Nigeria’s Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, has said that the infrastructural deficit in the West African sub-region can best be tackled using internal resouces and not through foreign borrowing alone. He said the job of the capital market in Nigeria and across the region was therefore cut out for it and this extends to Africa at large.
Senator Shettima stated this at the opening ceremony of the 3rd West Africa Capital Market Conference (WACMaC) with the theme: “Infrastructural Deficit and Sustainable Financing in an Integrated West African Capital Market” held in Lagos, Wednesday.
Shettima who was represented by Tope Fasua, Special Adviser to the President on Economic Affairs in the Office of the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, said the centrality of capital market to Nigeria’s development trajectory especially through the evolution of corporate sector, industries and most importantly infrastructural development cannot be over emphasised, adding that it was a time of intense competition among nations and resources.
Shettima said with advancement in technology, nations are able to reach other nations with their products just as businesses have their fingers in billions of pockets the world over.
Stressing the importance of utilising the region’s capital markets to bridge the deficit gap effectively, Shettima highlighted the need for transparency, innovation and solid investment opportunities to attract young investors and ensure the future development of West Africa.
The Vice President urged regulators and operators to address challenges in the capital market, including scams and misinformation while emphasising the importance of education, innovation, and creating a solid foundation for the capital market to thrive. He also implored West Africa regulators and operators to think hard to find liquidity, growth and sustainability in their markets, noting that if stock exchanges in developed countries still thrive like New York, London, Amsterdam, Bombay and Egypt, there is no reason why West African exchanges should not thrive.
“There must be reasons why these entities are still thriving, and those reasons are the fundamental underpinnings that must be explored to gain purpose, to find strength, to discover resilience and establish sustainability. My role is to encourage your work and to through these words imbue you with some additional impetus, purpose, clarity and strength as it is not over until it is over. And it should never be over for the capital market in West Africa and I am glad to see the co-operation that has been going on among you” Shettima added.
Delivering a goodwill message, Lagos state Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu acknowledged the collaborative spirit among member states and emphasized the role of innovative financing from the capital market in addressing infrastructural deficits.
He considered capital market players as strategic partners and encouraged them to bring forward innovative instruments and ideas to aid the government’s efforts.
Earlier in his opening remark, the Chairman of the West Africa Securities Regulators Association (WASRA), Lamido Yuguda highlighted the collaborative efforts among West African nations to create a unified and seamless capital market.
He outlined the phases of integration, indicating progress toward harmonizing regulations and establishing an integrated securities market in the region while noting that the Phase III holds the promise of delivering a fully integrated market and the establishment of the West Africa Securities Market, which will reflect securities listed on all member exchanges.
According to him, this phase is expected to deepen West African capital markets, attract institutional and retail investors across member countries, and broaden the range of capital market instruments and issuances for funding private and public enterprises and infrastructure in the region.