Shareholders Call for Merging of Stockbroking Firms for Better Service Delivery

The National Coordinator, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria(ISAN), Anthony Omojola, has called for the consolidation of 255 stockbroking houses in the country for better service delivery.

According to Omojola, while there over 200 stockbroking firms, only 10 of them dominate transactions in the market, noting that whenever the regulator comes up with a recapitalisation plan, it should encourage merger and acquisition among the operators.

The ISAN boss, who spoke in a virtual interview, said there was the likelihood that the nation would witness growth in the areas of medium and small scale companies because of some palliatives and tax incentives extended to them in this year’s budget.

Speaking on the ISAN expectations for the 2020, Omojola said they are concerned about the purchasing power of the people.

‘’ We are concerned with the purchasing power of the people in terms of goods and services which has been seriously affected by the value of Naira which is a reality of increase in tariffs, rates and other government policies that have negative effects on the people.

“We urge the government to do more to lessen the burden in the business operating environments in the country, so that more profits can be made by individuals, entrepreneurs and companies. Further efforts should be made in decongesting the Lagos Ports with a view of lowering products costs which will have a salutary effect on our level of inflation which is on the rise.

‘’Nigeria require huge infrastructural improvements in power, road, rail and air. With an improved road and rail transport system, locally produced goods and services will contribute more to the gross domestic product (GDP).

“The question is, how visible is the promise to link all the state Capitals through rail? For this to happen, our budget needs more allocation for better funding Reliance on loans alone may not help us. But if properly funded and implemented, finished goods will be transported through the rails and maintenance costs on the roads will be drastically reduced.’’

Omojola said the full demutualisation of the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) would usher in more opportunities for bigger investments, standardisation of policies and bring along with it some level of confidence in the capital market.

Meanwhile, trading at the stock market continued on bullish note as the NSE All-Share Index rose 1.25 per cent to close at 24,758.39, while market capitalisation added N462 billion to be at N12.9 trillion.