Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has expressed its readiness to actively collaborate with African nations to harmonise regulations, promote cross-border listings, and enhance investor protection.
The Commission made this known as it signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Capital Markets Authority of Rwanda in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
It also seized the opportunity to call for enhanced partnerships among African markets for a stronger interconnection within the continent as well as for the development of new products.
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The Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Dr Agama stated that for even development, capital markets across the continent need to cooperate and invest in each other’s markets.
He said, “In so doing, we will build collaboration so that as Africans we can have a focus and build a strong interconnection. The time is now for us to look inwards.”
“We appreciate the strength of the Rwandan economy as we are aware of the flow of finance, commerce and other great things your President has done to rekindle the real value of the African race. On our part, we have a very strong capital market structure and we want to see what role the capital market can play in all of this,” he stated.
Agama further emphasised the relevance of the capital market to the economy, adding that citizens need to understand how to use it to create wealth to improve the quality of life.
He said, “Our relationship and integration will go a long way in building both markets and make life better for our citizens. As we forge a common front, we encourage government to use long-term capital for long-term projects. The capital market is the solution to raising funds for long-term infrastructure development.
“We see the capital market as a solution provider to move the economy forward. We want to make Africa better and a destination of choice. We want to jointly work with other regulators to achieve it.”
For his part, the Chief Executive Officer of the Capital Market Authority of Rwanda, Mr Romeo Ngaranbe, expressed optimism that the relationship between the two regulators would support the continuous evolution of both capital markets.
According to the MoU, “each Party shall, within its respective mandate and applicable laws, cooperate with the other Party in areas including but not limited to: investor education and capital market development; exchange of information on regulatory and market developments; capacity building, training, and technical assistance; and cooperation on enforcement and supervisory matters of mutual interest.”
