Capital Market Stakeholders To Commence Sensitisation On National Savings

The capital market community is to commence sensitisation and stakeholder engagement on the implementation of the National Savings Strategy (NSS).

To this end, an Implementation Committee would be established to ensure success of this initiative.

This was disclosed by the director-general of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr. Lamido Yuguda at the end of the first quarter (Q1) Capital Market Committee (CMC) meeting held virtually at the weekend.

Yuguda explained the need to establish a National Savings Strategy as outlined in the Capital Market Master Plan as one of the key strategies to enhance capital formation by mobilising domestic funds for investment to drive rapid economic growth.

According to him, it envisaged the deliberate provision of risk capital as venture capital and private equity that are naira based and more committed to the long-term prosperity of Nigeria as well as create a buffer to the instability created by foreign investors.

The CAMMIC commissioned a white paper on a NSS and recommended to the minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning the formation of a working group to explore the feasibility of the report findings.

This initiative, Yuguda stated, would aid the mobilisation of funds in order to boost the national economy.

The SEC DG also stated that, as part of its accomplishments, the technical committee on the Commodities Trading Ecosystem has collaborated with the various Commodities Exchanges in discussions with the regulator of insurance industry, that is, the National Insurance Commission(NAICOM).

The aim of the engagement, he said, was to explore ways of deepening the market by encouraging the involvement of insurance companies, expanding insurance coverage for the commodities trading value chain, and implementing other mechanisms for mitigating risks in the ecosystem.

“Additionally, the Committee engaged the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET) on modalities to establish an Energy Exchange. On its part, the Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC) worked with the Commission to continuously reduce risks in the agricultural value chain. The Commodities Trading Ecosystem Implementation Committee (CTEIC) welcomed the NAIC as a member to foster greater collaboration and support for the ecosystem.

“The Non-Interest Capital Market Implementation Committee provided updates on various activities, including its ongoing engagement with the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) on the recently released regulations on taxation of non-interest financial instruments,” he explained.

Yuguda stated that the committee informed the meeting that SEC has received feedback from stakeholders on exposure of draft Rules on Shari’ah Advisory Services.

The SEC DG disclosed that, given the availability of tax regulations for the non-interest segment of the market, and advancements in information technology, issuers of securities and their advisers were admonished to take advantage of the conducive environment to come up with financial products that will appeal to target classes of investors

He expressed optimism about the growth potential of the Nigerian Capital Market and reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to building and maintaining a vibrant, fair, and transparent market for investors and issuers alike.