Acting SEC DG, Gwarzo promises vibrant capital market

The acting Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr. Mounir Gwarzo has promised investors trading at the Nigerian Exchanges that the Commission will continue to ensure market vibrant despite the global economy crisis.

Mr. Gwarzo gave the assurance when members of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) visited him at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja.

He disclosed that the current management would strive to develop domestic investment from retail and institutional investors.

According to him, “We will step up to reach out to the market and improve investment. On the international side, what is most important is the enabling environment. Right now the rules are very friendly and that is why we keep changing them from time to time to suit best practices and attract investors.

Earlier in his remarks, President and Chairman of the Governing Council of the Institute, Mr. Albert Okumagba lamented the over 60 per cent control of the Nigerian stock market by foreign investors.

Okumagba said, the current situation were over 60 per cent of the market is control by foreign investors give serious cause for concern.

 He said, “The level of participation of our locals is effectively less than three million when ideally over 80 million of our people should be in the market.

“Our coverage of insurance assets in Nigeria is not up to two percent of insurable assert, if we can increase from two to 20 per cent and then to 50 per cent, we will be shock at the kind of contribution that insurance can make.”

Mr. Albert further disclosed that for pension, coverage is about eight per cent, noting that if Nigerians that are supposed to be captured by the pension reform act come on stream, we can do multiples of the N4.7 that has been mobilized.

 He said, “We have opportunities for our own domestic investors, The pension companies have over $25 billion which they have taken as money and even though they have a room of about 25 per cent to invest only about 12 per cent of that has been invested.”

‘We believe that some of the factors that are holding the market down today will soon ease off, issues of security, election and crude oil prices, once the election are done with, the market will begin to stabilize’ he added The Ag DG of SEC, Mr. Mounir heaped on investors education both for retail and institutional to improve the level of investment from the domestic side.

 The meeting addressed issues that will engender better interface between the regulators and the operators as they both expressed the desire for the capital market to play a deeper role in funding gaps in the federal budget and also fund infrastructure gaps.