Nigeria’s Debt Management Office (DMO) has appointed Stanbic IBTC Brokers Ltd. as stockbroker to manage Federal Government bonds in the capital market, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported Tuesday.
Speaking during the signing of the agreement in Abuja on Tuesday, the Director General of DMO, Dr Abraham Nwankwo said the process of selecting the national stockbroker was transparent and that the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and the National Pension Commission amongst others, were part of the selection process.
Stanbic IBTC Brokers Ltd. will now be responsible for providing price for Federal Government bond on the floor of the stock exchange to enable retail investors to buy or sell.
It will also liaise between the DMO, NSE, other stockbrokers and participants to ensure that all activities concerning the bond and Federal Government securities listed in the future are effective in the market.
Nwankwo said that the involvement of the three organisations and others had made the process acceptable and would help to improve the bond market.
He urged the stockbroker to adopt the best practice and be guided by the fact that there might be shocks in the market.
The DG also explained that Stanbic IBTC’s appointment was aimed at ensuring that the bond market was properly listed and accepted at the stock exchange.
Commenting on the development, the CEO of Stanbic IBTC Bank, Mrs Sola David-Borha assured the public that the company would carry out the function meticulously. She also stated that the bank would enlighten the public on the issue of bonds and ensure best practices are upheld, pointing out that the capital market was deep and could accommodate shocks or turbulence.
In September, JP Morgan Chase- the world’s biggest underwriter of emerging market debt – announced in August that it would be adding Nigeria to its Government Bond – Emerging Markets index (GBI-EM) as of October, fueling investor interest in Nigerian bonds. The addition of Nigerian bonds to its GBI-EM index fueled investor-buying and predictions that the inclusion will attract up to $1.5 billion to the country.
