LCFE, Stakeholders to Unlock N445trn Commodities Ecosystem

Nume Ekeghe

Lagos Commodities and Future Exchange (LCFE), Capital Market players, and other stakeholders are set to unlock the $1trillion (N445trn) commodities ecosystem as an avenue to diversify the economy from a crude oil-dependent economy to other critical economic sectors.

This was revealed at the Commissioning Ceremony and Official Launch of Lagos Commodities & Futures Exchange, with the theme, “New Order, Driving Nigeria’s Economy Through the Commodities Ecosystem,” in Lagos.

This, according to key stakeholders will catalyze and transform the Nigerian economy to create value, wealth restore growth and build global competitive economy. 

Speaking, the MD/CEO of Heritage Bank, Ifie Sekibo, stated that as the lead settlement bank in partnership with key stakeholders that are critical to the success of this project, he considered the launch of LCFE as a huge potential to unlock the opportunities and wealth of the four asset classes- Agriculture, Solid Minerals, Oil and Gas and Currencies.

He said: “I believe that this is the beginning of how we are going to possibly create values in areas that hitherto we have taken for granted. First thing it will bring about is sustainable commodity trading ecosystem, being a catalyst for capital formation, unlocking the long-time financing for the solid mineral and mining space.

“The Collaboration between Heritage Bank and LCFE is designed to align the market to transparent price discovery, standardised platform for trading of commodities across defined asset classes and straight through processing to settlement.”

Sekibo added that the partnership was one of the many initiatives of the bank’s foundational objectives of wealth creation, preservation, and transfer across generation.