The Federal Government yesterday unveiled plans to set up a $25 billion fund wholly dedicated to infrastructure investments. This is in recognition of the role of the capital market as very critical to the kind of economy the present administration intends to develop for Nigeria.
The Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, gave this hint during the inauguration of the Capital Market Master Plan Implementation Council, CAMMIC, National Investor Protection Fund, NIPF and the launch of the Corporate Governance Scorecard for quoted companies by the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, in Lagos Adeosun noted that in the current environment of significant revenue squeeze and other budgetary constraints, these investments will clearly not come from government coffers alone.
She said: “We believe this is where the capital market can really make itself relevant by stepping in to close the funding gap.
Government is already looking to set up a $25 billion fund wholly dedicated to infrastructure investments.
A crucial assignment we have for the capital market community is to come up with other innovative ways of mobilizing the capital needed to address Nigeria’s infrastructure challenge.
“Nigeria needs and deserves a capital market that is characterized by high levels of liquidity, depth, breadth and sophistication to enable rapid socio-economic development.
Going through the Master Plan, it is heartwarming to note that this is the type of capital market you envision for our country and indeed we desperately need such a market to emerge in order to tackle Nigeria’s biggest challenges of huge infrastructure deficit and unacceptable level of unemployment.
As you all know, to grow our economy, we require significant funds to modernize our critical infrastructure”, Adeosun added
The Minister, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Dr. Mahmoud Isa-Dutse, said that efficient and vibrant capital markets remained indispensable feature of any modern economy, supplying affordable medium-to-long term capital needed for growth as they facilitate mobilization of savings, accelerate capital formation, provide investment avenues and enhance efficient allocation of capital to growth sectors as no country has been able to develop without a thriving capital market.
She expressed concern that currently, less than three per cent of Nigerians invest in the capital market and even more worrisome, only 0.2 per cent of them invest in mutual funds.
The Minister clarified: “Imagine the kind of savings to be mobilized, the liquidity to be injected and the sophistication to be developed if we improve these numbers by bringing millions more Nigerians to invest in the capital market.
For Nigerians of faith and people who prefer ethical investments, we must deepen the non-interest product space so they can be involved in wealth creation opportunities the capital market offers.
Credit: National Mirror
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