Capital market can reduce housing, infrastructure deficit — Emir Sanusi

The 14th Emir of Kano and former Governor of the central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Muhammadu Sanusi II, has said with the right innovative products in the capital market, the federal government can raise funds to mitigate Nigeria’s housing and infrastructure deficit currently estimated at about N59,6 trillion and $15 billion respectively.

He said this at the NGX Ltd Capital Market Conference held in Abuja on Tuesday.

He noted that the government cannot provide the huge funds needed for infrastructure and housing investments thus the public-private partnership is the only way out.

There is a lot of room for deeper collaboration of the Nigerian capital market and stakeholders. An example is private and public partnership on infrastructure and housing growth to address our housing deficit projected at N59.6 trillion for housing and about $15 billion for infrastructure.

The Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr. Lamido Yuguda during his comments said to overcome some of the negative impacts of the COVID pandemic and achieve the objectives of the developmental plans of the government, the capital market needs to continuously produce innovative products, platforms, and processes.

He noted innovation plays a critical role in the development of any capital market as it increases the markets’ chances of reacting to changes, and enables discovery of new opportunities”. 

Yuguda reiterated that the International Organization for Securities Commission (IOSCO) acknowledges that the use of technological innovations by market operators could potentially create significant efficiencies and benefits for firms and investors, including increasing execution speed and reducing the cost of investment services. 

“However, IOSCO also notes that this use may create or amplify certain risks, which could potentially have an impact on the efficiency of financial markets, resulting in consumer harm,” he noted.