The Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, Mr. Temi Popoola has said it aimed to drive listings of new companies, technology and improve on investor participation in the stock market.
Speaking at virtual event with Institutional clients monitored in Lagos, he reiterated plans of NGX post-demutualisation, and the prospect of the Exchange to Institutional clients.
According to him, “Following the recent demutualisation of The Exchange, it is important that we continue to function well and deliver the highest level of service delivery that our stakeholders are accustomed to.
“It is not lost on us that we have to embody many things for our wide variety of stakeholders. As such we have begun to think about the Exchange of tomorrow and how we can continue to meet evolving needs of the market. To do this, we will take on three major matters – listings, technology and investor participation.”
He addressed two major areas around attracting more listings to the market first by considering the driving factor behind major spiked of listing activity, and then considering barriers to entry.
In dealing with the first, he noted that, “It is impossible to disconnect policy from listing activities evidenced by the successes recorded in the eras of indigenization, privatisation and the banking sector consolidation. Our strategy will, therefore, be built around policy advocacy, whilst addressing barriers to entry such as time to market, ease of entry and benefits of listing.”
Moving to technology, he recognised the advanced strides The Exchange has made in digitisation over the years and indicated that it is time to take a step further to digital transformation, addressing how people connect to The Exchange, how to distribute products through technology and how to democratise finance.
In this regard, he emphasised the need to attract more technology stocks to the Nigerian capital market in order to capitalise on the gains we see in global markets that are home to the world’s biggest technology companies.
In considering investor participation, Popoola stated, “We have big plans to attract investors – retail and institutional, domestic and foreign – to our market. In terms of diversification, we understand that equities may no longer be the answer for all investors and we are focused on creating an Exchange that understands investors’ appetite and is indeed the preferred destination for finding products that suit their needs.”
Participants at the webinar were then given opportunities to engage with the CEO, NGX where questions were asked around a wide range of topics including regulation, returns, product development, among others.
– Thisday