SEC partners Korea for development of derivatives market in Nigeria

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has partnered the government of the Republic of Korea for creation of more investible products to enhance liquidity in Nigerian capital market.

Ms Mary Uduk, SEC Acting Director-General, stated this on Wednesday at the Final Reporting Workshop and High Level Policy Dialogue for the “Knowledge Sharing Programme (KSP) between the Republic of Korea and Nigeria in Lagos.

Uduk said that the partnership between the commission and Korea’s Ministry of Economy and Finance was the first bi-lateral policy consultation between the two countries.

She said that the partnership would boost the development of financial derivatives market in Nigeria.

“The journey to this final reporting workshop started a few years ago, with the Korean Ministry of Economy and Finance finally endorsing the KSP for implementation in 2018/2019.

“The KSP is centred on ‘Capacity Building on Operation and Development of Financial Derivatives Markets in Nigeria,’ aimed at tapping from the Korea’s expertise and excellence toward developing the derivatives market in Nigeria.

“The Nigerian capital market will not remain the same at the conclusion of this workshop, as it has derived tangible benefits from this partnership.

“This final workshop will articulate recommendations for the course of actions needed for the development of the Nigerian financial derivatives market and the management of market volatility,” Uduk said.

She commended the Republic of Korea, through the Korean Development Institute for supporting the development derivatives origination and regulation in the Nigerian capital market through the sponsorship of the KSP.

“The programme has exposed my colleagues to the rich system and diversity of the Korean financial system, which enabled Korea’s advancement and contemporary status among the comity of industrialised nations in the world,” Uduk added.

She noted that Nigeria would not have a viable derivatives market without adequate capacity building for the regulator and the market participants.

“The capacity gap is being bridged by the KSP by enhancing the capacity of the relevant stakeholders to jump-start the operation of the derivatives market in Nigeria,” she said.

Uduk said that the KSP had presented a good opportunity for addressing some of the challenges in setting up a strong and functioning derivatives market.

She said that some of the challenges were having required market infrastructure, regulatory framework and surveillance system for the derivatives market in Nigeria.

Uduk expressed optimism that Nigeria would create a derivative market place that would be useful for the economy and the sub Saharan region.

The director-general also solicited the support of the Republic of Korea toward future partnerships for developing the Nigerian capital market.

“The Nigerian Capital Market Master plan is yet in its fourth year of implementation, but requires enormous resources to achieve its objectives of developing a world class market.

“This collaboration inches us closer to achieving our goals, but more collaboration and assistance will help us meet our targets in the area of Fintech development and regulation for the capital market and development of the commodities ecosystem,” she said.

Uduk also urged them to help Nigeria in the development of a strong market infrastructure and financial inclusion and advocacy, to enhance retail participation in the market.

In his remarks, Korean Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Intae Lee, expressed excitement at some promising signs he had seen on how the SEC and the NSE were working hard to drive the derivatives financial products market in various sectors.

Lee, represented by Consul General of Korean Embassy, Mr Kim Intaek, said with these efforts, he was optimistic that Nigeria would soon be a financial hub for derivatives products in Africa.

“This project is in basic research stage now and we are ready to support Nigeria’s development by working with Nigeria to achieve great success in this area.

“Korea will always strive to be Nigeria’s friend in times of need. We will continue our efforts to straighten the friendship and will be available to support Nigeria in this area and we hope that this venture will turn out to be very successful,” he said.

Our correspondent reports that KSP is a knowledge-intensive development and economic cooperation programme designed to share Korea’s development experience with partner countries.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance (MOEF) of Republic of Korea has been overseeing KSP for partner countries for their policy capacity building and sustainable development since 2004.

As at 2018, about 1,000 policy researches had been conducted in 66 countries to promote sustainable socio-economic development.

KSP has offered comprehensive policy consultations tailored to the needs of partner countries encompassing in-depth analysis, policy consultation, and training opportunities.