The Director General of Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission, Dr. Emomotimi Agama, on Monday in Rabat, Morocco on Monday, challenged leaders of African markets to build a stronger interconnection within the continent and enhance development of new products.
Agama, who spoke when the SEC Board visited the Autorite Marocaine Du Marche Des Capitaux (the Moroccan Capital Market Authority), said as part of the cooperation, African market should invest in each other to grow the continent.
A statement by Efe Ebelo, Head External Relations at the commission, quoted Agama as expressing the desire “build collaboration so that as Africans we can have a focus and build a strong interconnection. The time is now for us to look inwards.
“We are aware of your strength in Collective Investment Schemes and we know we can learn a lot from you. The population of Nigeria is huge and we need people to understand the huge benefits in CIS and how they can key into it.
“We appreciate the strength of the Moroccan economy and structure and we want to see what role the capital market has played in all of this,” he stated.
Agama said the capital market is the nerve centre of the economy, stressing the need for citizens to understand its use for wealth creation to improve their quality of life.
According to him, “the capital market is an enabler to the development of the economy and we believe there is so much to learn from Morocco to help strengthen our own market. We are excited about what the future holds for us and how we can forge a common front.
“We are happy about the progress of CIS in Morocco and we want to learn from you and also tell you about or experience because there is a lot to gain. Our relationship and Integration will go a long way in building both markets and make life better for our citizens. We encourage governments to use long-term capital for long-term projects.
“The capital market is the solution to raising funds for long term infrastructure development. We see the capital market as a solution provider to move the economy forward. We want to make Africa better and a destination of choice. We want to jointly work with other regulators to achieve it,” he stressed.
Also speaking at the event, Chairperson and Chief Executive of the Moroccan Capital Market Authority, Ms. Nezha Hayat, expressed delight at the relationship between the two regulators noting how the capital market has evolved to the point that people would rather invest in the capital market.
The capital market, she continued, “has now diversified so much, but for us everything goes through mutual funds. We think CIS is very important because people put their money in funds that are regulated and are controlled. People have more access through CIS. It is key to encourage the truth of any market.
“I believe in an integrated market so cooperation is better. We are interested in dual listing; we will soon be authorizing funds in foreign currency which means the mutual funds can also be invested in foreign countries. We have a special focus on Nigeria, which will be one of the markets where this will happen. We need to deploy initiatives that will focus on developing our continent,” she added.
Also speaking, Chairman of the SEC Nigeria Board, Mairiga Katuka said the regulator is interested in learning from other jurisdictions for a Nigerian capital market that works better.
