The Association of Assets Custodians of Nigeria has pledged that it will continue to work with other stakeholders to ensure that foreign investors have a better understanding of the Nigerian capital market.

According to the association, by providing the investors with information about positive developments in the market, they will be better able to see through the negative news about insecurity and the likes and realise that they stand to get strong returns on their investments in the long run.

The new President of the association, Mrs. Kemi Adewole, said these after the second Annual General Meeting of the association, where she was elected president to replace Mr. Segun Sanni. Until her election, Adewole was the association’s vice-president.

She said, “Nigeria receives its share of publicity and sometimes a lot of that publicity is negative. So, what we try to do as the association of assets custodians is to ensure that the international community does not only have a lot of information, it has the right information.

“Then we make ourselves available to clarify whatever issues foreign portfolio investors may have with investing in the country.”

Adewole, who said the journey of the association so far had neither been easy nor rough, stressed that the association, which was established in 2009, started at the right time in the country.

She said, “At the time we set up this association in 2009, a lot of reforms had been carried out in the market by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Nigerian Stock Exchange, Central Securities Clearing System and the Central Bank of Nigeria as well.

“But there was really no association or organisation that was ready to tell everybody else what was going on in the market. So, we were doing all these good things and nobody knew about them.

“When we came in as an association, we put all of these things together and reported them. We also take it as a duty to interpret central bank policies and all the things that are going on in the market.”

Adewole, who explained that it was important for stakeholders to work together, told journalists that over the years, the association had worked with stakeholders and introduced initiatives that had benefited the market.

Currently, she said it was working with the CBN and the Financial Market Dealers Association to review the CCI process.

The objective, she said, was to make the CCI process more efficient.

She added, “We have been able to ensure that foreign portfolio investors at least have a better understanding of investment strategies and processes in Nigeria.

“We have been able to put them in touch with key policy makers to ensure that even if policies are not changed, at least the policy makers know how foreign portfolio investors are thinking and what they would like to see in the market.”

She described the association’s three-year-old annual conference, which is held in London as very successful “because when foreign portfolio investors are able to be in touch with market operators, they are able to understand the market.”

Through the conference, she said the association had observed that foreign investors were becoming more comfortable with the market.

Adewole also said that the association was out to promote global best practices in Nigeria and to make the environment more automated and more efficient.

“So, we see ourselves bridging the gap between investors and regulators and also trying to shape the market,” she said.

Also elected at the AGM were: Taiwo Sonola as vice-president, Akeem Oyewole also as vice-president, and Abiodun Adebimpe as general secretary.

Others are Bunmi Arowosafe (financial secretary), Lanre Akinsefe (treasurer) and Solomon Ikeanyi (publicity secretary).

Punch