BY Ezinne Chima
The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Tuesday announced that it received a unanimous vote for admission as a full member in the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE), the trade association for the operators of regulated financial exchanges.
The NSE was elected as a federation member during the 54th General Assembly and Annual Meeting of the WFE held in the capital city of Korea, Seoul.
The NSE is the third African stock exchange to be granted full Federation membership status.
Oscar Onyema, chief executive officer of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, said: “We are very proud that the NSE has been granted full World federation of Exchanges membership status. This is a positive step towards our integration with global financial markets and exchanges. We put in a lot of hard work, and we have cultivated excellence in our day-to-day operations, which has earned us this recognition amongst our peers in this notable trade association.”
The WFE’s vote for full membership came through a series of assessments.
On September 15-16, the NSE was visited by a WFE inspection team in Lagos. The inspection team consisted of the Federation and member exchanges. The team met with the NSE’s management team and several key stakeholders, including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Nigeria, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS), two corporate and other market operators.
Onyema said: “WFE membership is an important reference for many international investors. This membership status reflects the exchange’s commitment to implementing the highest standards of international best practices. Our ambition is to become the foremost Stock Exchange in Africa, and today is an important step in that journey.”
Nicky Newton-King, chief executive officer of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) Ltd. and member of the board of directors at the WFE, said “this membership has been a long road for the Nigerian exchange.
“It is this very significant, concerted effort by the team over the last three years that earned them the recommendation, we welcome them on board.”
Yvonne Emordi, head of strategy at the NSE and team leader for the exchange’s WFE membership project, remarked: “This is indeed a wonderful achievement. It sets the tone for the upcoming Asia tour the Nigerian Stock Exchange will kick-off in early December this year, to introduce our market to Asian fund managers with frontier and emerging market investment strategies. The 5-day tour will start in Singapore on December 1, 2014.”
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