By Chinwendu Obienyi
As part of measures to boost the country’s economic resilience in the new normal hobbled by falling oil prices and the COVID-19 pandemic, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) Africa, yesterday announced the commencement of a joint review of Nigeria’s 10-year Capital Markets Master Plan (CMMP).
The review of the CMMP will see SEC work with FSD Africa’s Regulator Support Programme to develop a revised 10-year CMMP to strengthen the nation’s capital market and its capacity for capital mobilisation. The CMMP provides a vision for Nigeria’s capital market, as well as a roadmap with objectives to meet it.
The process will involve an assessment of progress made since its implementation to date and engaging with stakeholders for input. This will involve the introduction of more stringent tools to measure its progress against objectives, and the inclusion of new challenges, opportunities and risks related to the current environment into the plan. The review of the CMMP comes in response to changes in the economic and market circumstances upon which it was originally based upon its launch in 2015, that needed updating to match the current environment. These include the effects of lower oil prices on Nigeria’s economy as well as a slowdown in economic activity due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Commenting on the development, Director Capital Markets at FSD Africa, Evans Osano, said that the review will give Nigerian market stakeholders a unique opportunity to not only take stock of the plan’s results so far, but also to grow and respond to previously unforeseen economic developments.
“As FSD Africa works to support and regulate financial markets in Sub-Saharan Africa, we are excited to be partnering with SEC Nigeria to enable it strengthen the country’s capital markets during a time of immense upheaval.”, he said.
Also speaking on the potential benefits of the plan, Director General, SEC, Lamido Yuguda, said that the implementation of the Master Plan will deepen the Nigerian market and improve the capital market’s contribution to its economic growth and national development. According to him, “the review of the CMMP better positions the SEC to deliver on these objectives in these very challenging times. The FSD Africa and SEC Nigeria’s laudable partnership underscores our mutual goals to build financial markets that are robust, efficient and above all inclusive”.
FSD Africa’s support comes as part of its ongoing multi-country programme to strengthen Africa’s capital markets.