Nigeria Content Online

Some operators at
the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) have said that the prosecution of
infraction practices in the market will serve as deterrence and reduce
criminal activities at the exchange.

Bola Oke, a finance
analyst at WealthZone Limited, an investment management company, said
the work of “the law enforcement agencies is extremely important in the
investigation and prosecution of criminal cases” following the naming
of some perpetrators of sharp practices in the market.

Some market
analysts say the successful prosecution of such criminal cases will
undoubtedly, serve as deterrence and reduce criminal practices in the
market.

A recent case was
the suspension of Diamond Securities Limited, a dealing member of the
NSE, on Wednesday, by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
after it “observed unprofessional conduct by the company.” A suspension
which the SEC said would “remain in force until the company is cleared.”

Egbo Amaechi, an
executive member of the Shareholders Association of Nigeria, said a
country that has an “infraction-free” character would attract more
foreign investors because “its exchange will serve as a barometer to
measure the performance of country’s economy.”

Mr. Amaechi said
the success of the market reforms by regulators will further boost
investors’ confidence, provide integrity, good corporate governance,
and sound regulatory framework.

‘Broker-dealer monitoring’

Meanwhile, SEC
recently said it is currently engaging the NSE management to be more
responsive to ‘broker-dealer monitoring,’ while it has set up a
committee of both institutions to work out the modalities for the
process.

Arunma Oteh, SEC’s
director general, said the success of the process with the NSE, a Self
Regulatory Organisation (SRO), will restore investors’ confidence in
the nation’s capital market. Ms. Oteh said SEC will also place strong
responsibilities on other SROs in monitoring brokers-dealers and
enforcing their rules.

“In this regard,
the capacity of the SROs and trade groups shall be enhanced to
complement the monitoring and enforcement activities of the SEC,” she
said. “The SROs must be alive to their responsibilities in dealing with
complaints affecting broker dealers. In other jurisdiction, such
complaints are primarily handled by them which free the statutory
regulator to deal with other important market issues. As part of the
market reform, the SEC will develop a framework for SROs to deal with
such complaints under its oversight with sanctions for failure to
effectively discharge these responsibilities.”

Ms. Oteh also revealed that the Commission was strengthening relationship with law enforcement institutions.

“We believe that
closer collaboration will improve understanding and capacity of law
enforcement agencies to expeditiously handle capital market matters and
strengthen the Commission’s zero tolerance policy on infractions,” she
said.

Market rebound

Meanwhile, after six days of losses, market indices bounced back to profitability on Thursday.

The indices for
measuring market performance, the market capitalisation and the
All-Share Index, at the close of proceedings yesterday appreciated by a
1.07 per cent each.

The market
capitalisation recorded over N67 billion gains on Wednesday’s figure of
N6.220 trillion, to close at N6.287 trillion; while the All-Share Index
gained 275.76 points up from 25,573.66 basis points to close at
25,849.42.

A total of 48
stocks appreciated in price on Thursday compared with the 30 recorded
the previous day while 27 stocks shed their prices; lower than 51
recorded on Wednesday.