We Must Mobilize Domestic Savings, Foreign Capital For Nigeria’s Devt- Osinbajo

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, on Thursday, stressed the need to mobilise domestic savings and foreign capital to finance Nigeria’s infrastructure, agriculture, housing, and SME needs, among others.
In his keynote address at the two-day 2019 FMDQ Nigerian Capital Markets Conference in Lagos, Osinbajo noted the need to mobilise more funds to enable it to grow, develop and attain its potentials.
“We need to mobilise domestic savings and capital as well as attract the necessary foreign capital to finance our needs in the areas of infrastructure, agriculture, mining, industry, housing, SMEs, information and communication technology, transportation and other services,” he said.
The vice president, who was represented by Ms Mary Uduk, acting Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), said the Muhammadu Buhari administration is doing everything possible to close the gap in infrastructure deficit.
This, he explained, was being done through direct expenditure and also by incentives to private investors, domestic and foreign, to invest in the critical sectors of the economy.
“The Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) (2017-2020) has a major objective of building a globally competitive economy through investment in infrastructure, improvement in business environment and promotion of digital-led growth.
“No doubt, this objective requires fresh and adequate capital. This approach to diversifying our sources of capital has assisted in making our country a destination of capital and further deepening our capital market.
“Private issuers are also encouraged to issue these instruments, leaning on the success recorded by the Federal Government. The secondary markets of some of these instruments are also getting more liquid as observed on the Exchanges,” Osinbajo added.
The administration, he stressed, had increased allocation to capital projects in the annual budget to boost infrastructure development.
“For instance, we have been allocating, on average, close to 30% of our expenditure to capital projects. We are proposing about 21% of the N10.33tr of the 2020 budget as capital expenditure,” he stated.
Speaking on some of the government’s plan for 2020, Osinbajo said that the Federal Government would sustain growth and ensure the creation of more jobs, even as it recognizes the fact “that government alone cannot muster and deploy enough resources that are necessary for Nigeria’s development. This is due to competing and rising needs as well as challenges in revenue sources and collection.”
Earlier, in her welcome address, Uduk recalled that the Capital Market Master Plan (2015-2025) was launched to transform the Nigerian capital market to make it more competitive, while contributing its quota to developing the nation through funds mobilisation.
She said the plan was hinged on four strategic themes, namely; Contribution to National Economy, Competitiveness, Market Structure, and Regulation & Oversight.
The SEC, in partnership with the market, she noted further, had worked on initiatives that simplified the process of raising capital and reduced time to market in contributing to the national economy.
“The recent efforts towards developing the Nigerian commodities ecosystem and the Fintech space are also important contributions to the Nigerian economy.
“In order to enhance market competitiveness, the minimum capital requirements for capital market operators were raised, transaction costs have been reduced for both equities and fixed income segment of the market, a robust complaint management framework was introduced and various other initiatives are being implemented to enhance liquidity.
“Towards improving the market structure, minimum operating standards for all market operators have been implemented.
“Some of the ongoing initiatives such as the e-dividend, multiple subscriptions, direct cash settlement and electronic distribution of companies’ annual reports are geared towards achieving an innovative market structure,” she said.

Caption: Left to Right: Special Adviser to the President on Economic Matters, Dr. Adeyemi Dipeolu, Managing Director FMDQ, Bola Onadele Koko, representative of the Vice President and Acting Director General Securities and Exchange Commission, Ms. Mary Uduk; Vice-Chairman of FMDQ, Jubril Aku; and Special Adviser to the Governor on Financial Market, Central Bank of Nigeria, Emmanuel Ukeje; at the FMDQ 2019 Nigerian Capital Markets Conference in Lagos, Thursday, November 7, 2019.

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