BY CHISOM NWATU
The Bank of Industry (BOI) and Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) on Wednesday sealed a partnership deal that would help expand and deepen capital formation for the benefit of the investing public and the Nigerian economy.
BOI provides financial assistance for the establishment of large, medium and small projects as well as the expansion, diversification, modernization and rehabilitation of existing enterprises.
NGX, one of the leading markets in Africa by market capitalization and turnover, provides investors access to outstanding liquidity and transparency across a wide range of attractive trading segments.
Olukayode Pitan, managing director of BOI, said at the signing ceremony that the collaboration between the two institutions seeks to achieve several benefits such as promoting the listing of companies to access a wider pool of funds, information sharing, market development, advocacy, investment and exit opportunities for equity investors, building capacity for stakeholders and improvement of financial literacy.
He pointed out that through the partnership, BOI would encourage companies in which it has equity holdings as well as its pool of current and past borrowers to approach the exchange for initial public listings which will serve as a veritable window for divestments and access to wider funding options.
Pitan further said the partnership would also enable them to jointly develop programmes that would educate all stakeholders, especially large, Small & Medium Enterprises on how to access alternative financing opportunities. This would be achieved by developing a suitable capital market solution such as simplified listing requirements, derivatives, among others.
According to Pitan, the signing ceremony signifies the finale of several engagements between both organisations over the last few months to establish a strategic partnership.
“BOI and NGX have been in discussions on how to create more avenues that will enable businesses to broaden their capital formation activities. With this, we look forward to the actualization of the objectives of this memorandum of understanding and sustenance of a mutually beneficial and long-lasting relationship between both organisations,” he said.
In his remarks, Temi Popoola, CEO NGX, while applauding the management of BOI for taking steps toward strengthening the collaboration, said the exchange was committed to providing platforms to support issuers and market participants to achieve strategic intent.
The partnership, he said, would support various advocacy initiatives to develop the Nigerian capital market, promote information flow to SMEs about the capital market and facilitate training for potential issuers on the various product initiatives.
NGX will work closely with BOI to create a unified avenue for divestments through the listing of any of its investee companies on the Boards of NGX, he said.
Popoola said that NGX has achieved increased efficiency in terms of competitive pricing structure, improved turnaround time to the market, and has always sought ways to support the interest of our stakeholders.
“NGX, as a business enabler, is committed to providing platforms to support issuers and market participants to achieve strategic intent. As we consolidate on this partnership, we are very excited about the opportunities this will unearth and the numerous entities that will benefit from this partnership,” he said.
