The Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, has said the Federal Government is seeking to diversify instruments of the stock market through the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).
While
speaking at the maiden Awards Night of the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC), said the Federal Government was committed to building a
vibrant capital market that would contribute to the growth and
development of the country.
She said the ERGP policy objectives
for the financial sector aimed to further diversify instruments of the
stock market, review the capitalization of the financial institutions
and encourage lending to the real sector of the economy similar to the
Capital Market Master Plan.
She noted that the capital market
played a central role in the development of the economy through the
mobilization of long-term savings for investment, as well as efficient
pricing of financial instruments
Ahmed said, “The government is
making a lot of efforts to diversify the economy, raise revenue and
block leakages; efforts are also being made to ensure the mobilization
of resources that will aid investment in small and medium enterprises
and provide infrastructure.”
“The main thrust of the Capital
Market Master Plan aligns with the vision of the ERGP for the financial
services sector. When the ERGP was being prepared, copious references
were made to the 10-year master plan.”
She added that the ERGP
vision for the financial services sector was to strengthen relevant
market institutions and mitigate risk by building a healthy and
competitive financial system, which would be better positioned to
support the private sector and contribute towards the sustainable
development of the economy.
According to her, the strengthening
of the capital market is necessary for the government to be able to
create jobs, wealth and increase the standard of living of the people.
She
said, “The capital market is central to all of these efforts. As the
ERGP recognises the power of the capital market to drive its own forms,
the Capital Market Master Plan Implementation Council has proven to be
an embodiment of recognition.”
The acting Director-General, SEC,
Ms Mary Uduk, said the event was put together to appreciate the support
and collaboration the commission had received from market operators and
various stakeholders in the capital market, which had advanced the
collective aspiration to accelerate the growth of the market and
contribute to the development of the nation’s economy.
She said
the implementation of the 10-year Capital Market Master Plan commenced
in earnest under the guidance of the CAMMIC, chaired by Mr Olutola
Mobolurin.
Uduk added that the commission had taken up the
initiatives outlined in the master plan document in a systematic manner,
while also painstakingly engaging with the government, its agencies and
other critical stakeholders to achieve the set objectives of the plan.
Source:- Brandspurng
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