, committed to engaging stakeholders to set the Nigerian economy on a positive trajectory. To successfully do this, we will continue to advocate for the right economic policies that will ensure that both issuers and investors in our market can reap real value.”

The NSE has achieved significant results through its advocacy efforts especially its notable contributions to the Financial System Strategy (FSS) 2020.

These efforts gave rise to: the incentives to encourage companies to list, leading to the listing of MTN Nigeria and Airtel on the exchange; the launch of the Growth Board to facilitate the listing of companies with high growth potential; the proliferation of financial literacy and awareness of financial system products and services through the X-Academy and NSE StockTown.