Nigeria: Amid growing fintech space, SEC plans to launch revised Capital Market Master Plan

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) plans to unveil a revised version of the 10-year Capital Market Masterplan that will take into account market dynamism and innovations in FinTech among others.

This was disclosed by Mr Lamido Yuguda, Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, in a New Year Message.

As the year 2022 begins, the SEC DG expressed confidence that the consequences of the many measures implemented will progressively manifest, spurring developments in many parts of the market.

What SEC boss is saying

Yuguda stated that the Commission would strengthen stakeholder cooperation, develop synergies, and increase the effectiveness in order to achieve the Capital Market Masterplan’s goals.

He stated that SEC would innovate to keep up with the changing times and “continue the enhancement of the existing regulatory framework guiding the operations of the market by keeping pace with the evolving changes in market practices, especially with the advent of Financial Technology and digital assets.” 

He expressed the hope that once the restrictions on Covid-19 and its variants are lifted, the Market will experience renewed confidence, resulting in new investments from both domestic and international companies.

“As we expect improvements in both economic and capital market activities, we must remain committed to developing the market in line with the 10-year Master Plan. Some of the key initiatives to be pursued in 2022 are as follows: The repeal of the Investment and Securities Act (ISA) 2007 and passing of the Investment and Securities Bill 2021 to align the enabling law with the realities and trends in capital market regulation and practice in Nigeria.

“In conjunction with the NASD Platform, provide the necessary incentives and support to attract SMEs to get listed. Already, Rules on Crowdfunding to encourage new funding sources for the SMEs have been developed,” he added.