By Yakubu LAAH InvestAdvocate

Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-The stockbroking community under the auspices of the Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria (ASHON) is eyeing 40 million investors in the Nigerian Capital market (NCM) compared to the current five (5) million in the nearest future.

Emeka Madubuike, Chairman of ASHON at its recent inaugural Capital Market Night in Lagos Nigeria to honour the Asset Management Corporation of the Nigeria (AMCON) for the Nigerian financial sector stability said operators are very hopeful and looking forward to a market with 40 million investors from the current five (5) million investors.

“We are also expecting a state-of-the-art trading platform that promises great customers and operators experience, $1trillion market capitalisation and one that is the main driver of economic development,” he said.

ASHON at its inaugural Capital Market Night honoured AMCON with the Capital Market Institution award, which has just been introduced by the brokers to recognise outstanding institutions that have made significant contributions to the development of the financial sector and economy in general.

Madubuike, while speaking at the event said the intervention of AMCON in the financial sector by buying off delinquent loans from banks cleaned up the balance sheets of banks and repositioned them to perform their role of economic financing and development of the country.

“The forbearance package given to brokers that have to do with margin loan  also complemented AMCON’s intervention in the banking sector,” Madubuike said.

“Without AMCON, no one knows where the Nigerian economy would have been by now. The cleaning up of banks’ balance sheets impacted positively on the economy in general and the capital market in particular because the banking sector and capital market works together to grow the economy. In recognition of its contributions, ASHON decided to recognise AMCON as the Capital Market Institution for 2013” he said.

Madubuike commended the leadership of AMCON and pledged stockbrokers’ cooperation   with the bad bank as all stakeholders work towards the restoration of full confidence in the stock market.

He advised market operators to brace up for the changes coming with the market recovery; calling for a lot of hard work, integrity, transparency and collaborative efforts to confront the obvious changes that lie ahead.

“We believe that by working together, all of our members will survive in one form or the other. Our association –the front-line operators of the capital market, has gone through very difficult time in the last five years since 2008, but thankfully we are beginning to see a recovery, which gives us a lot of hope going forward,” he said.