NSE, LSE dual listing strategy to boost cross-border access – Onyema

Oscar Onyema, Chief Executive Officer, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Tuesday said that dual listing collaboration with the London Stock Exchange (LSE) would encourage seamless cross-border access between both markets.

Onyema stated this at the second NSE/LSE Dual Listings Conference with the theme: “Leveraging Cross-Border Capital Markets for Sustainable Growth,’’ held in Lagos.

He said that the collaboration was deliberate and strategic, geared at encouraging seamless cross-border access to drive deeper capital markets, to enable capital formation for businesses and governments.

Onyema stated that the initiative would create larger liquidity pools and greater competitiveness for investors and enhance capacity, promote diversity of investment products to meet the needs of a wide range of investors and issuers.

“The world is getting flatter everyday, and with soaring world populations, we must facilitate the drive for wealth creation for our own people, while providing the platform to which global savings can be channelled,’’ Onyema said.

He urged all stakeholders to partner with each other, in order to unlock the growth potential and advance the development of our financial and capital markets.

According to him, the first quarter of 2016 has been a wild ride for most economies and markets because asset prices collapsed during the period.

Onyema said that capital markets were critical to sustainability of growth and development in any economy.

He explained that Nigeria needed to sustain its growth through a vibrant capital market ecosystem that would attract investment and unlock the potential that exists in the economy.

Onyema added that capital markets increase the proportion of long-term savings that would be channelled to long-term investments.

L – R: Mr. Nikhil Rathi, Chief Executive Officer, London Stock Exchange (LSE); Mr. Oscar N. Onyema, OON, Chief Executive Officer, The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and Mr. Mounir Gwarzo, Director General, Securities and Exchange Commission at the 2nd NSE/LSEG Dual Listings Conference today in Lagos.

He stated that the country needed to leverage and embrace the globalisation of economies and financial markets as the government grapples with the task of articulating a clear economic blueprint for the short to mid-term.

Onyema disclosed that Nigeria remained top of mind on the African continent for investors, in spite of the intricacies facing the economy and markets.

Also speaking, Mr Nikhil Rathi, Chief Executive Officer, LSE Plc, said that the exchange would enable Nigeria unlock its growth potential.

Rathi said that LSE was the second largest exchange in the world, noting that 19 African bonds were listed on its exchange.

He stated that the exchange would continue to strengthen its relationship with Nigeria, in order to enhance its great potential.

Rathi said that LSE would help the NSE to scale ups its technology, adding that having a sophisticated capital market was in the interest of both countries.

Rathi disclosed that the LSE emerged the top ranking exchange in the world in 2015, with 120 Initial Public Offerings worth 26.3 billion dollars.