Nigeria’s Debt Management Office (DMO) has been able to raise N13 billion as at July 2019, from the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Oscar Onyema, the NSE chief executive officer has revealed.
Onyema also disclosed that from a humble beginning as far back as 1961, the Exchange has deepened it’s debt market to N12.47 trillion.
Onyema gave these disclosures during his welcome address at the retail bond workshop organized in collaboration with DMO and Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers, Tuesday.
But, Tuesday’s workshop which had in participation, operators, brokers, among others, was organised to increase the retail participation in FGN securities and debt capital market as a whole.
The NSE said it organised the workshop to promote awareness on investing in Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) securities, discuss investment opportunities in FGN Bonds, trading of FGN securities on the NSE as well as address the issues around the purchase of FGN securities, payments of coupons, and complaint resolutions.
According to Onyema, the Exchange is delighted to have revolutionized into a multi-asset hub with a N12.47 trillion debt market providing investors access to a wide range of investment opportunities in the domestic and international capital market through the listing of sovereign, sub-national, corporates and supranational debt issues.
He said the NSE’s partnership with the DMO towards creating investment opportunities for retail investors in the debt market dates to the launch of the NSE Retail Bond Market in 2012; when the DMO appointed a government stockbroker to provide liquidity in FGN bonds on our bourse.
With the launch of the NSE retail bond market, the Exchange sought to promote financial inclusion, while stimulating retail investor participation in the Nigerian Debt market.
Prior to that time, investing in listed debt instruments had been dominated by institutional investors trading in wholesale denominations.
However, in March 2017, the Exchange in collaboration with the DMO launched the FGN Savings Bond having recognised the opportunity presented by the Nigerian demographic to diversify Government’s funding sources as well as enhance national savings culture.
Since its debut issuance of N2.067billion, retail investors from across the 6 geo-political zones and the diaspora have invested in the FGN Savings Bond with the DMO raising over N13billion from 2-year and 3-year bond maturities as at July 2019.
Despite these teeming efforts, only about 3 percent of Nigeria’s adult population (according to data from the Central Securities Clearing System, CSCS), participate in the Nigerian capital market, the NSE boss lamented.
He thus called for increased collaborative efforts in promoting higher levels of financial inclusion in Nigeria.
“In achieving our strategic vision to become the preferred Exchange hub in Africa, we will continue to pursue initiatives that seeks to increase domestic participation in capital market through increased access to investment solutions, as well as support government to achieve inclusive growth and sustainable development,” Onyema said.
