The management of Vitafoam Nigeria Plc has commended the Nigerian Stock Exchange for the ongoing market recovery and introduction of market makers in the capital market.

The management of the company, led by its new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Joel Ajiga, gave the commendation during a visit to the NSE.

The NSE had on September 18 this year introduced market makers into the Nigerian equities market with the aim of increasing investor confidence and deepening the market, starting with 16 quoted companies.

The programme now covers 33 stocks with Dangote Flour Mills Plc, Unity Bank Plc and Prestige Assurance Plc, being added this week.

A market maker is a brokerage firm or bank that maintains a firm bid and asks price in a given security by standing ready, willing, and able to buy or sell at publicly quoted prices.

While praising the move which is expected to ultimately boost liquidity in the market and ensure some form of stability in the market, the management of Vitafoam promised to remain committed to shareholder value and to furnish the exchange with regular information about its operations in line with Post Listing Requirement.

According to a statement, the Executive Director, Operations and IT, NSE, Mr. Ade Bajomo, who represented the Exchanges’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Oscar Onyema, had expressed joy that the market makers had impacted the market positively, noting that a board of trustees had been constituted for its Investor Protection Fund – to enhance investor protection.

The statement added that Ajiga was accompanied on the visit by the company’s Executive Director, Sales and Marketing, Mr. Peter Folikwe; Technical Director, Mr. Taiwo Adeniyi; Executive Director, Finance, Mr. Brass Ogun; Company Secretary, Mr. Lekan Sani; and the National Sales Manager, Mr. Bamidele Sola Owoade; who rang the closing bell.

Shares of the company, which celebrated its 50th anniversary recently, closed unchanged on Friday at N3.70.

Source: Punch (written by Simon Ejembi)