Caption: From left, Executive Commissioner Operations, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Bola Ajomale; Head of Marketing, Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), Vuyo Lee; Non-Executive Director, Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX Group), Nonso Okpala; Director, Capital Markets, JSE, Valdene Reddy; Group Chief Executive Officer, NGX Group), Temi Popoola; Group Chief Executive Officer, JSE, Leyla Fourie; Director–General, SEC Nigeria, Emomotimi Agama; Chief Operating Officer, JSE) Itumeleng Monale; Group Chairman, NGX Group, Umaru Kwairanga; and Chief Risk Officer, JSE, Qiniso Mthembu during the market‘s closing ceremony of the JSE in honour of the Nigerian Capital Market Delegation’s Strategic visit to the JSE in South Africa.
A high-level delegation from the Nigerian Capital Market, comprising officials of the country’s Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), led by the Director-General, Dr. Emomotimi Agama and the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX), team comprising its chairman, Alhaji (Dr.) Umaru Kwairanga, recently paid a strategic engagement visit to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, South Africa.
The visit, according to a statement by the NGX, was aimed at exposing the Nigerian delegation to JSE’s governance best practices, besides deepening institutional cooperation, which it noted, reflects NGX Group’s commitment to continuous development, global partnerships, and alignment with international standards, fostering growth in Nigerian and African capital markets.
A significant portion of the discussions focused on the opportunity for African exchanges to collaborate in attracting investors pivoting from the Chinese market.
Stressing the need for synergy to bolster market appeal across Africa, Dr. Fourie remarked, “There is a clear opportunity for African exchanges to unite in drawing global investment interest towards the continent”.
The JSE expressed interest in partnering the NGX Group on carbon markets, data sharing, and private markets, crucial areas for revenue diversification. Discussions also explored the potential for dual listings and strengthening ties with other African exchanges. In addition, the two exchange groups shared insights on governance, risk management, and self-regulation, with a focus on private markets, mergers and acquisitions, reinforcing the collaborative spirit of the meeting.
Group CEO of JSE, Dr. Leila Fourie, who warmly welcomed the Nigerian delegation, emphasized the growing importance of African capital markets in the global investment landscape.
She highlighted recent positive trends in South Africa’s capital market, such as the reduced outflows and improved investor sentiment, that have positioned it as a key player in the continent’s financial ecosystem.
Responding, Dr. Agama underscored the strategic importance of the visit, expressing the full support of initiatives with the potential to steer the Nigerian capital market towards greater heights by the SEC.
According to him, lessons “from this engagement with JSE, another demutualized exchange, will be instrumental to our market’s development”.
Also speaking, chairman of the NGX Group, Dr. Kwairanga expressed optimism about the mutual benefits of the visit, noting that “understanding JSE’s governance structure, as a demutualized exchange like NGX Group, will significantly influence our decision-making moving forward”.
On his part, Popoola described the engagement as “productive, and we look forward to a synergistic partnership with JSE across several areas that would contribute to market development and inform our strategic orientation as an Exchange Group.
“We are particularly optimistic about the potential of private markets, innovation, and technology in product development to drive transformation of our business and markets,” he added.
Some of the other delegates from NGX Group and SEC present during the engagement were Nonso Okpala, Non-Executive Director, NGX Group and Bola Ajomale, Executive Commissioner, Operations, SEC.
