The chairman of National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) Plc, Mr. Kayode Falowo stated that the board and management had taken steps to improve the financial performance and service offerings of the Company in enhancing shareholders’ value.
Falowo stated this at the company’s 11th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Lagos
He revealed that as at September 20, 2024, the NASD Securities Index had increased from 927.47 in December 2023 to 2,227.73, indicating a growth of 140 per cent.
“In the same period, the market capitalization increased by 143 per cent from 1.26 trillion to over 3 trillion. The value of traded securities also grew from 37.58 billion to 53.5 billion, representing a growth of 42.5 per cent over the period of 38 weeks,” he revealed.
He disclosed that the management is projecting to achieve a net income of about N400 million by the end of 2024, which is a significant improvement from the N69.6 million loss recorded as at December 31, 2023.
“The Board has taken steps to enhance our service offering through the introduction of new products and services. Also, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved our Digital Securities solutions initiative which will enable participants to trade digital securities on the NASD.
“We believe this will attract the younger generation in Nigeria and other parts of the world to our market. We have also deployed our Mobile App and participants in the market have full digital access to our services.
“We have recently received approval from the regulator to trade Commercial Papers on our platform. This is a game changer that was secured through diligent and purposeful engagement between SEC and our Management team,” he stated.
Falowo added that “we are in a close engagement with major participants in the creative industry and expected to commence issuance of products that would position the NASD as a platform for aggregating capital to fund this critical sector and contribute to the nation’s economy.”
Also, the managing director /CEO, NASD, Mr. Eguarekhide Longe said the management had embarked on diversification of the market since 2022 and it has started bearing fruit, saying, “there is a reduced loss position, and it is important to understand that the loss position for 2022 was mitigated by tax reduction and that was not the case with 2023.”
He added that NASD had meetings with Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Manufacturers association and Bank of Industry (BoI) to attract SMEs.
“The future of NASD is in the growth companies. You may call them SMEs, but I do like to call them growth companies and they will expand the proposition of our market,” he added.
