NSE will maintain zero tolerance for unhealthy practises – Onyema

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Saturday vowed to arrest any form of manipulation from all quarters of its operation to protect investors’ investment.

Oscar Onyema, NSE chief executive officer, made the statement at the induction ceremony for the newly qualified authorised dealing clerks of the exchange in Lagos.

Onyema said that the exchange would maintain zero tolerance for unhealthy practices and deploy requisite technology and expertise to ensure safety of investment.

He said the NSE had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to increase cooperation and communication in the fight against financial crimes in the capital market.

Onyema said that the agreement would strengthen partnerships and information sharing between the EFCC and NSE.

He urged all stockbrokers to abide by the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers ethical standards and the NSE code of conduct for dealing members.

According to him, the exchange will continue to evolve strategies to meet the needs of its valued customers to achieve the highest level of competitiveness.

“We operate a fair, orderly and transparent market that brings together the best of African enterprises and the local and global investor communities.

“The Nigerian bourse is poised to champion the acceleration of Africa’s economic development,” Onyema said.

He said that the Corporate Governance Rating System recently launched by the NSE and the Convention on Business Integrity would strengthen corporate governance principle among quoted companies.

“ This mandatory rating system raises the bar for listed companies, in terms of acknowledging those that fare well in areas of compliance with Securities and Exchange Commission code of corporate governance and rules of exchange.

“By being at the forefront of promoting good business practices, we can further increase our contributions toward the sustainable development of our listed companies, and invariably, the real economy,” he said.

The chief executive officer said that the NSE’s full membership in the World Federation Exchanges (WFE) had confirmed the viability of the Nigerian market as a credible investment destination.

Onyema said that full membership in the WFE placed greater emphasis on oversight in the market, both at the exchange level and at the government level.

He said that the membership would propel the exchange to meet the highest standards set by other exchanges around the world.

“Therefore, with full membership, we anticipate greater visibility for our market, and stronger investment opportunities as we can now attract order flows that filter from our WFE membership,” Onyema said.

WFE is a global trade association for the operators of regulated securities exchanges.

The NSE became the first West African stock exchange to be granted full federation membership status on October 28, 2014 at the WFE 54th annual meeting in Seoul. (NAN)