Fixed income market to witness increased activities, says NSE

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has expressed optimism that the fixed income market would experience increased activities on account of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Chief Executive Officer, Oscar Onyema, dropped the hint yesterday at a virtual event to mark the 10th anniversary of Brand Africa 100.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quoted him saying the Federal Government would embark on a lot of borrowings to finance the budget due to the adverse effect of the novel coronavirus on the global economy.

According to Onyema, government would shift away from Eurobonds to domestic borrowings with significant emphasis on fixed income.

“We expect government and corporate companies to raise capital using different platforms, and capital market is one of it,” he said.

The NSE boss observed that the market would not witness any initial public offering (IPO) anytime soon due to the narrative around the COVID-19 scourge.

Speaking on the topic, “Impact of COVID-19 on African financial markets”, Onyema admitted that the disease had affected governments, businesses and individuals in so many ways.

He added that the bourse witnessed a lot of volatility with the largest single day loss of five per cent at the wake of the pestilence.

Onyema acknowledged that a lot of foreign investors exited the market in February when the first case of coronavirus was reported in Nigeria.

He said the NSE, which emerged as the highest stock market in terms of returns having finished with 7.5 per growth in January, slid into negative territory due to the epidemic.

The chief executive added that the market had showed some ‘tremendous’ recoveries across all asset classes.

He submitted that investors were redirecting their investments into the capital market that offers higher returns owing to exchange challenges and fall in the price of crude oil at the international market.