The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has disclosed that FMDQ Holdings Plc was licensed as a full-fledged securities exchange in order to create competition in the capital market.
Speaking at a media parley after the second quarter Capital Market Committee meeting in Lagos, the acting Director-General of SEC, Mary Uduk made known that competition is healthy for business and that licensing FMDQ would create choices for market operators to choose from.
“Competition is good for the market. We expect other similar cases to follow. FMDQ’s licence creates the kind of competition that will bring down cost and improve efficiency in the capital market. It is a welcome development to the market, and it shows that the market is growing.”
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Recall that on Monday, August 5, 2019, FMDQ Exchange formally launched its new status and corporate identity as a full-fledge securities exchange, with the registration to trade in all securities including fixed income, equities, derivatives, commodities and foreign exchange.
Approvals: SEC had approved the amendment of the registration of FMDQ OTC Plc from ‘an OTC Market’ to a full–fledged ‘securities exchange’. Thereafter, the Exchange secured necessary approvals for a change of name to ‘FMDQ Securities Exchange Plc (FMDQ Exchange)’ with immediate effect, thereby aligning its name to its upgraded status in the capital market.
Furthermore, in June 2019, the Exchange received SEC’s registration of its wholly-owned central securities depository subsidiary – FMDQ Depository Limited, which is positioned to provide collateral caching, custodian and settlement services with excellent operational capabilities tailored to provide value to its stakeholders.
What you should know: Formerly known as FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange, the transition of FMDQ from an Over-The-Counter (OTC) platform to a full-blown securities exchange, ends the monopoly in the Nigerian capital market. It ends the unwritten mono-stock exchange policy and opens the capital market to intense competition.
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