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The Nigerian Stock Exchange’s Interim Administrator, Mr. Emmanuel Ikazoboh today reviewed the on-going downswing on The Nigerian Stock Exchange and described it as a global phenomenon. Mr. Ikazoboh who assumed duty on The Nigerian Stock Exchange on Thursday, August 5, 2010 following the change in The Nigerian Stock Exchange’s topmost leadership says his mission is to restore investor confidence and enhance competitiveness of The Nigerian Stock Exchange in the global capital market.
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Prior to this major development, the media have been awashed with stories that revolve around leadership controversies on The Nigerian Stock Exchange, some of which are capable of sending wrong signals to both foreign and local investors. Some media reports have attributed the current downswing to the alleged financial mismanagement on The Nigerian Stock Exchange.
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In his preliminary review of the market mood, Mr. Ikazoboh assured the investing and general public that the current trend is not peculiar to Nigeria. According to him, the stock market is a derivative of the economy, hence, the global economic slowdown is still impacting on The Nigerian Stock Exchange. As an international market, The Exchange cannot be insulated from the global development, he said. Explaining the global trend, Mr. Ikazoboh noted that; “globally, there are fears that the downturn isn’t completely over and that we may experience a double dip in growth. Recently the British Retail Consortium has stated that indicators are showing a slowdown in price growth and activity.ÂÂÂ
He noted that, “when compared with other markets, it can be seen that the Nigerian Stock Market is actually holding its own and it is from this point that we hope to form a formidable base for future growth. As a comparison, in the period from 2nd August 2010 to close of business on 11th August, the Nigerian All Share Index was down 2.35% while the NSE 30 Index was down 2.32%. For the same period, the Dow Jones Industrial Index was down 2.77%, the JSE All Share Index was down 4.92%, the S&P 500 Index was down 3.23%, the FTSE 100 index was down 2.81% and the Dax Index in Germany was down 2.19%â€ÂÂ. As a further comparison, it is worth noting that for the same period in 2009, the All-Share Index dropped from a level of 25,685.16 to 25,004.66 (-2.65%) and The NSE 30 Index from 920.6 to 908.73 (-1.3%). These trends can also be partially attributed to domestic investors unwinding portfolios to pay for summer holidays and expected school fees.
“It is therefore within this global context that we are NOT surprised that the performance of the Nigerian Stock Market is in line with others, especially as we now operate in a global arena with institutional investors, hedge funds and private equity firms participating actively in our marketsâ€ÂÂ.
 “In fact, only yesterday, the Governor of the Bank of England warned that growth is expected to be slower than previously thought and that inflation would stay above the bank’s target until the end of 2011. In Japan, the current account surplus fell in June, suggesting that slower growth overseas is starting to affect it and this is compounded by a strong Yen. In the US, Freddie Mac, the mortgage institution taken over by the government reported a Q2 loss of $4.7billion (compared to a profit of $300 million for same period last year) and has asked the government for a further injection of $1.7 billion, taking the total bill so far to $63.1 billion. Yesterday, the US Federal Reserve promised more stimulus spending as it warned that recovery had slowedâ€ÂÂ.
He urged the investing public to view the weak performance of the Nigerian Stock Market over the last week in a global context and that there is NO CAUSE FOR ALARM.ÂÂÂ
“In the meantime, the interim management of The Nigerian Stock Exchange will continue to do all it can to put in place the necessary environment for improved growth in our marketâ€ÂÂ.
 “Our market fundamentals remain strong and all efforts are being put in place to ensure that The Exchange operates at global best practices. The Exchange is like a virgin land that holds high prospects for all investorsâ€ÂÂ.
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Commenting on the pivotal role of the media in Nigeria’s economic development, he appealed to the media practitioners to assist The Nigerian Stock Exchange to create an enabling environment to restore investor confidence.
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SOLA ONI
Assistant General Manager/Head
Corporate Communications
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