Acting Executive Commissioner, Corporate Services, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr Henry Rolands, has assured that the long-awaited electronic initial public offering will kick start in the country next year.
IPO is the selling of securities to the public in the primary market by a company, while e-IPO is the selling of such shares via electronic means as opposed to the usual manual issuance. Electronic IPO entails the automation of all new offers in the Nigerian capital market, such that investors can easily subscribe to and purchase new share offerings over the internet.
Rowland said Nigeria must move forward with its contemporaries in technology in order to compete effectively, noting that preparations towards the full automation of IPO and other public primary offers in the Nigerian market were on top gear.
He noted that special-purpose committee inaugurated for the full automation of the primary issuance process has gone far to ensure commencement of e-IPO. He further acknowledged that technology and digitisation would drive the next space of global economic growth.
According to him
“The next phase of capital market growth will be driven by digitisation.”
Why this is important for investors
This new initiative would enable investors to subscribe and make payment for IPOs and public offers online with such orders being matched and allotted electronically and directly to the investment accounts of the investors in CSCS.
Recall that the Acting Director-General of Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ms Mary Uduk, was earlier quoted as saying that the Committee is in charge of working out the modalities of the e-IPO and will submit their report soon. After the Committee’s report, SEC will then issue the rules and regulations guiding the e-IPO ahead of its launch in Q1 2019.
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