FMDQ OTC targets N450 trillion transactions volume in 2017

• To roll out IPF scheme with N100 million seed capital

FMDQ OTC Plc has set a volume target of N450 trillion worth of transactions in the next three years.

  The company, whose turnover for 2014 hit N104 trillion mark, is projecting  turnovers of N125 trillion, N150 trillion and N175 trillion respectively for 2015, 2016 and 2017 financial years.

 Besides, the firm also unveiled plans to roll out Investment Protection Fund (IPF) scheme for investors this year, with seed capital of N100 million.

  Speaking during the company’s review of 2014 operations and outlook for 2015 in Lagos at the weekend, the Chief Executive Officer of the company, Bola Onadele, explained that the company has introduced key strategic initiatives and market transformation activities, aimed at improving the efficiency of the Over-The-Counter (OTC) market this year.

  He pointed out that while the company partnered Bloomberg e-bond trading system in 2014, the firm is working with Thomson Reuters for its foreign exchange transactions.

  He added that the firm is currently upgrading the facilities in order to take the Reuters system to a more surveillance system.

  “We currently have dealing members and registration members in FMDQ that can sponsor bonds to be listed in the platform. FMDQ is now a listed platform for bonds,” he said.

  He added that the implementation of the foreign exchange trading with Reuters will kick off this year.

  “We plan to institute IPF so that investors are guaranteed that the investors would believe in the system and know that they would not loose their money while trading. There will be no fear in bringing money to FMDQ to invest. We hope to promote our risk management programmes because the liquidity and transparency of this market is critical to what we do,” he added.

  The Divisional Head, Operations and Technology of the company,  Dipo Odeyemi, said the company’s 2015 initiative is focused on product and market development, technology and market infrastructure, improving transparency and price discovery and governance.

 Odeyemi explained that the company plans to introduce short-term note to enable investors to raise short term capital to fund their businesses.

He added that structures that would enable dealing members to consider the money value of various instruments while trading on securities would be put in place.

  This, according to him, would enable investors to price securities appropriately to avoid ‘losses and too much profit.

He said the company would integrate its trading system with the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS), adding that it would also introduce Euro clear that allows active trading to commence on Eurobond and other securities which are not currently actively traded in the Nigeria.

  “We would provide commercial trading system for non banks dealing members. The system would integrate non-bank and banks’ dealing members to trade together. We have deployed e-discovery solution so that the market would have access to price discovery and other members that are not banks can have access to pricing as instruments are being traded.

  “The market information portal would also provide a lot of information to members to make right decisions on securities and foreign currency. Fixed income indices would be upgraded in 2015. We have integrated non bank dealing members and we would provide trading platform to enable them trade with existing bank dealing members this year,” he added.