BY SAM OTUONYE
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has urged cooperation among African markets in a bid to build a stronger interconnection within the continent and enhance development of new products.
Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Dr. Emomotimi Agama made the call during a visit of the Board of the SEC to the Autorite Marocaine Du Marche Des Capitaux , AMMC (Moroccan Capital Market Authority) in Rabat Monday.
“We need to cooperate in Africa, invest in each other’s market and grow our continent. We want to 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 are aware of your strength in Collective Investment Schemes and we know we can learn a lot from you. The population of Nigeria is huge and we need people to understand the huge benefits in CIS and how they can key into it.
“We appreciate the strength of the Moroccan economy and structure and we want to see what role the capital market has played in all of this”, he stated.
Agama said the capital market is the nerve centre of the economy adding the citizens need to understand how to use it to create wealth to improve their quality of life.
According to him, “The capital market is an enabler to the development of the economy and we believe there is so much to learn from Morocco to help strengthen our own market. We are excited about what the future holds for us and how we can forge a common front.
“We are happy about the progress of CIS in Morocco and we want to learn from you and also tell you about or experience because there is a lot to gain. Our relationship and Integration will go a long way in building both markets and make life better for our citizens. We encourage governments 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.”
In her remarks, Chairperson and CEO of Moroccan Capital Market Authority, Ms. Nezha Hayat, expressed her delight at the relationship between the two regulators saying that the capital market has evolved and people would rather invest in the capital market.
Ms. Hayat said, “Capital market has now diversified so much, but for us everything goes through mutual funds. We think CIS is very important because people put their money in funds that are regulated and are controlled. People have more access through CIS. It is key to encourage the truth of any market.
“I believe in an integrated market so cooperation is better. We are interested in dual listing; we will soon be authorizing funds in foreign currency which means the mutual funds can also be invested in foreign countries. We have a special focus on Nigeria, which will be one of the markets where this will happen. We need to deploy initiatives that will focus on developing our continent,” she added.
Also speaking, Chairman of the SEC Nigeria Board, Mr. Mairiga Katuka said the SEC is interested in learning from other jurisdictions to make the capital market in Nigeria work better.