By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) has promised to work with the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited to improve the integrity of the fixed-income trading platforms and protect them from market manipulations.
The president of the CIS, Mr Oluwole Adeosun, made this pledge recently when he visited the bourse in Lagos to commemorate the return to full physical trading at the exchange.
“I am pleased to affirm that the CIS and NGX in a working relationship all these years has continued to wax stronger and will continue to improve because we will support the exchange with the members on the trading floor of NGX.
“We reiterate that we will continue to work with the exchange as partners and support in its effort to build a world-class securities market in Nigeria,” Mr Adeosun said.
He praised the resilience and creativity shown by the exchange during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 to ensure that the bourse kept working, noting that the platform did not allow the pandemic to dominate trading as investors made gains during the period.
Earlier in his opening remark, the Chairman of NGX, Mr Abubakar Mahmoud, said the two organisations have, in 30 years, enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship through strategic partnerships and landmark initiatives, which has contributed to deepening, expanding and repositioning the capital market for efficient service delivery to the public and its valued stakeholders.
Mr Mahmoud, represented by a non-executive director on the NGX board, Mr Yomi Adeyemi, said, “The capital market, especially the NGX, has no doubt benefitted immensely from the quality of professionals who have come through the ranks of the institute.
“We strongly hope that we can continue to count on the institute to sustain this unimpeachable record of producing exceptional professionals who have the highest sense of duty and devotion to developing the capital market ecosystem.”
On his part, the NGX Group chairman, Mr Umar Kwairanga, commended the past presidents of the institute for their significant contribution to the capital markets, which has sustained the institute on the path of growth and expansion.
The chief executive of the bourse, Mr Temi Popoola, described the CIS as the gate-keepers of the market, noting that the market in the last three years has been much stronger due to its working relationship with the institute.
“We do hope that the stockbrokers come back to the floor. We know that people are used to remote trading, but we would like that trading atmosphere to come back to the floor, and this is what we are trying to catalyse,” Mr Popoola said.
