The President of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers, Mr. Ariyo Olushekun, has said that the Nigerian capital market is already on the path  to recovery.

He, therefore, advised retail investors who had exited the market in the past to return and take advantage of the opportunities present in the market.

Ariyo, who  was speaking on Monday ahead of the CIS first annual workshop scheduled to hold  in Abuja next Thursday, noted that the market was expected to grow even further by the end of the year.

He noted that already, a lot of foreign investors were taking position in the equities market, ahead of the expected rise.

He said, “We are pleased to note that recovery has already commenced in our market and we are sure that this recovery would be sustained. Already, you would notice that we are having a 14-15 per cent year-to-date return in the market.

“All indications point to the fact that we are going to see even more growth in the months ahead, and we can see this from the way that foreign portfolio investors have been playing in the market in the last two years and taking advantage of the undervalued prices of major companies.”

He noted that the growth recorded was mainly because all stakeholders were putting their heads together to ensure that there is market growth.”

Speaking on the upcoming workshop with the theme, “Working the Transformation Agenda: The Real Issue”, Ariyo noted that it was an annual forum comprising of key players in the private and public sector.

He added that the CIS decided to organise the programme with the aim of tracking budget performance and contributing to the formulation of Federal Government policies.

He also stated that the forum was expected to generate ideas, which would serve as useful inputs to the national budget and enhance the quality of policy making process, adding that various agencies of the  government including the Presidency, the National Assembly, Federal Ministry of Finance, Central Bank of Nigeria, Securities and Exchange Commission and the Nigerian Stock Exchange would be represented at the event.

       The Chairman of the National Workshop Committee, Mr Albert Okumagba, who also spoke at the event said the workshop had been structured to provide an interface between the policy makers and capital market stakeholders “with a view to establishing an ongoing dialogue that would ultimately facilitate better policies that will aid sustained economic development.”

He added that the focus of the workshop would be on the agricultural sector, power sector and the telecoms sector adding that guests  were expected to present papers and discussants were  Vice- President Namadi Sambo, ministers of Finance, Agriculture, Petroleum Resources, Communications and Trade and Investment.

Source: Punch/Udeme Ekwere