Why Sanwo-Olu Seeks Integrated African Capital Market to Bridge Infrastructure Gap
Photo: L-R: Director General, Securities and Exchange Commission, Nigeria/Chairman, West Africa Securities Regulators Association, Mr Lamido Yuguda, Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu and Special Adviser to the President on Economic Matters (Office of the Vice President), Mr Tope Fasua during the opening of the 3rd West Africa Capital Market Conference, themed “Infrastructure Deficit and the Sustainable Financing in an Integrated West Africa Capital Market”, at the Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023.
Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has called for an integrated west African capital market to foster collaboration and tackle infrastructure gap.
Sanwo-Olu said this at the third West Africa Capital Market Conference (WACMaC) on Wednesday in Lagos, with the theme: “Infrastructural Deficit and Sustainable Financing in an Integrated West African Capital Market.”
He said an integrated capital market in the sub-region would help to plug infrastructure deficits.
According to him, there are many ways that an integrated West Africa capital market can help with plugging infrastructure deficits in the sub-region.
“One is the Economies of Scale that will accrue from such an integration and this will enable the pooling of funds across the more extensive sub-region to finance large projects that can serve multitudes of people.
“In addition, an integrated capital market will result in the harmonisation of regulations to make it easier for trade and investments across borders and give confidence to investors,” he said.
The governor added that the ease of doing business that would result from a harmonised regulatory environment would open up funding possibilities for infrastructure projects in the sub-region.
He said that governments were actively aware of the imperatives of addressing infrastructure deficit and sustainable financing in the region.
Sanwo-Olu said the theme of the conference was apt for the moment, as across the sub-region, modern infrastructure such as roads, rails, ports, fibre optics and connectivity power, among others, were largely inadequate.
“These perennial inadequacies have hindered the economic growth of our various nations and economic development of our people.
”It behooves, therefore, on us to deliberate on ideas, financial strategies that can bridge these infrastructural gaps, enhancing the quality of life of our people and propelling out economy to greater heights.
“While governments like ours continue to make efforts at plugging the huge infrastructural deficits, we cannot do it alone and that is why we are collaborating with you.
“We are waiting to see the types of innovative instruments and ideas that you can bring forward, for us to be able to do the quick and very difficult work that you have asked us to do.
“The challenges are not so insurmountable; we have to look at regulatory and legislative impediments; we have to look at high transaction cost; multiple taxation; fragmented and small size of national stock market; capital and exchange control,” the chairman said.
Izunaso said these were the major challenges working against an integrated capital market in the sub-region.
He called for the harmonisation of disparities in legal and regulatory frameworks in the capital market, bridging the gap in capital market development.
(NAN)