The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has stated that the revised Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) it signed with its Ghanaian counterpart will strengthen the cooperation and mutual support that exist between the two bodies and enhance operational efficiency, transparency, depth and global competitiveness
Speaking during the signing ceremony in Accra, weekend, Director- General of the SEC Nigeria, Lamido Yuguda, recalled that both countries had enjoyed a long period of the progressive and mutually-beneficial partnership, which resulted in the first MoU in 2003.
According to Yuguda, the partnership has paved the way for the signing of the current MoU, which “we have come to renew and put to greater use.”
He said the enduring relationship between the two jurisdictions is amplified by the fact that Ghana and Nigeria have the largest markets in the West African sub-region.
“It will only be good foresightedness that we seize the advantage of our size and peculiarities, and explore viable areas of cooperation, even as we continue to work assiduously with other stakeholders to integrate our markets and provide greater opportunities for the economic prosperity of our peoples and our economies.”
The SEC DG stated that in the spirit of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the collaboration will be a good pedestal for future partnerships with other neighbours.
He pointed out that with the revised MoU, both countries have developed a robust and inclusive document that is all-encompassing and reflective of current trends, emphasising that the goal of the West African capital markets integration programme was the creation of an enabling environment for cross-border securities transactions.
“It will therefore be equally expected that we develop a tool of cooperation that enables our two institutions to effectively police our respective markets and ensure that the standards of regulation set out by IOSCO are sustained, and where possible, improved upon.
“However, without the readiness of all concerned, the lofty aims of the programme may continually remain a dream. It goes to say, unequivocally, that this goal can only be achieved seamlessly when all member states of ECOWAS come on board and actively commit to achieving the noble objectives of the enhanced collaborative structure that these kinds of agreements enable,” he said.
Director General of SEC Ghana, Daniel Ogbarmey Tetteh, said both regulators are ready to work together and develop the potential of the capital markets by examining issues and exploring ways to resolve them.
Tetteh said: “This is a good framework that will benefit both countries and the sub-region. If you want to go far, it is better to go along with others and that is why we always have discussions on cooperation in the capital market.
“We had an MoU in 2003 which centred on collaboration and leveraging the potentials of the capital markets in the sub-region. We are better off when we pull together to attain the potential of our capital markets.
“Some progress has been made in the past but we are not yet where we want to be, we could do more. Ghana and Nigeria can push forward in ways that will bring about the mutual benefits of leveraging the capital market. We need to have our markets open to each other so that we can achieve more and then attain one big capital market.”
