FG, Lawmakers Pledge Support for Capital Market Growth
Federal lawmakers and the Ministry of Industry Trade and Investments yesterday promised to work with securities dealers and other stakeholders in the nation’s capital market to ensure the market plays its role of capital formation for the growth and development of the economy.
Speaking at the 23rd Chartered Institute Stockbrokers (CIS) annual conference in Lagos, the Chairman, House of Representatives Capital Market and Institutions Committee, Honourable Babangida Ibrahim, said the lawmakers were willing to enact laws that would boost operations in the market. According to him, low investors’ confidence as well as unclaimed dividends remain the major issues affecting the growth and development of the capital market.
“I want to assure you that the committee is ready to work with the CIS. The National
Assembly and House of Reps in particular, is aware of the major challenges facing the capital market in recent times. As a result of that, we have already started engaging with some of the key stakeholders including the Institute on the best way forward. I would like to appeal to the Institute to be unofficial advisers to the government and continue to monitor the activities of the government as regards policies affecting the market so as to ensure we move the capital market forward,” he said.
Also speaking, the Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Capital Market, Senator Binos Yaroe, charged the Institute to come up with policy proposals that will enhance the competitiveness of the market.
“The challenges the Nigerian capital market is facing cannot be emphasized and the economy has never been as bad as it is today and it is a known fact that the capital market is the barometer of any economy.
In that regard, the National Assembly is ready to partner and support the institute to ensure that our market is more competitive,” Yaroe, who is also a stockbroker said.
On his part, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Niyi Adebayo said once CIS comes up with policy proposals to support and address Nigeria’s infrastructure challenges, the federal government would incentivise and provide the enabling environment to support this objective.
“We declare our willingness to partner the CIS in ensuring the necessary enabling environment that will further stimulate and boost competitiveness in the capital market as well as ensure a coordinated and integrated approach to Nigeria’s financial sector is attainable. The best way to improve competitiveness is through a mixture of policies designed to help, improve capital market competitiveness”, Adebayo said.