The Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, on Tuesday, January 19, 2021, said it compensated no fewer than 49 investors who suffered pecuniary losses to dealing member firms in the course of their transactions in the capital market with N17.02 million.
The Exchange also said it facilitated the restitution and recovery of shares worth N305 million for investors during the year, as part of its investor protection efforts.
Oscar Onyema, the chief executive officer of the NSE, disclosed this at the virtual yearly review of activities in the capital market and outlook for the new year.
He stated that the Exchange upgraded its X-Whistle platform to also strengthen investors’ protection, allowing whistle-blowers to generate detailed and varied reports with analytics for proper tracking.
According to him, the NSE engaged with the federal government to secure an ”essential service status” for the market as part of its Covid-19 response as well as engaged with the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning to achieve specific capital market incentives in the 2019 and 2020 Finance Acts.
On the progress of the demutualisation exercise, Onyema said that the NSE is currently awaiting approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, to conclude the process, adding that upon final demutualisation, it would deliver cutting-edge products and services to deliver value to the stakeholders.
“As we transition to a demutualised exchange group, we believe that the appointments recently announced for the Group will support the NSE’s vision to be Africa’s preferred Exchange hub.
“We look forward to consolidating on the benefits of demutualisation in the coming year. We intend to aggressively pursue cutting-edge products and services, access new markets, and deliver value to our valued stakeholders,” he said.
Looking ahead, Onyema said: “The year has started on a positive note as the ASI has already returned 2.0% after 11 trading sessions.
“We expect the marginal reopening of businesses, normalisation of the economy, and revenue-diversification drive of the Nigerian government to elicit positive sentiments throughout the year.
“Our growth expectations should be noted with caution, as the recent second wave of COVID-19 in Nigeria and globally, may slow down renewed social and economic activities.”
Source: Vanguard
