NASD Plc OTC to Enhance Capital Raising Capabilities

The Managing Director/ CEO of NASD Plc, Mr. Bola Ajomale, has said the company, which is providing over-the-counter (OTC) market for the trading of securities not listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), will become the hub for capital formation in West Africa.

Speaking at the annual general meeting (AGM) in Lagos, Ajomale said NASD Plc was expanding its product offerings and services to cater to the new business and capital raising environment.

“We have embarked on a material technology overhaul that will improve our scope, efficiency and effectiveness as an OTC market. We shall continue to deliver our objectives to all stakeholders in NASD Plc,” he said.

Ajomale noted that NASD had since inception been committed to providing innovative solutions that are reliable, resilient and functional.

“We recognise the new opportunities that are rising out of this situation and intend to remain versatile and flexible to maintain market operations while providing capital raise services to enterprises that now have an even more pronounced need for the capital market,” he stated.

According to him, the company shall continue improving its operational efficiency by investing in its existing structure, using scalable technology and driving innovation.

“In line with our objective to be the market of choice especially for growing companies, our enterprise portal (NASDeP) has remained open and continues to attract the attention of pre-IPO companies. We had initially expected to match such companies to private equity investors who would provide managerial capacity in addition to capital,” the CEO said.

In his address, Chairman, Board of Directors, NASD Plc, Mr. Olutola Mobolurin, said exchange exposed some draft rules to the public in 2019 in furtherance of its efforts to ensure an orderly market and expand service offerings

The rules, according to him, include Rules for executing Negotiated Deals, Admission of Rights Issues, Admission of Commercial Papers and Registration of Sub Brokers.

According to him, they expect these rules will further improve transparency and price discovery on the market.