By Chinwendu Obienyi
Determined to tap into the opportunities in the green and sustainable finance market, Nigeria, through the FMDQ Securities Exchange, yesterday launched its first green exchange.
This is coming on the heels of a partnership deal signed by FMDQ Group with the Luxembourg Green Exchange (LGX) to promote the dual listing of securities and spot lighting green and sustainable securities.
Delivering a keynote address at the event, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State noted that the launch of the green exchange is a step in the right direction for mainstreaming finance and development in Africa, saying the development is a huge win for Nigeria, especially as it is happening during this period of COP26.
Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by his Special Adviser on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Investments, Solape Hammond, said the LGX, the first ever green exchange, has since become to the world’s leading platform for sustainable securities, issuing about 50 per cent of green securities in the total of 32 currencies.
“As of August 2020, the LGX displayed 796 green, social and sustainable securities totaling $356 billion and, as the first exchange to be launched in Africa, we see the potential impact that the FMDQ Green Exchange can also have in solving our most pressing problems and we urge them to deliver no less than a similar level of leadership and a greater success story for the region. Nigeria has committed to the SDGs and the net zero agenda and rightly so because, to achieve these lofty goals, funding is required”, he said.
The governor, however, stated that public funding alone would not suffice and added that private capital needs to be mobilised to reach the objectives defined in the Paris climate agreement and the UNSDGs.
“The financial sector will, therefore, need to play a vital role in accelerating local market ability to provide the required support. It is just this opportunity that FMDQ green exchange is embracing and creating by expanding green blue sustainability funding options as alternative options of funding for projects and assets not just in Lagos but across the African region. The Lagos State government believes that the launch of the green exchange will open up options especially unlocking sustainable investment opportunities for investors”, Sanwo-Olu said.
Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer, FMDQ Group, Bola Onadele, said the group recognises the imperative role it plays in the Nigerian financial market and the opportunities its business represent in its ability to promote sustainable economic growth and development and, as such, understands that the delivery of long term business success, value creation and prosperity is not only hinged on financial but also environment and social performance.