The Securities and Exchange Commission announced on Monday that it has reduced the time required for companies to secure approval for raising funds in the capital market to just 14 days.
This bold move is expected to streamline market operations and bolster the development of the Nigerian economy.
In a statement, the Director General of the SEC, Emomotimi Agama, explained that this initiative is aimed at making the capital market more efficient.
He noted that prior to the current SEC management, companies often had to wait over a year to receive the necessary approvals.
“Since we came on board, it is instructive to say that we have helped propel the economy. One of the things that has been a challenge before we came to the saddle was time to market, issuers will come to the market and they will spend time before they get approval to be able to raise capital.
“The Capital market is the life and blood of any economy or any company and of course this is actually regulated by time. So one of the first things we have tackled since we came was to reduce the time to market. Therefore, I can proudly say that we have reduced the time to market from over a year to fourteen days,” Agama stated.
He further highlighted the success of the banking recapitalization exercise, where banks raised over N2.2 trillion from the Nigerian capital market using the e-offering platform.
Agama credited this achievement to the SEC’s robust mechanisms that ensure swift processing of applications.
“In addition, all of these transactions have been fully subscribed and we have encouraged the use of technology. They used the e-offering platform meaning you do not have to use paper anymore to apply in this market. We hope to get better by the day.
“Technology is the in-thing, Section 55 of the ISA 2007 has provided for that and we feel that to be able to achieve the milestone we want in the market we need to do better and we applied that in the bank recapitalization and the success is massive and overwhelming.
_The NGX has an e-IPO system and that has been proven to be very effective.
“All of the offers that came within this period were within 14 days as promised. The next level was a subscription that happened through the NGX platform and we approved it.
“We saw many young people coming into the market because we have seen that technology has attracted more Nigerians to the market. In this year, we will make more use of technology in the work that we do,” he added.
Agama emphasized that the SEC is committed to harnessing the strength of the capital market as an engine for economic growth and a propeller of wealth for all Nigerians.
“What is new for us is efficiency, dedication and giving back to society by using the capital market as an engine of growth and propeller of wealth for all Nigerians.
“We must give back by ensuring that Nigerians are properly served. The SEC is committed to protecting investors and developing the market.
“We must do everything within our powers and the laws to provide that and ensure Nigerians are happy again in investing in the market and making wealth for Nigerians,” he concluded.
With this significant reduction in approval time, the SEC aims to invigorate the capital market and encourage more rapid and efficient fundraising by companies, ultimately supporting Nigeria’s broader economic objectives.
