UK remains a great ally for Nigeria capital market development, says Stock Exchange chief
Adesola Afolabi was a businessamlive reporter and Head of Financial desk.
Oscar N. Onyema, the chief executive officer of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, has averred that the United Kingdom remains a key partner to Nigeria, particularly for its capital market development.
Onyema spoke to journalists on the sidelines of the business networking event hosted by the British High Commission and headlined by Theresa May, the prime minister of Great Britain.
“Both countries have a long history of trade and collaboration which is evident in various aspects of our socio-economic sectors.
“As you know, the Nigerian Stock Exchange has a capital market agreement with the London Stock Exchange aimed at promoting seamless cross-border access between Lagos and London markets to ultimately develop larger capital markets that enable capital formation for businesses and governments; create deeper liquidity pools and greater competitiveness for investors; as well as enhance capacity and promote diversity of investment products to meet the needs of a wide range of investors and issuers,” Onyema said
On the significance of the visit by the UK prime minister, Onyema stated that, “the capital market is a major barometer of any economy. It was therefore not surprising that prime minister May allotted some time from her schedule to meet with capital market operators. The networking event has also in attendance some UK companies that might be interested in our market. The visit was positive and a good recognition for the Nigerian capital market”.
Onyema further opined that as the world is preparing for the fourth industrial revolution, the Nigerian capital market must ready itself to compete globally.
He said: “The capital market like many sectors is being impacted by technology. The World Bank has just issued its first blockchain operated bond. We have seen the growth of cryptocurrencies amongst innovations. On our part at the Exchange, we have deployed Artificial Intelligence to monitor activities in our market. This has even become imperative as we look set to demutualize and introduce more sophisticated products such as derivatives”.