ASHON seeks integrated capital market in W/ Africa

The Association of Securities Dealing Houses of Nigeria (ASHON) has called for a more integrated capital market in West African to take advantage of emerging trading opportunities.

ASHON Chairman, Chief Onyenwechukwu Ezeagu, made the call in a statement on Wednesday in Lagos.

Ezeagu said that the demutualisation of the Nigerian Stock Exchange would accelerate the transformation of the market as the investment destination of Nigeria.

Appraising the current state of the Nigerian capital market, he said that all efforts must be geared toward enhancing global competitiveness.

Ezeagu noted that the government must also play pivotal role in this regard.

“Africa needs a connected capital market that can compete globally with the dispensation of African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCTFA).

“At the core of AfCTFA is the need to lift Africans out of poverty. It should be pointed out that there has been an existing model of the West African Market Integration which has a great potential for expansion.

“There is a compelling need to exploit this opportunity for global competitiveness. The Exchange can achieve a market capitalisation of about 200 billion dollars in 2022 with its approved demutualisation.

“We are calling on the Federal Government to deepen the capital market through liberalisation of moribund state assets and corporations to become profitable ventures.

“With its demutualisation, the Nigerian Stock Exchange has joined the ranks of all demutualised markets globally. The process has taken our market several years to actualise and I commend all the stakeholders in the capital market ecosystem.

“Opportunities are there for demutualised exchanges in Africa to collaborate and operate as a single hub to attract capital and investment,” Ezeagu said.

He noted that under the demutualisation of the Exchange, a new non-operating holding company, the Nigerian Exchange Group Plc (NGX Group) had been created.