By Peter OBIORA InvestAdvocate
Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last Saturday said over 85 percent of share certificates in the Nigerian Capital Market (NCM) has been dematerialised.
Mounir Gwarzo, the director general (DG) of the Commission disclosed this while speaking at a workshop organised by the Capital Market Correspondent Association of Nigeria (CAMCAN) in Lagos at the weekend.
“Dematerialisation of share certificates has reached unprecedented level of over 85 percent with 100 percent in sight before the year ends,” he affirmed.
According to him, SEC at the last Capital Market Committee (CMC) in 2015 has been able to track remarkable progresses made in the recommendations of key master plan initiatives.
“We held the last CMC meeting for 2015 on Wednesday during which we were able to track the remarkable progress made in the recommendation of key master plan initiatives,” the SEC DG said.
He noted that SEC is currently leading the capital market in implementing the 10-year Master plan for the growth and development of the NCM. “It is our main agenda for the market and we dedicated this week to tracking the level of implementation of the master plan as well as launching some of the major initiatives that have been concluded in the plan.
The other recommendations of the key master plan initiatives tracked include the recapitalisation exercise to strengthen market institutions, E-Dividend with excellent collaboration from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) and Direct Cash Settlement leveraging on the Bank Verification Number (BVN) database.
Still on the list of tracked master plan initiatives recommended include deepening non-interest capital market through regional workshops targeting potential issuers, Robust public enlightenment campaigns,
zero tolerance posture reducing the level of infractions in the market and strengthening capacity of SEC to serve as a more effective apex regulator and become the depository of capital market knowledge in Nigeria.
According to him, following the fruitful CMC meeting the Commission launched three (3) imports at Master Plan initiatives which include the unveiling of SEC’s Corporate Governance Scorecard, “this brings about a new era in corporate governance compliance as we have made specific rules that make compliance with the SEC Code of corporate governance mandatory,” Gwarzo affirmed.
The second is launching of the National Investor Protection Fund (NIPF) and inauguration of its board: “this was the second major initiative launched that is bound to boost investor confidence in our market,” Gwarzo added.
The third is the inauguration of Capital Market Master Plan Implementation Council (CAMMIC), which he said was a major step towards the master plan implementation and has in its council distinguished and highly respected Nigerians who will lead advocacy efforts to various master plan initiatives.
He urged CAMCAN members to be actively involved in informing the public of major changes that are happening within the market and a lot more changes is on the way as the SEC continues to faithfully implement the master plan. “Our expectations are that you will be actively involved by continually building your capacity to effectively report to Nigerians on these changes,” Gwarzo added.
Oscar Onyema, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) who spoke at the workshop with the theme “Effective Reporting of Changes in the Nigerian Capital Market,” said that good corporate governance will ensure solid companies; but forcing them to list may lead to infractions in the market, “a lot of energy has been spent building the foundational aspect of the market in terms of transparency, orderliness, fairness, disclosure, and more importantly enforcement of rules and regulations.
“In the short term, you will see the huge volatility but that should not distract from those fundamental elements about good companies, making good money, running under a well governed Exchange structure and a well regulated market structure. These factors will combine to shore up investors’ confidence in these challenging times.
“As we continue to work towards achieving and sustaining this market, the importance of your role cannot be over emphasised. Financial journalists have the potential to influence investors’ behaviour. Negative reporting may result in sensationalism and put additional pressures that can force investors’ decisions negatively,” he added.
Goddy Egene, president of CAMCAN had earlier commended the regulators for attending the workshop, saying that in the last two (2) years, a lot of changes have occurred in the market and there is need for cooperation of stakeholders for the progress of the market.
