Financial experts seek tax incentives to boost listing on NSE

Some financial experts on Monday called on the Federal Government to introduce tax incentives that would aid listing of blue chips on Nigerian Stock Exchange  (NSE).

They said this in Lagos while assessing the administration’s second anniversary, that the incentives should be considered to deepen the market.

Prof. Sheriffdeen Tella, professor of economics, Olabisi Onabanjo University Ago-Iwoye, Ogun,  said that introduction of tax incentives would make blue chip companies such as telecommunication firms to enlist on the exchange.

Tella said that the stock market had lost ground in the last two years and needed to be resuscitated through good policies to boost investor confidence.

“With respect to development in the capital market, particularly the stock market, the market has lost ground in the last two years.

“However, this has been the case since the world depression of the 2007/2008 when lots of foreign and local investors lost trillions of naira in investments,” he stated.

He said that Nigerians were largely risk averse and were interested in making quick money.

Tella added that investors were borrowing to invest when the market was booming in the market that should ordinarily attract idle funds.

“The massive loss make people to run away from investing in the market since then and any opportunity to recover part of their money usually leads to massive sale of share.

“It has been difficult to attract investors to the market since then,” he added.

Tella also said that the economic recession resulted in closure of industries and businesses as well as loss of employment which further dampened interest in investing in the stock market.

“As the economy moves out of recession through harmonisation of monetary and fiscal policies, some improvement in investments could assist the market to regain some life,” he said.

Mr Ambrose Omordion, the Chief Operating Officer, InvestData Ltd., said that government should ensure quick signing of the 2017 budget to kickstart the market and the economy in general.

Omordion said that different arms of government concerned with budget presentation and approval going forward should strengthen their processes to ensure quick budget approvals in the interest of the economy.

He said that economic recovery could be sustained through friendly policies that would woo investors back to the nation’s investment climate.