The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) must diversify its revenue streams to protect the market and the business from potential domestic and international shocks, the immediate past president of Council of Exchange, Alhaji Aliko Dangote has said. Dangote said this while addressing members at the NSE’s annual general meeting in Lagos.
He listed critical success factors for the Exchange in the coming years to include facilitating access to and participation in its market, increasing its footprint on the continent, and deploying a risk framework to safeguard the market venue. Dangote noted that in 2012, the Exchange announced strategic investments in two alternative trading platforms operated by the Nigerian Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) and the Financial Markets Dealers Quotations (FMDQ) OTC.
He disclosed that that both companies have commenced operations and that the NSE executed an agreement with NASD to host its market on X-Gen. Dangote noted: “Other key strategic partnerships formulated during the year include the execution of two MOUs with Thomson Reuters – to provide investor relations services to companies listed on the Exchange, and with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) – to better police the Nigerian capital market and to heighten awareness and implementation of our zero-tolerance policy.
“The NSE also recently joined the United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) Initiative. Partnering with the UN on this initiative is in line with the NSE’s commitment to create sustainable value for capital market stakeholders, and embed sustainable business practices in the market, specifically at the Exchange and among listed companies,” he said. Dangote said reporting sustainability- related (CSR) information would become a mandatory requirement for the bourse and all listed companies by 2015. He noted that to further entrench strong corporate governance principles in the Nigerian capital market, in collaboration with the Convention on Business Integrity (CBI), the NSE began the development of a corporate governance rating system.
“The NSE continues to play a vital role in the execution of the West African Capital Market Integration (WACMI) program with the objective of establishing a harmonised regulatory environment for the issuance and trading of financial securities across the West African sub-region. With a diverse population of over 290 million people, this translates into a large consumer base with significant domestic savings and investing power potential. Achieving integration will not only support momentous growth in the markets, but will facilitate the movement of capital across the sub-region, creating flexibility for issuers and investors. The integration will occur in phases with the final phase being completed in 2015,” he said.
