Quoted companies have called on the management of the Nigerian Stock Exchange and the Securities and Exchange Commission to save the market from persistent losses recorded this year.
According to the companies, the rate at which the share prices of quoted companies are falling has become a source of concern. They have, therefore, called, on the regulators to do all they can to arrest the slide. One of the ways of doing this, according to them, is for the regulators to intensify efforts on investor education towards ensuring that investors return to the market.
Between January and Monday October 24 this year, the NSE’s All-Share Index, which opened the year at 24,770.52 basis points, had recorded a 19.5 per cent decline, down to 20,257.47 basis points.
Similarly, the market capitalisation of the 188 listed equities, which stood at N8.6tn, had dropped by over N2tn or 25 per cent to close at N6.4tn last Friday.
The NSE-30 Index, which stood at 1,081.95 basis points at the beginning of the year, had also fallen by 17.6 per cent to 900.36 points, while the NSE Banking Index, which had lost the highest, fell by 2.5 per cent from 399.08 points to close at 287.92 in the similar period.
The Managing Director, Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc, Mr. Emmanuel Ukpabi, said on Monday that the NSE had a lot of work to do to ensure that investors returned to invest in the market.
According to him, at this point in the market, there is the need for investors to know the intricacies behind making the best investment decisions and how they can have good returns on their investments.
He said, “It is alarming to note that most of the shares on the NSE’s Daily Official List are currently selling far below their real value. This is as a result of the continuous losses recorded in the market since the beginning of the year. However, what some investors may not know is that this is actually the right time to make some informed investment decision.”
“Therefore, what I would suggest is that the market regulators, such as the NSE and the SEC, do all they can to restore investor-confidence in the market. They have a monumental challenge to ensure that the dwindling confidence in the market is restored.”
Ukpabi noted that the regulators should also enhance the speed of capital market transactions and processes, adding that such moves would also serve to attract more investors to the market.
The Director-General, SEC, Ms. Arunma Oteh, said last week that new products would be introduced into the market by the NSE. According to her, this will go a long way towards improving the liquidity status of the Exchange.
“The new NSE team has outlined a bold vision to build a credible market with a range of five products equities, fixed income, exchange traded funds, options and financial futures, over the next five years,” she said.
Source: Punch/Udeme Ekwere
