Market News

BY Temitope Aina

Experts and policymakers have lauded the Investment and Securities Act 2025, describing it as a significant move that positions Nigeria as a major player in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

In a statement made available to our correspondent on Thursday, the landmark legislation, signed into law by the Federal Government in March 2025, empowers the Securities and Exchange Commission to oversee digital assets, virtual asset service providers, and tokenised securities.

This new law brings much-needed clarity to an industry that has long operated in a legal grey area.

The Director-General of the Nigeria-China Strategic Partnership, Joseph Tegbe, emphasised the importance of leveraging Chinese technology, particularly in the digital asset market and knowledge transfer, during an event on the subject recently.

He assured the audience that NCSP is committed to supporting Nigeria’s capital market, which will benefit from the digital RMB, a Chinese digital currency.

Tegbe revealed that Nigeria has already attracted over $30bn in investment commitments and 300 expressions of interest from various Chinese companies.

He also announced that Nigeria is set to sign a pact with China for a Digital RMB, which would allow the Naira to be directly converted to the Chinese Yuan, reducing the country’s reliance on the US dollar.

The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, represented by the Commissioner for Finance, Abayomi Oluyomi, shared that Lagos is preparing to monetise idle assets and issue a green bond to fund infrastructural development, making it the first sub-national in the country to do so.

Oluyomi also revealed that the state is developing a securitisation policy to convert its idle assets into liquidity to support infrastructure projects.

Additionally, masterclass convener Nicholas Okoye underscored the importance of digital transformation in driving the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which he believes will create monumental wealth for investors, institutions, and nations.

According to Okoye, digital asset markets will allow Africa to reflect its wealth position accurately for the first time, creating new opportunities for wealth generation regardless of one’s vocation or location.

The PUNCH reported that key stakeholders in the Nigerian capital market have lauded the newly signed Investments and Securities Act 2025, expressing strong confidence that the legislation will significantly deepen market integrity and expand investment opportunities within the nation’s financial ecosystem.