‘We’ll offer incentives’ — SEC wants state-owned enterprises to list on NGX

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced plans to encourage state-owned enterprises to list on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX).

Emomotimi Agama, director-general (DG) of the SEC, spoke during an interview with journalists in Abuja on Thursday.

Agama said the listing of such enterprises on the NGX would foster greater democratisation of their operations, ensuring inclusiveness and wealth creation for citizens.

He said the commission is prepared to offer incentives to attract state-owned enterprises to the stock exchange.

“Inclusivity is very critical, because in it, you have ownership and so we all build our industries and the country together,” Agama said.

The SEC boss emphasised the commission’s efforts to leverage technology to drive inclusivity in the capital market.

He said using technology would make the market more appealing, particularly to younger investors.

“That is why we encourage apps, we encourage fintech tools, and that is why we supported the inauguration of the electronic offering platform at the Nigerian exchange,” he said.

“We encourage everyone 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, to make it so easy for them that each time they feel like investing, it brings happiness to them.

“We will continue to do that through encouragement of technology, through education.”

Agama reiterated the commission’s resolve to eliminate bottlenecks in the investment process to rejuvenate the country’s capital market.

On September 2, the SEC had said various initiatives have been implemented to reduce time to market and improve efficiency in the capital market.

Time to market refers to the length of time it takes for a company to complete the capital-raising process and list its shares on a stock exchange.

The commission said the initiatives include streamlined registration processes, the introduction of an electronic filing system, enhanced regulatory frameworks, among others.