PEARL Awards urges government to attract more listings with incentives

Government have been urged to roIl -out incentives that would attract multinationals and telecommunication firms to the nation’s capital market for listing.

A member, PEARL Awards board of governors, Biodun Adedipe, while addressing capital market stakeholders during the 20th PEARL Awards anniversary flag off and press conference held in Lagos yesterday argued that people respond to incentive, noting that a deliberate policy on incentive is needed to woo these multinationals and increase the number of firms listed in the nation’s bourse.

He said: “Like what the Indian did to the ICT industry, there was a deliberate policy of incentive and overtime they saw the result. We can not compel them but we can give them incentives and people respond to incentives.” He said.

Also speaking at the event, the President, Institute of Directors Nigeria, Mrs Eniola Fadayomi corroborated that multinationals should be granted some incentives in order to approach the stock market for listing but however added that government should also compel those that would not want to list with the incentives.

Fadayomi, who is also a member of the board of PEARL Awards said: “Government should make it in form of ‘stick and carrot’ especially when issuing licenses to these companies. It should be taken as a condition for them to list”, she added.

Speaking on the 2015 PEARL Award, the President, Tayo Orekoya explained that this year’s award would be determined, using globally accepted parameters which include turnover, growth, return on equity, earnings yield among others.

He pointed out that in addition to the newly created awards in the special honorary awards category, the awards would include the three main competitive categories, adding that four new award category has been added to the existing ones, bringing the number of awards to eight.

“It is worthy of note that a very formidable central working committee whose media and publicity sub-committee put together this flag off has been constituted. The committee is desirous to make this year’s award more successful than previous editions”

He, however, stressed the need for the regulators to intensify efforts on investors’ education and enlightenment, adding that it would go a long way to boost investors’ confidence in the market.

“It must be pertinent to state that investors’ confidence must be fully restored to enhance the growth and development of the capital market. To this end, active investors sensitization and education is essential to further restore investors’ confidence in the market,” He added.