Business
Operators Back Alternative Stock Market
Some capital market operators last Thursday, said that the Alternative securities market being planned for the capital market would unlock investors’ funds trapped in private placements.
They said in Lagos that with proper education, the small businesses that floated private placements before the global economic meltdown would embrace the initiative.
The Chief Executive Officer, Lambeth Trust & Investment Company Ltd., Mr David Adonri, said that several enterprises would move their shares to the capital market through the platform.
Adonri lauded the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) for the introduction of new initiatives to deepen the capital market and increase its product varieties.
The Managing Director, Trust Yield Securities Ltd., Lagos, Alhaji Rasheed Yussuf, said that the exchange should embark on massive nationwide campaign on its benefits to SMEs.
Yussuf said that the SMEs needed to be guided and mentored for eventual listing on the nation’s bourse.
He said that the SMEs should be encouraged to work closely with their designated advisers for proper education of the listing and post-listing requirements.
According to him, the problems of some SMEs are management structure, improper records and lack of regulatory oversight.
He said that designated advisers would enable them identify their problems and proffer solutions to them.
A broker with Mega Securities, Mr Emma Ndu, said that the new initiative would allow issuers, especially indigenous companies, the opportunity to inject relatively low-cost and long-term capital into the SMEs.
Ndu said that indigenous companies could raise funds from the market under flexible rules that recognised their growth potential rather than their size of operation.
The NSE is introducing new structures for small companies, with potential for growth, to participate actively in the market.
The initiative is to enable small to medium companies have access to long-term capital under less stringent rules and requirements.
The NSE, had on April 5, unveiled 14 companies that would act as Designated Advisers (DAs) to the proposed Alternative Securities Market (ASeM).
The board will be launched on April 23.
The NSE said that the DAs would mentor the companies listed under ASeM to ensure their compliance to post-listing requirements.
“Payment of tuition fees for undergraduate/postgraduate studies shall be subject to a maximum limit of $25,000.00 per semester,” the Manual states.
The expansion of international card limits also reflects growing confidence among lenders that foreign exchange liquidity has improved enough to support retail dollar transactions.
Speaking recently at the BusinessDay 14th Annual CEO Forum in Lagos, CBN Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the CBN said buying and selling activities now increasingly determine outcomes in the foreign exchange market, unlike in the past when market participants relied heavily on routine Central Bank interventions.
According to Cardoso, Nigeria’s net foreign exchange reserves have risen from just over $3 billion at the start of the reform programme to more than $40 billion, while gross reserves have climbed to about $52 billion, providing stronger confidence for investors and enabling the Central Bank to reserve interventions for periods of market stress rather than day-to-day liquidity management.
The restoration and expansion of international naira card spending limits are increasingly being seen as one of the clearest signs that the benefits of the CBN’s foreign exchange reforms are beginning to reach households, students and businesses making legitimate cross-border payments.
The Secretary-General and Chief Executive Officer, WEC, Dr Angela Wilkinson, disclosed this in a statement, last Thursday.
“Nigeria’s participation comes at a pivotal time as the country seeks to expand energy access, strengthen energy security, accelerate gas development and mobilise the capital required for industrialisation and sustainable economic growth.
“WEC Nigeria will convene leaders from across the energy ecosystem, apply the WEC’s globally recognised Energy Trilemma framework to Nigeria’s unique context, and promote evidence-based dialogue, practical collaboration and informed policymaking.
“It will also ensure that Nigerian and broader African perspectives contribute meaningfully to global energy conversations,” she said.
Wilkinson expressed confidence that Nigeria would play a significant leadership role at the World Energy Congress scheduled for Riyadh in April 2027 and beyond.
The statement also quoted the Chairman of WEC Nigeria, Isa, as describing the country’s participation as an opportunity to deepen national and African leadership within the global energy community through practical solutions tailored to regional development priorities.
He said the platform would promote collaboration across sectors and attract sustainable investments into Nigeria’s energy sector.
The Chief Executive Officer of WEC Nigeria, Wunti, was quoted in the statement as saying that the council would connect leadership, evidence and investment to build a secure, affordable and sustainable energy system.
“This system will be capable of driving economic growth and shared prosperity.”
According to him, the platform will also connect Nigerian institutions and businesses with international knowledge, technology, partnerships and investment opportunities through the World Energy Council’s global network.
Recall that WEC, founded in 1923, is the world’s oldest independent and impartial community of energy leaders and practitioners, advancing informed, collaborative and practical action across the global energy system.