We Will EncourageGovernment Agencies To List — SEC

The Securities and Ex­change Commission (SEC),has emphasised that it is willing to encourage State Owned Enterpris­es to list on the Nigerian Exchange in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu.

Dr. Emomotimi Agama, Director General of the SEC, while disclosing this in an interview in Abuja, said that when such com­panies list their securities it would lead to democrati­sation 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 of 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 Director General 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, incentivizing industries and making sure that bot­tlenecks are removed and the process of rejuvenating The Nigerian capital mar­ket”, he added.