The director-general of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Lamido Yuguda, says the financial sector wants foreign investors back in the capital market to grow the market and the economy further.

Mr Yuguda said this in an interview with journalists on the sidelines of a visit by the Senate Committee on Capital Markets delegation to the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX Group) in Lagos.

He said the SEC has been trying to design regulations that give confidence to both domestic and foreign investment and investors.

Mr Yuguda hinted that some micro-economic policies had been taken over by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Ministry of Finance.

He said, “We have seen the market respond to these new economic policies, such as the removal of fuel subsidy, which is a huge stimulus to the fiscal aspect of the economy.”

Mr Yuguda explained further that the policy on the unification of the foreign exchange (FX) rate was already generating confidence among investors.

“This is because they are dealing with one price for the FX on the one hand and the removal of fuel subsidy on the other hand.

“We want foreign investors to come back into the capital market. The FX policy of the CBN is helping in that direction, but we would give them time to work,” the SEC boss said.

Mr Yuguda said several regulatory policies of the SEC would improve the capital market.

According to him, they include the policy on custody of all Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) products in the capital market, whether bilateral or public.

He explained that the CIS sector was already responding to the development, hence the growth of assets under management.

The director-general advised private sector investors to embrace the platform through the CIS vehicle into the market.

Mr Yuguda expressed hope that the economy would witness a reduction in the fiscal deficit this year, noting that additional reductions would also be experienced in 2025 and 2026.

“The overall business environment is getting much brighter, and once it becomes much better, people will make different financial decisions than they would have made if the environment had actually been as it was before,” he said.

He said pension fund managers were also rescinding their decisions from previous years to reduce their portfolios and allocations to the equity market.

The DG said many PFAs have the perception of a better relative value in fixed income than equity, explaining that the perception was changing and would affect the capital market and economy positively.

(NAN)