NGX To Change Securities Trading Patterns

Securities trading patterns on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited by investors would witness changes in the next few months.

This was disclosed during  the Business morning show on ChannelsTV, by NGX Chief Executive Officer, Temi Popoola, who said the exchange will carry out these changes through technology.

According to him, the major aim for this is to digitize securities investment and other market-related transactions to attract more investors, especially Generation Z, known as zoomers, the demographic cohort succeeding Millennials and preceding Generation Alpha.

“The exchange on its part is doing its bit to coordinate the activities of players across the entire investment value chain to create an experience where within the space of minutes, a transaction can be initiated and completed.

Popoola, who talked about The Exchange’s journey in 60 years, said that NGX has seen tremendous expansion, both in view of the number of now listed securities as well as the categories of listed securities and commercial activity.

He explained that in the next few months the growth of NGX’s domestic participation was a testament to Nigeria’s financial capacity as a whole and said that The Exchange is designed to create increased local participation and attract investment by improving the macroeconomic environment as local participation increases.

According to Popoola, The Exchange is synchronized with the SEC to digitize the market and ensure investors can quickly purchase and sell stocks.

He said, “I would firstly say that the apex regulator, SEC, is taking a strong lead in trying to address this and NGX is in support of this initiative. It will take time for the capital market to get to this stage but a lot of work is being done on this and of course one needs to understand that the structure- make up of our market is involved in that process from start to finish. Over the course of the next few months, we are likely to see a structure in place to move us in a positive direction to address this.”

Popoola disclosed that efforts are being made to attract more foreign capital, noting that, “While attracting foreign capital is largely based on the macroeconomic environment of the nation, NGX continues to address factors within its immediate control to provide a conducive environment for these investments.

“We recognise that investors look into the quality of the companies and asset classes available before making investment decisions.

“As such, we place significant emphasis on governance, as well as the rules guiding the behaviour of Issuers in our market.

“On the trading side, we also consider factors around the ease in settling transactions, resolving complaints, finding the right infrastructure, and engaging the right intermediaries.”