NAN-HE-17
Environment
By Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma
Lagos, Nov. 16, 2017 (NAN) Mr Mounir Gwarzo, the Director-General, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has called on capital market participants to adapt to new and changing economic, regulatory and business environment.
Gwarzo made the call at the 21st Annual Conference of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) held in Lagos on Thursday.
He said that adaptation to the rapidly changing economic, regulatory and business environments would enable market participants to perform their expected roles in economic development of the country.
Gwarzo said that almost everything now comes down to the application of relevant technology.
“The financial market institution of the future is one that is presently making conscious effort to automate its processes by leveraging on relevant technology,’’ he said.
Gwarzo stated that the capital market had begun to observe the evolution of new products and processes which include Sukuk, Green Bonds, derivatives, commodities and financial technology.
He said that these new products were evidence of the responses to dynamic changes in the Nigerian Financial Market.
On market regulation and development by SEC, he said that the commission was committed to continuous development of the Nigerian Capital Market in line with the 10-year Master Plan.
The director-general said that the e-dividend initiative was very central for market growth and development.
He said that the commission had embarked on a massive media campaign to sensitise the public on the Dec. 31, 2017 deadline on free e-dividend registration and regularisation of multiple accounts by investors.
Gwarzo said that the commission had strengthened its rule making process with more rules being considered on a timely basis.
He added that some of the recently introduced initiatives in the market had yielded result, noting that the number of reported cases of infraction had reduced by 36 per cent in the third quarter of 2017 from 291 in first quarter of 2016.
According to him, the number of enforcement cases has come down to 30 from 49 within the same period.
Gwarzo said that all the initiatives introduced would help capital market stakeholders respond adequately to the dynamic changes in the financial market. (NAN)
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Edited by Ese E. Ekama