A financial expert on Monday, expressed optimism that the Nigerian capital market and indeed the economy would experience increased activities with innovative macroeconomic policy in 2017.
Dr Glenn Prince-Abbi, the Chief Executive Officer, Espera Global Corporation, made this remark in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
Prince-Abbi said innovative macroeconomic policymaking with strong strategic insight would provide the platform and delivery system to improve economic activities, including the capital market.
He expressed optimism that there would be improvement at the Federal Government level in 2017, going by the various fiscal policy measures being articulated to stimulate the economy.
Prince-Abbi also stated that Nigeria’s foreign reserves would likely improve in 2017 with sustained stability in crude oil production output and through a progressively diversified export revenue structure.
“Along with this, real sector performance will improve, productivity growth will register and the GDP growth will rise,” he stated.
Prince-Abbi observed that the Federal Government’s planned investments in infrastructure would further stimulate this process and open up relatively new growth pathways.
“The economic contraction that we have currently will gradually reverse and the capital market itself will therefore fare better,” he stated.
On how to sustain the capital market, he urged the operators and investors to look more at the medium and long-term investment windows rather than being caught by the syndrome of short-term speculative actions.
He explained that short-term speculative actions could harm the market and do nobody any good.
“Smart investment in all climes and times requires strategic thinking; it requires long views and wider planning horizons.
“This is the sophistication that investors, local and foreign, must bring to the market.
“I propose strongly that operators, regulators and all stakeholders must work together to build and raise the sophistication of the second largest capital market in Africa.
“The recent interface with the London Stock Exchange and all the expressed intentions of synergy and integration are good signs.
“Well-developed and sophisticated capital markets can generate an infinite mix of economic benefits, spanning job creation, productivity growth and improved macroeconomic stability.
“This is what we need at this stage in the Nigeria’s economic situation and this is what we need to take firm and measured steps in 2017,” Prince-Abbi said.
According to him, events in the last couple of weeks show substantial improvements to make one anticipate brighter prospects in the market.
The economic expert said that the market downturn was due to the low crude oil price, as a principal factor in 2015 that affected the Nigeria’s foreign reserves.
Prince-Abbi added that it also gave the naira a battering among international currencies in 2016.
He added that the anti-corruption war and the Niger Delta militants’ massive destruction of crude oil pipelines, contributed to the development in the market.
The financial expert explained that these incidents created a massive shortfall in the country’s planned crude oil production output and export earnings and a fall in the nation’s currency.
Prince-Abbi stated that low crude oil price earnings combined with lower production output further affected the Nigeria’s foreign reserve, as a commodity-dependent economy. (NAN)