Yemisi Izuora
The Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) has achieved another milestone by significantly reducing the time it takes for Companies to obtain approval for offers from one year to two weeks.
The SEC, said because the capital market is the lifeblood of any economy and is regulated by time, approvals would now be granted within two weeks once all necessary documents are complete.
With this move, the Commission aims to enhance the efficiency of the capital market and better support the development of Nigeria’s economy.
The Commission noted that issuers are no longer experiencing delays in their applications due to various mechanisms adopted to ensure swift processing and timely approvals.
Going further, the SEC highlighted the success of the recent banking recapitalization exercise, during which banks raised over N2.2 trillion from the capital market using the electronic offering platform.
Emphasizing the importance of technology in modernizing the capital market, the Commission stated that not only is technology the in-thing, but that the ISA 2007 also provided for that.
Noting that the NGX has an e-IPO system that has proven to be very effective, the SEC made it known that all the offers that came within this period were approved within 14 days as promised.
Reiterating its commitment to protecting investors and developing the market, the Commission promised to make more use of technology in the work that it does.