Follow Us on Google
By Chukwuma Umeorah
President, Association of Issuing Houses of Nigeria (AIHN), Kemi Awodein, has linked that the continued rise of Ponzi schemes in the country to the presence of idle capital seeking investment outlets.
To stem the tide, she has stressed the need to channel such funds into regulated products. Awodein said issuing houses remained central to guiding capital toward productive economic use, especially during Nigeria’s ongoing cycle of recapitalisation across major sectors.
Speaking at the AIHN annual Investment Banking and Awards Dinner in Lagos, Awodein said the banking sector recapitalisation programme was a major driver of the surge in equity transactions recorded in 2024. She noted that issuing houses were instrumental in delivering the mandates that supported equity offerings, mergers and acquisitions, and debt issuances throughout the year. According to her, “despite the headwinds that we saw in the economy in 2024, there were still people who were looking to raise capital, there were still people who were looking for partners to conclude M&A with, and there were still people who were looking for capital, and so they were raising debt.”
Awodein added that confidence among issuers and investors ensured that deal flow remained steady even when macroeconomic indicators appeared fragile. She also said the recapitalisation exercise had now extended beyond the banking industry. “Recently, the insurance sector has announced capitalization. The pension sector has announced capitalization, so there will be a lot more activity in the equity space,” she said. With interest rates moderating, she expects more corporates to return to the debt market to fund operations and expansion.
She also addressed competition within the investment banking ecosystem, saying issuing houses continue to push for mandates that bring companies to the market. “We all compete with each other for these mandates, and I think what it does is that it just continues to spur my colleagues in the industry to do better,” she said.
NGX Chief Executive Officer, Jude Chiemeka, said issuing houses remained critical in supporting capital formation across asset classes, especially during the recapitalisation cycle. He emphasised the role of technology in expanding retail investor participation, citing the NGX Invest digital platform, which shortened the timeline for public offers. “Before that time, we had less than 300,000 retail active investors in our market. But because of that technology, I mean, currently we have almost 850,000 active retail investors in our market,” he said.
Chiemeka said declining interest rates and improving economic indicators offer issuers room to seek long-term instruments. He added that securitisation and municipal bond programmes expected from next year will broaden financing options for corporates and subnationals. According to him, the NGX, as a multi-asset exchange, has facilitated N7.3 trillion in capital raised across various instruments and expects increased activity as the economy strengthens.
Former AIHN President and Group Managing Director of Afrinvest, Dr. Ike Chioke, said Nigeria’s macro indicators had recorded notable improvement, with inflation moderating from the mid-30s to the mid-20s, interest rates trending downward, and the exchange rate stabilising from almost N2,000/$ to around N1,450/$. He added that external reserves had risen above $43 billion, reinforcing the country’s economic outlook. “I believe that the momentum is in favor of Nigeria outperforming,” he said, referencing recent favourable actions by international ratings agencies.
Chioke said the equities market remained an attractive platform for investors, with market capitalisation at about N140 trillion and year-to-date gains of nearly 50 percent. He advised investors to prioritise fundamentally strong companies and emerging sectors such as fintech and infrastructure, which stand to benefit from improving macroeconomic conditions. He also identified Lagos as the strongest subnational in market access due to its full PENCOM compliance.
Representing Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, former Commissioner of Finance Abayomi Oluyomi said the state government would continue improving the business environment for capital market operators. He said Lagos would strengthen infrastructure, ease transaction processes, and support product design that meets local needs. He encouraged the investment community to fund startups and sustainable ventures to expand economic opportunities.
