We’ll encourage government agencies to list – SEC

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reiterated its willingness to encourage State Owned Enterprises to list on the Nigerian Exchange in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu.

Disclosing this in an interview in Abuja, Director General of the SEC, Dr Emomotimi Agama said that when such companies list their securities it would lead to democratization of their operations, inclusiveness and wealth creation for Nigerians.

He said, “Inclusivity is very critical, because in inclusivity, you have ownership. And so we all build our industries and the country together. For us at the SEC, we would provide incentives that will encourage as much as possible, these State Owned Enterprises to list.

“You know that beside the incentives, one of the things that we at the SEC will continue to do is to educate those that are managing these institutions, to get them to understand that listing those institutions does not remove power from them. It rather provides bigger power, because united we stand, divided we fall.”

Agama said the Commission will continue to provide education, provide incentives and most importantly, make sure that time to market is reduced adding, “providing that certainty, getting them the assurance, knowing fully well that when you want to come to the market, when you decide to come to the market, you are able to follow a calendar, and that calendar is supported by the SEC”.

The DG disclosed that the SEC is also working towards inclusion via technology adding that the use of technology will make the capital market more attractive especially to the younger generation.

“That is why we encourage apps, we encourage FinTech tools, and that is why we supported the launch of the e-offering platform at the Nigerian exchange. And we encourage every other one who wants to participate and is qualified to participate in this process, to turn around the way people see investing.

“We want investors to have a beautiful experience. We want them to feel at ease, to make it so easy for them that each time they feel like investing, it brings happiness to them, and we will continue to do that through encouragement of technology, through education and everything that we need to do, incentivising industries and making sure that bottlenecks are removed and the process of rejuvenating The Nigerian capital market,” he added.