The Nation Newspaper

Category: Investors

  • Capital market mulls electronic IPO, public offers

    Stakeholders in the Nigerian capital market have begun preparatory process towards  full automation of initial public offering (IPO) and other public primary offers in the Nigerian market.

    A special-purpose committee on the full automation of the primary issuance process is setting up the secretariat and it is expected to submit its report ahead of the next meeting of the Capital Market Committee (CMC).

    The committee comprises Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE); Association of Issuing Houses of Nigeria (AIHN); Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria (ASHON); Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS); Institute of Capital Market Registrars (ICMR); Capital market Solicitor Association (CMSA); Fund Managers Association of Nigeria (FMAN), and Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS).

    The full automation of primary issuance will involve automation of the process, approval, documentation, subscription and allotment of all issues, especially IPOs and public offers. With this, investors will be able to subscribe and make payment for IPOs and public offers online with such orders being matched and allotted electronically and directly to the investment accounts of the investors at the Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS).

    The full automation will enable primary market to operate within a designated transaction cycle, possibly within the T+3 four-day trading cycle being operated at the secondary market.

    ASHON President, Mr. Patrick Ezeagu, said IPOs automation and public offers will instill more transparency and efficiency into the Nigerian capital market.

    According to him, improved transparency and efficiency will enhance investors’ confidence and further position the Nigerian market as a more competitive investment destination.

    He noted that automation will translate to less time and cost on documentation and mailing, thus enabling parties to the issue to round off the transaction in a manner similar to the secondary market trading.

    “I know internet penetration is low and this may serve to disenfranchise some few people, but the merits of the e-IPO outweigh the demerits,” Ezeagu said.

    SEC had in November 2015 launched the E-Dividend Mandate Management System (E-DMMS) in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), NIBSS and other stakeholders. The E-DMMS is an E-dividend payment portal that ensures the payment of dividends directly into a shareholder’s account.

    Not less than four companies have indicated plans to float IPOs. Nigeria’s largest telecommunication company, MTN Nigeria, plans to raise $500 million through an IPO scheduled for second half of this year.

    MTN Nigeria had in 2016 appointed the advisory team and set out a roadmap towards listing on the NSE in 2017. The board of MTN Nigeria had announced the appointment of Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited and its affiliates, Standard Bank of South Africa Limited and Standard Advisory London Limited and Citigroup Global Markets Limited as the joint transaction advisors and joint global co-ordinators for the proposed MTN Nigeria listing on the NSE. The telco, however, missed the 2017 target.

    Med-View Airlines Plc, which listed its shares by way of introduction on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in January 2017, also plans to launch an IPO to raise new equity funds to expand its operations and allow more investors to participate in the ownership of the airline.

    Crown Natures Nigeria Plc, an indigenous manufacturer of various kinds of branded and unbranded textile products that have 90 per cent local content ratio, plans to float an IPO to raise new equity funds to finance its business expansion programme.

     

  • Regulators renew commitment to investors’ protection

    Capital market regulators across the world rounded off their annual conference in Budapest, Hungary with a renewed commitment to protecting investors and ensuring fair and transparent markets amid concerns over the growing influence of digital coins and financial technologies (fintech).

    Members of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) met last week for their 43rd Annual Conference to discuss issues facing securities market regulators and supervisors today. IOSCO is the global body of securities regulators and its members regulate more than 95 per cent of the world’s securities markets in more than 115 jurisdictions.

    In their meetings, the IOSCO Board, IOSCO´s Growth and Emerging Markets (GEM) Committee, the four Regional Committees and the Affiliate Members Consultative Committee (AMCC) advanced their initiatives aimed at protecting investors, ensuring fair, efficient and transparent markets, and mitigating systemic risk.

    The public sessions of the conference focussed on four key issues, including sale of unsuitable products to retail investors, challenges of Fintech and digitalisation, shift from active to passively managed collective investment schemes, and small and medium enterprises (SME) access to funding through capital markets.

    The conference, hosted by Magyar Nemzeti Bank, the Hungarian Central Bank, attracted some 650 securities regulators, industry representatives and other financial market participants from around the world.

    The IOSCO board discussed how best to approach the continuing growth of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and agreed to develop a support framework to assist members as they consider how to address the domestic and cross-border issues stemming from coin offerings that could impact investor or consumer protection.

    The board also made progress on its work to protect retail investors from the risks stemming from the offer of binary options and other OTC leveraged products, particularly by unlicensed firms on a cross-border basis. Members discussed enforcement practices found to be effective in mitigating the risks of these products to unsophisticated retail investors.

    In addition, the board reviewed proposed measures to help members regulate retail OTC leveraged products, including a tool-kit of policy measures with guidance for members to regulate the offer and sale of these products by intermediaries; and a tool-kit of investor education material with guidance about the products and the firms that sell them.

     

     

    In the area of asset management, the IOSCO board discussed exchange traded funds and reviewed the progress of IOSCO’s efforts to complete its work on measuring leverage in investments funds.

    In the area of standards implementation, the board supported a proposal to assess the consistency in implementation by various IOSCO members of money market fund (MMF) reforms against IOSCO´s 2012 recommendations for MMFs.

    Members also  supported  a proposal for a third implementation review of the Principles for the Regulation and Supervision of Commodity Derivatives Markets. IOSCO issued the principles in 2011 to ensure a globally consistent approach to oversight that aims to improve price transparency and deter market manipulation in the commodity derivatives markets.

    Board members agreed to establish an information-sharing network among IOSCO members to gain insight into the issues around sustainability, including the details of issuer disclosure and its relevance to investor decision making.

    The board agreed to launch a Fintech Network to facilitate the sharing of information, knowledge, and experiences related to FinTech among IOSCO members. The Fintech Network also will serve as a forum for collaborative work on regulatory issues, trends, and emerging risks.

    Chairman, IOSCO Board, Ashley Alder, noted that IOSCO members have taken important steps to advance IOSCO´s priority work in focus areas such as market resilience, financial technologies, and information sharing among securities market regulators.

    He pointed out that the steps being taken will address some of the biggest risks to investor protection, market integrity and financial stability.

  • CCNN doubles first quarter profit

    Cement Company of Northern Nigeria (CCNN) Plc started this year on a strong footing as profit doubled on the back of improving sales and margins.

    Key extracts of the interim report and accounts of CCNN for the three-month period ended March 31, 2018 released at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) showed that sales rose by 24 per cent while profit before and after tax doubled by 119.7 per cent and 110.7 per cent.

    Total turnover rose from N4.35 billion in first quarter 2017 to N5.39 billion in first quarter 2018. Gross profit grew by 39.7 per cent to N2.26 billion in first quarter 2018 compared with N1.63 billion in corresponding period of 2017. Profit before tax also doubled from N684.98 million to N1.50 billion while profit after tax jumped to N1.08 billion in first quarter 2018 as against N513.74 million in first quarter 2017. Earnings per share thus increased from 41 kobo in first quarter 2017 to 86 kobo in first quarter 2018.

    The first quarter performance places CCNN on course to consolidate its impressive performance in recent period. The board of directors of the cement company recently announced that it has recommended payment N1.57 billion to shareholders as cash dividend for the 2017 business year  after full-year profit jumped by 157 per cent.

    A breakdown of the dividend recommendation indicated that shareholders will receive a dividend per share of N1.25 for the 2017 business year. CCNN did not pay dividend for the 2016 business year.

    Key extracts of the audited report and accounts of CCNN for the year ended December 31, 2017 showed significant growths in sales and profitability. Turnover rose by 39 per cent from N14.09 billion in 2016 to N19.59 billion in 2017. Gross profit nearly doubled from N4.94 billion in 2016 to N7.61 billion in 2017, representing an increase of 94 per cent.

    Profit before tax jumped by 141 per cent from N1.74 billion in 2016 to N4.20 billion in 2017. After taxes, net profit also leapt by 157 per cent to N3.22 billion in 2017 as against N1.25 billion in 2016. Earnings per share thus improved correspondingly from N1 in 2016 to N2.57 in 2017.

    The balance sheet of the company also improved as total assets grew by 23 per cent from N20.03 billion in 2016 to N24.65 billion in 2017. Shareholders’ fund also increased from N11.49 billion to N14.41 billion, representing an increase of 25 per cent.

     

     

    The underlying fundamentals of the company also improved considerably during the year, showing that the positive overall performance was driven by improvement in the operations of the company. Gross profit margin improved from 28 per cent in 2016 to 39 per cent in 2017. Net profit margin also doubled from 9.0 per cent to 16 per cent. Return on capital employed jumped from 11 per cent in 2016 to 22 per cent in 2017.

  • Guinness Nigeria earns N7.9b profit in nine months

    Guinness Nigeria Plc has witnessed considerable improvement in its bottom-line in the third quarter, recovering from a loss position to a pre-tax profit of N7.89 billion within the nine-month period.

    Key extracts of the interim report and accounts of Guinness Nigeria for the nine-month period ended March 31, 2018, showed a well-rounded performance with significant growths in sales and profitability.

    Turnover rose by 17 per cent to N105.48 billion by March 2018 compared with N89.87 billion recorded by March 2017. Gross profit rose from N31.25 billion in 2017 to N35.59 billion in 2018. Operating profit doubled from N4.19 billion to N10.68 billion. From a pre-tax loss of N2.46 billion by March 2017, the company regained profitability with a pre-tax profit of N7.89 billion by March 2018. After taxes, net profit stood at N5.09 billion in 2018 as against net loss of N2.56 billion in comparable period of 2017. Earnings per share turned positive at N2.32 by March 2018 as against loss per share of N1.70 by March 2017. The results also showed a 14 per cent growth in volume when compared to the same period last year.

    Managing Director, Guinness Nigeria, Mr Peter Ndegwa said the third quarter performance has shown the resilience of the company’s strategy as turnover for the period was driven mainly by volume growth.

    According to him, the company has continued the robust implementation of its strategy around its product portfolio, offering Nigerians quality brands across a broad range of occasions, from non-alcoholic to beer and spirits.

    “We also continued to focus on driving our productivity agenda, improving effectiveness and delivering efficiencies across our operations, which partially mitigated the impact of high input inflation in the quarter,” Ndegwa said.

    He pointed out that administrative expenses was reduced by 25 per cent as a result of an increased focus on cost management while distribution expenses reduced by 11 per cent driven by productivity initiatives such as improved truck utilisation and better truck turnaround.

     

     

     

    He added that marketing expenses increased by 16 per cent as Guinness Nigeria continued to invest behind its brands over the period.

    “We believe that our strategy and particularly the commercial execution are now yielding the desired outcomes. We will continue to focus on our strategy to deliver an improved performance in a challenging operating environment compounded by impending significant increases in taxes,” Ndegwa added.

  • Sterling Bank grows Q1 net profit by 65% to N3.1b

    Sterling Bank Plc grew its net profit by 65.2 per cent to N3.1 billion between January and March as it continued to increase its share of the competitive retail banking market.

    Key extracts of the three-month report ended March 31, showed top-down improvement in the performance of the bank. Gross earnings rose by 39.3 per cent to N39.8 billion in the first quarter 2018 as against N28.6 billion recorded in comparable period of 2017. The top-line performance was directly linked to measured growth in retail lending as well as a 90 per cent increase in transaction banking revenues. Net operating income also grew by 34.2 per cent, aided by a 50 per cent reduction in impairment charges. Profit after tax increased by 65.2 per cent from N1.9 billion in first quarter 2017 to N3.1 billion in first quarter 2018.

    The report showed that net loans and advances increased by two per cent to N609.8 billion within the three-month period. Customer deposits also rose by 4.9 per cent to N718.5 billion while total assets, excluding contingent liabilities, was relatively flat at N1.05 trillion.

    Managing Director, Sterling Bank Plc, Mr. Abubakar Suleiman, said Sterling Bank is actively mobilising private sector capital to solve some of the most pressing social and economic needs of Nigerians.

    According to him, the bank has aligned its business model to offer financial and non-financial solutions to key areas of the economy including health, education, agriculture, renewable energy and transportation.

    “We are pleased to be starting 2018 on a good note, by sustaining the strong performance delivered in 2017 with growth across key financial indices. This demonstrates strength and is indicative of our outlook for the financial year,” Suleiman said.

    He pointed out that the bank has continued to experience a significant improvement in asset quality as cost of risk declined by 140 basis points to 0.8 per cent by first quarter 2018 from 2.2 per cent in 2017 while the 65 per cent growth in net profit has improved Return on Average Equity by 410 basis points to 12.8 per cent.

    He noted that the bank had in the period under review successfully launched ‘Farepay’, a contactless payment system as part of its transport sector intervention in Lagos State.

    “The payment system, which is ensuring efficient fare collections, will plug pilferage and revenue leakage, making it possible for the sector to attract the much-needed capital investment required to transform it. Sterling Bank’s goal is to replicate this nationwide as it remains resolute in its conviction that the transport sector is an important catalyst for socio-economic growth and sustainable development,” Suleiman said.

    The board of directors of the bank recommended distribution of N575.8 million as cash dividend for the 2017 business year, representing a dividend per share of 2.0 kobo.

    Sterling Bank had recorded strong growths in the top-line and bottom-line in 2017 as the commercial bank rode on the back of widening income sources and improving operating efficiency to increase net earnings by 65 per cent.

    Key extracts of the audited report and accounts of Sterling Bank for the year ended December 31, 2017 showed that gross earnings rose by 19.8 per cent from N111.4 billion in 2016 to N133.5 billion in 2017. Profit before tax increased to N8.61 billion in 2017 as against N6.0 billion in 2016. Profit after tax grew by 65 per cent from N5.16 billion in 2016 to N8.52 billion in 2017.

    Top-line performance was driven by growth in both interest and non-interest income, which rose by 11.3 per cent and 87.8 per cent respectively. The bank’s net operating income increased by 7.9 per cent while cost-to-income ratio improved by 260 basis points to 71.5 per cent. Customer deposits increased by 17.1 per cent to N684.8 billion in 2017 as against N584.7 billion in 2016. Shareholders’ funds rose by 20.2 per cent to N102.9 billion in 2017 as against N85.7 billion in 2016, reaffirming the bank’s commitment to returning value to its shareholders.

    Suleiman had said the 2017 performance that highlighted positive performance across key financial indices despite challenging operating conditions reaffirmed the bank’s underlying institutional strength.

    “In 2018, we will continue to execute our plans to drive efficiency across the business under the three pillars of agility, digitisation and specialisation. These pillars will propel us toward sustainable growth by enhancing our ability to innovate; solidify our retail funding base; strengthen our enterprise-wide risk management framework and drive excellent service delivery across all channels to enhance customer experience,” Suleiman said.

  • Stockbrokers elect Adekoje president

    •Institute unveils scholarship for journalists

    The Governing Council of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) has elected Mr Adedapo Adekoje as its president. Prior to his election, Adekoje was the institute’s first vice president.  He succeeds Mr Oluwaseyi Abe, who has completed his tenure.

    Adekoje’s election was endorsed by the Council at a closed- door meeting immediately after the institute’s annual general meeting (AGM) at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). The election was in line with the institute’s seamless succession plan whereby the first vice president emerges the president. By the latest structure, Mr Tunde Amolegbe, who was the second vice president, has been elevated as first vice president while Mr Wole Adeosun was elected as the second vice president.

    Adekoje, a fellow of CIS and  Chief Executive Officer, Professional Stockbrokers is a  multi-talented executive with cognate experience spanning management, finance, sales and marketing. With a  Masters  Degree in Management from the University of Hull, United Kingdom, Adekoje has held several management positions both in Nigeria and abroad.

    Prior to his election at the weekend, Adekoje had held several positions at the institute, including head, Membership Committee, among others.

    Meanwhile, Abe had announced the Council’s approval for scholarship for the capital market correspondents to pursue a career in investment and securities market to enhance their reportage  of capital market activities.

    Abe explained that the Nigerian capital market has been on the global map over the years and the role of the financial press cannot be underestimated.

    According to him, the market is dynamic and there is a need to empower the press by ensuring that capital market correspondents understand the dynamics of the market for professional reportage of the market.

    He stated that details of the award including specialised training and provision of course materials would be worked out by the Secretariat and the institute’s media consultant soon.

    The Council meanwhile commended Abe whose administration had raised the bar for the professional body in all performance indicators.  The Council noted some of the achievements of Abe to Council’s approval of conferment of Honourary Fellowship on four eminent Nigerians for the first time in the history of the institute, acquisition of a Secretariat for the institute and introduction of Specialised Professional Certification (SPC).

    Other highpoints of Abe’s tenure included partnership with tertiary institutions for early enrolment of youth into the CIS, significant improvement in members’ participation in the institute’s functions, an indication of renewed confidence, returning the Institute to profitability, re-launch of Nigerian Stockbroker Magazine for enhanced professionalism and award of scholarship for capital market correspondents for deeper knowledge of capital market operations, among others.

    Addressing members during the AGM, Abe expressed optimism that the institute will continue to improve. “We believe that 2018 holds promises for improved operating performance, given the renewed interest in the securities dealing profession arising from the 2017 performance of the Nigerian capital markets, and a reinforcement of our strategies to widen membership and student base,” Abe said.

    Commenting on Abe’s tenure, a stockbroker, Mr Garba Kurfi, noted that the acquisition of a new head office and returning the institute to profitability stood out among other achievements.

    He urged stockbrokers to ensure prompt payment of their annual dues to support the institute’s financial obligations.

  • UnityKapital becomes Veritas Kapital Assurance

    The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has changed the name of UnityKapital Assurance Plc to Veritas Kapital Assurance Plc.

    The NSE also changed the company’s trading symbol on Monday from UNITYKAP to VERITASKAP.

    Head, Listings Regulation Department, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Godstime Iwenekhai, said the changes were in compliance with the resolution passed by the company’s shareholders at the annual general meeting of the company held on September 14, 2017.

    Veritas Capital Limited, the new majority core investor in UnityKapital Assurance, had opted to change the name of the company to Veritas Kapital Assurance Plc to reflect the new ownership and divestiture of Unity Bank from the insurance company.

    In a regulatory filing at the NSE, the directors of the insurance company stated that the new name was sequel to the completion of the divestment of Unity Bank from the insurance company.

    Veritas Capital had acquired the 50.3 per cent majority equity of Unity Bank Plc in UnityKapital Assurance. Following Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s banking regulatory regime that required banks to either divest from non-core banking subsidiaries or form a holding company to hold those subsidiaries, Unity Bank had opted to divest from its non-core banking businesses including UnityKapital Assurance.

    Veritas Capital and Unity Bank had in 2016 executed a Share Sale and Purchase Agreement (SSPA) detailing the terms and conditions of the acquisition of 50.3 per cent equity stake in UnityKapital Assurance. In March 2016, a total of 4.16 billion shares of Unity Kapital Assurance were swapped in a cross deal at 77 kobo per share at the NSE to Veritas Capital. This represented the first tranche of 30 per cent equity stake in Unity Kapital Assurance.

    UnityKapital Assurance had emerged in 2007 following the merger of three insurance companies with similar values. The merger followed the requirements of Insurance Regulation of September 2005, which required insurance companies to recapitalise to the level of N3 billion for non-life companies and N2 billion for life companies.

     

  • We are committed to Nigerian economic development, says US envoy

    United States’activities in Nigeria are aimed at ensuring the well being of Nigerians by supporting initiatives that promote Nigerian economic development and good governance.

    The Consul-General of the US Consulate in Lagos, Mr John Bray, said US’s main objective in Nigeria is to support the national aspiration for the development of the country.

    Bray spoke at the graduation for Fellows of the Carrington Youth Fellowship Initiative (CYFI).

    “Our objective at the US Consulate General in Lagos is to support efforts that address Nigerian issues, particularly economic development, access to health care, peace and security and transparency and good governance,” Bray said.

    He noted that the US Consulate- General launched the CYFI in 2011 with the goal of bringing together  youths to design and implement projects focused on societal innovation.

    He pointed out that the CYFI projects from last year had been  inspiring as participants taught indigent youths to farm, develop the next generation of young female coders, improved the health of women by promoting early detection of cervical cancer and taught young men that they can speak out about their abuse at the hands of adults.

     

     

     

     

    “You have laid strong foundations for future work. These are meaningful, impactful projects and I look forward to seeing where these initiatives go from here,” Bray said.

    He added that the diversity of the participants and issues addressed underscored CYFI programme as an incredibly valuable programme that allows some of the most promising young people in Nigeria who are passionate about national developmental issues to affect real, positive change.

    He urged Nigerian youth to remain committed and passionate to societal innovation and change in the society, even in the face of obstacles.

    “As you’ve learned this year, you can run into all kinds of challenges in the course of implementing real and meaningful change. I hope that the successes you have had this year have shown you that the importance and impact of your efforts far outweigh the trials and tribulations you sometimes face in the course of enacting this change,” Bray said.

    CYFI Fellows bring a wealth of knowledge and skills to the table, and share a common vision with the goal of positively impacting Nigerian society. The 2017 Fellows came from diverse academic and professional backgrounds in the fields of public health, medicine, tech, journalism, law, agriculture, and finance.  CYFI projects center around broader themes championed by Ambassador Walter Carrington, for whom the initiative is named.

     

  • Afromedia records N1.78b loss on N494.4m turnover

    Afromedia Plc recorded a net loss of N1.78 billion on a turnover of N494.4 million in 2017, continuing a losing streak that had marked the operations of the media and communications company.

    Key extracts of the audited report and accounts of the company for the year ended September 30, 2017 showed that it recorded total income of N494.41 million in 2017 as against N407.25 million in 2016. However, loss before tax stood at N1.776 billion in 2017 compared with N2.745 billion in 2016. After taxes net loss stood at N1.782 billion in 2017 as against N2.751 billion in 2016. With this, loss per share stood at 40 kobo in 2017 as against 62 kobo in 2016.

    The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) had last week placed a full suspension on trading in the shares of Afromedia, a precautionary order usually place on companies on regulatory watch-list for further sanctions or possible delisting.

    In a circular obtained by The Nation, the Exchange indicated that it took the decision to suspend trading on Afromedia after the company failed to submit its corporate earnings reports as required by the listing requirements at the secondary market.

    Rule 3.1 of the Rulebook of the Exchange-Rules for Filing of Accounts and Treatment of Default Filing, states that if a company fails to file the relevant accounts by the expiration of the cure period, the Exchange will send a second filing deficiency notification to the company within two business days after the end of the cure period and immediately suspend trading in the company’s shares.

    “In accordance with the rules set forth above, the suspension of the afore-listed company will only be lifted upon the submission of the relevant accounts, provided the Exchange is satisfied that the accounts comply with all applicable rules of the Exchange,” the circular stated.

    Incorporated in 1959 and listed on the NSE in 2009, the Afromedia Group consists of five subsidiaries and associated companies. These include Afromedia Gambia Limited, Afromedia Africa Propriety Limited, Optmedia Limited, Outdoor Exchange West Africa Limited and Independent Poster Care Limited.

     

  • SEC, stakeholders meet tomorrow

    Regulators, operators and other stakeholders in the capital market are scheduled to meet tomorrow to discuss key initiatives that could impact on the recovery and long-term growth of the market.

    The first meeting of the Capital Market Committee (CMC) in the year under the auspices of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is billed to hold at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.

    Thursday’s CMC meeting is the first since the suspension of Mr. Mounir Gwarzo as SEC Director-General (DG) and it comes on the heels of last week’s sack of the commission’s acting D-G, Dr Abdul Zubair and Mhis replacement by Ms Mary Uduk, who is expected to preside over the meeting.

    At the meeting, the CMC will consider reports from its technical committees and review the outlook for the market in the light of emerging developments. Top on the agenda would be the capital market master plan implementation and other Capital Market Initiatives. The 10-year master plan for the market, which is expected to refocus the market and help double its size over time and grow the economy was unveiled in November 2014.

    The CMC, chaired by SEC DG, consists of chief executives of registered capital market operators, including stockbrokers, solicitors, custodians, fund managers, issuing houses, rating agencies, registrars, reporting accountants, trustees and consultants, among others.

    Others are chief executives of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS); Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Abuja Securities and Commodity Exchange (ASCE) and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS).

    The CMC also has two members each from observer groups, which included Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Debt Management Office (DMO),  Federal Ministry of Finance, Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Investment and Securities Tribunal (IST), Nigerian Investment Promotion Council (NIPC), National Insurance Commission (Naicom), National Pension Commission (Pencom) and FSS2020.

    The CMC was established to serve as a medium for exchange of ideas among market stakeholders as well as for feedback on how to continuously improve the market activities. It meets quarterly to deliberate on various issues affecting the market and other policy matters.