The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced plans to partner with the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) to de-risk certain commodity assets and attract more investors into the space.
Besides, the commission has also inaugurated a technical committee comprising representatives of the Commission, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), AFEX, Lagos Commodities and Futures Exchange (LCFE) & Nigerian Commodities Exchange (NCX) to deliver agro-based standards within 3 months
Director-General, SEC, Lamido Yuguda said de-risking and insuring these commodity assets would attract massive investment in areas where Nigeria has a comparative advantage.
According to him, for commodities in the agro space to be traded, there is a need to develop a standard that would guarantee product quality and encourage investment in agro products.
He expressed optimism that the standard would attract more investments within the space, particularly from the pensions industry.
Yuguda also stated that the commission has solicited the support of the National Bureau of Statistics to develop an effective price discovery mechanism for the commodities ecosystem.
In addition, he disclosed that a technical committee has been constituted for this purpose with the mandate of developing modalities for this exercise.
Yuguda said the commission acknowledges the critical role the capital market can play in long-term financing of infrastructure in the country.
Therefore, he assured that the SEC would continue to work with relevant stakeholders to unlock the potential of the capital market instruments in funding key infrastructure needs, especially in roads, housing and clean energy.
He said the commission has also approved some derivative contracts, developed the regulatory framework for derivatives trading as well as registered some Central Counterparty Clearing Houses (CCP).