OPENING REMARKS BY ALH (Dr) UMARU KWAIRANGA NGX CHAIRMAN AT THE BOARDS OF DIRECTORS INTERACTION VISIT BETWEEN THE NATIONAL STOCK EXCHANGE OF INDIA (NSE) AND THE NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE (NGX) ON MONDAY 16th AND TUESDAY 17th DECEMBER 2024 AT NSE HEADQUARTERS, MUMBAI, INDIA.
Let me begin by expressing our appreciation for the warm welcome from you and your team.
There is so much to admire and say about the progress that the nation of India has achieved since its independence and most especially in the last decade.
With a large diverse population, your nation has overcome many challenges and is now recognised as an economic powerhouse and the future driver of the world’s economy.
That success is mirrored in the National Stock Exchange which has in a little over three decades of its establishment become one of the world’s leading exchanges with a market capitalisation of over Five Trillion Dollars.
There are many similarities between India and Nigeria. Nigeria has a diverse and hardworking population in Africa that is the largest in Africa and its economy is driven by small and medium scale enterprises.
It is a contrasting picture for our exchanges as the Nigerian Exchange is older than yours but it is smaller in terms of the number of listed companies and market capitalisation.
So, we are here to congratulate you on your success as a nation and an Exchange but, more importantly, to learn from your experiences as a vibrant, innovative, technology driven exchange in a bustling economy.
The Nigerian Stock Exchange was established more than Sixty years ago but it was just over three years ago that we transformed from a mutual organisation limited by guarantee to a for Profit Public Company owned by and run for the benefit of thousands of shareholders.
That transformation has come with various challenges in such areas as governance and regulation, technology, market expansion and product development and cost optimisation and profitability.
We know that the NSE has most probably tackled and surmounted similar challenges and so we look forward to learning from your experience and partnering with you to move forward very quickly.
In a highly competitive, fast evolving borderless world, we think that engagements and collaborations will determine the survival and growth of exchanges such as ours and that there are many areas for co-operation between the NSE and the NGX.
So, we are here to share; learn and to partner with you and look forward to tremendous benefits from both sides at the end of this visit.
Alhaji (Dr) Umaru Kwairanga
Chairman NGX Group
