Tunde Lemo, immediate past deputy governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), who spoke at the fifth annual conference of the Institute of Capital Market Registrars (ICMR), identified roles of investors in building world-class market.
Part of the roles he noted were that investors should report erring operator(s) to the appropriate regulators through several whistle blowing initiatives that have been put in place by the regulators and make suggestions both to the regulators and market operators on possible ways to enhance good corporate governance.
Speaking at the conference theme “Developing a World Class Capital Market: The Need to Strengthen Adherence to Corporate Governance Practices – The Role of Regulators, Operators and Investors,” Lemo noted that investors, as used in capital market parlance, were the providers of funds in the market.
He is of firm belief that the size of an economy should be a major determinant of the size of the capital market.
“Households, collective investment schemes, companies (insurance companies, pension funds, and other institutional investors) and the government all fall under this category,” he said.
Lemo believes that investors have a role in ensuring good corporate governance practices in the market, perhaps, the most effective and is done by: punishing individuals or companies found wanting on sound governance practices. “This will shape the overall governance practices of operators in particular, and the market in general.
Nigerian market is well integrated into the global financial market. Investors must regularly upgrade their skills in line with the global trend and stay ahead of the curve as global market gets more sophisticated.
“Nigeria’s current ranking as the 25th biggest economy in the world (2013 estimate) suggests that Nigeria has some work to do in growing the size of her capital market. The dream of the NSE to grow market capitalisation to $1 trillion is, therefore, welcome!,” Lemo stated.
