Nigeria exchange seeks admission into World Federation of Exchanges
09 November 2010
Among Africa's top three Exchanges, Nigeria's is the only one that has not been admitted into the global body. According to Business Day Nigeria, the interim leadership has been given a list of gaps in the operation and structure of the NSE which have to be cleared before it can be admitted to the organisation. A spokesman said many issues had been identified and the NSE was working on it. .
Nigeria is engaged with the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, a member of the WFE, to see how they might address some of the issues thereby bringing the NSE closer to WFE admission.
As part of the process the interim leadership is preparing a gap analysis with timelines and milestones which will guide the engagement.
Until the stock price crash two years ago, the NSE was touted as one of the best exchanges in Africa. However the then management of the NSE failed to tell Nigerians that a number of compliance issues remained unresolved, leading to Nigeria's exclusion from the World Federation.
Business Day also reported that the search for a chief executive officer for the Exchange is going ahead, and to ensure that the right person is picked, the interim management is involving leading Nigerian CEOs and heads of leading stock exchanges to help appraise the candidates.
"Our desire is to ensure that the person who is finally appointed wins the respect of his or her peers from around the world," a senior official of the NSE said.
The World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) has 52 regulated Exchanges around the world. It develops and promotes standards in markets.
WFE membership is based on three requirements: the Exchange must be publicly regulated, and its membership in WFE supported by its national regulator; the Exchange must adhere to the WFE Membership Criteria; the Exchange should play an active role in the national economy through activities such as raising investment capital through listings, and then pricing it.
