Ms Mary Uduk, the Acting Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), says the country’s economy is big enough to accommodate a bigger and more attractive capital market.
Uduk made this known in a statement issued by Mrs Efe Ebelo, the commission’s Head of Corporate Communications, in Abuja on Sunday.
She noted that capital market contributed less than 10 per cent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), adding that the same market contributed almost 100 per cent to the GDP of South Africa.
According to her, we want a deeper, bigger, more attractive market.
“We think our economy is big enough to have a much bigger market.
“The capital market makes up less than 10 per cent of the GDP of the country. If you look at other countries even South Africa, it is over 100 per cent of GDP.
“We believe we have a large room for expansion and that is what we are pursuing,” Uduk said.
On electronic filing, Uduk said that the commission was working hard to ensure it commenced soon.
She said SEC was also in the process of deploying software that would help to actualise the plan.
“That will make filing more efficient, easier for capital market operators to send in returns to us and make the market more transparent”.
The director-general said that the introduction of electronic offering in the country’s capital market was a major achievement that would help solve the problems of unclaimed dividends.
Uduk said the commission was excited about electronic offering and was in support hence the need to develop the rules to guide its implementation.
“We believe that electronic offerings will help solve the problems of unclaimed dividends so it is something we are backing seriously.
“Through electronic offerings, we will not have the problems of identity as we had in previous listings.
“It has a lot of advantages, it means that people who are not close by during an offering can invest.
“We will be able to get the data we need for regulation; the offering is more efficient and it is cost saving.
“It is something we are working on; the rules will soon be out for everyone to use,’’ she said. (NAN)
