SEC Initiates Strategic Measures for Infrastructure Financing Boost

The Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Lamido Yuguda, expressed the commission’s focus on infrastructure financing through the capital market in the upcoming year. Yuguda made this announcement during the third quarter post-Capital Market Committee press briefing held in Lagos, as reported by InfoStride News.

In outlining the Commission’s goals for 2024, Yuguda emphasized the intention to channel capital market funds towards infrastructure development. He referred to the President’s recent mention of a $1 trillion economy by 2026 and a $3 trillion economy by the end of the decade, expressing his belief in the achievability of these targets for Nigeria.

Yuguda stated, “This country has what it takes to really do it. This is the direction of the government, and this is what the Securities and Commission is doing to galvanize the market to help finance infrastructure. This is one area we focused on yesterday (at the CMC meeting), we actually set up a group to look at what we need to do to further this process.”

The SEC boss also revealed that the newly formed group would convene before the end of the year to strategize on the outlined objectives.

Addressing the issue of delisting in the capital market, Yuguda acknowledged companies like Union Bank, PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc, and Glaxo SmithKline Consumer Nigeria Plc were in the process of delisting. However, he highlighted that high-cap stocks were still prevalent in the market, with the Commission actively seeking to attract more listings.

Yuguda clarified, “Actually, I’ll make a correction; actually, the elephants are running in. You mentioned Union Bank and also a few other companies that have actually exited the market. We sat down and did the math. If you take, in the last few years, all the companies that have exited and take their market capitalization. That is the total value of their entire shareholding, compare it with those of the new companies that came into the market; the ones who exited are less than two per cent.”

In elaborating further, Yuguda emphasized that the companies driving the market in terms of market capitalization were not exiting but entering the market in abundance. He stressed the need to raise market capitalization to achieve the set target of a 50 per cent increase.

During the media briefing, it was disclosed that the SEC had garnered the support of the national assembly to facilitate the passage of the Investment and Securities Bill. This bill aims to strengthen the Commission’s role, make provisions for the commodities exchange market, and increase sanctions for Ponzi scheme operators. InfoStride News reported on this significant development, underlining the ongoing efforts to enhance the regulatory framework and foster a robust and dynamic capital market in Nigeria.