Kayode Tokede
The Director General, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr. Lamido Yuguda has stated that the capital market regulating body is working to develop products targeted at making the market attractive to the younger generation in a bid to further deepen the market.
Yuguda who was represented by the Head, Office of the Chief Economist of the SEC, Dr. Okey Umeano, recently in an interview stated that this is one of the provisions made in the revised capital market plan in a bid to make further products available to the populace.
According to him , “I must tell you that the demographic in our market is graying and it is a source of worry. That is one of the things we are covering in the Revised Capital market master plan. We are encouraging Capital Market operators to develop technology. The youths do not want to come in and start filling five page forms because they want to access the market, they want to pick their phones and make their investments.
“That is why we are improving our Know Your Customers;we are improving so many things to make it easier for them. That is why we are introducing these Fintechs. We are allowing these Fintechs to come because we see the Fintech as an important gateway for youths to enter the market. We are conscious of that and we are working towards it.”
Yuguda said that the youths must understand that the capital market is a viable platform for wealth creation assuring them that the SEC and the market is working on how best to serve them.
“We are striving to improve the way we deliver our products, to improve market efficiency and to make the market attractive to them. Most importantly, we are doing all we can to ensure that investors are adequately protected in the market and that they are able to get the benefits of their investments” he stated.
He further stated that the SEC is working to ensure that the commodities market gets all the support required to grow and support the economy.
“We have about 6 commodities exchanges and we are doing a lot to bring them up to standard. We cannot say that we want to grow the agricultural part of our economy if we do not have a market to support it and that is what we are doing. That market is growing in leaps and bounds, so that is another achievement.
“We are beginning to see some results of these our efforts in that area. Before now, when we did not have this market, farmers were not able to get good price discovery for their products. Therefore, if you have a good commodities exchange, it helps price discovery and it helps credit to flow to the farmers.
Umeano stated that because there is good price discovery, people can now ascertain what they can get if they farm a particular produce within a particular period. That is what the value chain that commodities segment of the market is opening up.
“You will soon start seeing it. It is happening but you know it is a new area, it is growing and it is an area we are proud of. it is growing in leaps and bounds; you can see the percentage growth that we have. But I must tell you, it is still a small market compared to the size of the Nigerian economy but then they said the journey of a thousand miles starts with a step and I can tell we have made many steps in that direction.
He disclosed that the SEC has increased the number of products in the market as the market now has derivatives and also started to support the non-interest capital market.
“We are now getting issuances in the non-interest area and we are expanding the opportunities for everyone. We are also involved in integrating the capital markets across Africa and across West African region too, we are a pace setter there. We are also trying to expand what is available to people who are investors in Nigeria so these are things we have done. I am not saying that the SEC has done all that is possible to do but I know that we are on track” he added.
