The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has described the non-interest capital market sector as a unique asset class that is capable of deepening the financial system and stimulating economic growth.
This was stated by the Director-General of the Commission, Lamido Yuguda, at a four-day executive programme on non-interest (Islamic) capital market (NICM) products and basic accounting treatment webinar, organised by the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) and the Auditing and Accounting Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) based in Bahrain.
Non-interest finance is a series of financial products developed to meet the requirements of a specific group of investors.
Yuguda said the recent sukuk bonds issued by the Nigerian Debt Management Office (DMO), which were all oversubscribed, emphasise the need to enhance SEC’s regulatory capacity, adding that the sovereign bonds set the benchmark for other entities to issue sukuk for various developmental activities.
According to him, the SEC’s quest for in-depth knowledge in non-interest capital market products, operations and services is underscored by the recent increase in market activities such as the entrance of more assets managers, investment advisers, real estate investment trusts and advisory experts to provide new asset classes for Nigerian investors.
He said: “It is worthy of note that while the non-interest capital market is nascent and unique, it is a market full of potential to facilitate the objective of deepening the financial system and spurring the growth of our economy.
“Thus, as you are aware, SEC, in its efforts, to deepen the Nigerian capital market, developed a 10-year (2015 – 2025) masterplan with various strategic recommendations, one of which is to drive the non-interest capital market segment to enable it to contribute not less than 25 per cent to the total market capitalisation.
“Although, we can confidently report some remarkable achievements recorded in the segment, six years into the implementation of the masterplan, the non-interest capital market segment is still facing challenges in terms of innovation, awareness, acceptance and coverage. These challenges underscore the need to provide focused training, capacity building and vigorous stakeholder engagement and awareness programmes”.
Yuguda expressed optimism that the IFSB and OOAIFI have assembled subject matter experts for the training to ensure that the SEC not only gains the requisite knowledge on the segment but also optimally leverage the global experiences of the facilitators to guide it in facilitating the development of the sector.
“Today, therefore, is a landmark day for all of us logged in to this training? As we kick start the programme, I urge all participants to participate fully and leverage this golden opportunity to learn from the experts and cross-fertilize ideas, as capacity building is fundamental to enabling this sector” he added.
Guardian