Nigeria’s contradictory regulations scaring away investors – Experts
Experts and investors in Nigeria’s financial market have decried contradictory regulations by the Federal Government, saying they are scaring away local and foreign investors.
They noted that regulations from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and other legal and regulatory bodies run contradictory, create uncertainty, and leave investors confused and hesitant to make investment in the country.
Speaking in Abuja at the African Financial Market Conference (AFMC 1.0) with the theme, “demystifying the digital markets in Africa”, the experts called on the Federal Government to streamline all regulations to make them clear and concise.
Simon Lee, CEO Tripeak, a Hong Kong-based fintech company speaking at the conference which was organised by TradelandFX said, “The rules of regulation are very contradictory, for example, the CBN will say one thing, the legal department will say something else, and there will be a third viewpoint. With these competing viewpoints, you have this confusion, people don’t know what to do.
“As an investor, if you have all these doubts and uncertainty, you can’t move forward because when you want to invest big, there’s a lot of risk. So if you streamline the regulations, even if it is very strict and tough, if you make it very clear and concise, investors can move forward, they will know what to expect, they will not be afraid that maybe in five months, somebody will change the rules.”
Lee further stressed that trading in the financial market requires a reliable power supply. According to him, “the first thing that needs to be solved in this country is to provide reliable and consistent power to ensure trading in the financial market.
Amarachi Ihechirimadu, director of Tradelandfx, said Africa was lagging in terms of leveraging technology in the financial market, noting, however, that TradelandFX has come to Africa to bridge that gap.
She explained that TradelandFX aims to teach Africans how to become independent by investing in the global financial market.
“When you Google Africa, you see a lot of poor people, people that are hungry, the standard of living and cost of living is so low, there’s inflation, among others. So, it’s all about compound interest, and creating other channels that would generate funds.
“That’s what TradelandFX really came to Africa for, and that is why we have this conference.”
Speaking further, she said, “a lot of people hear of the financial market, they hear of digital finance here, fintech and they are confused. And, for foreign exchange, people have gotten bitten not once, not twice because they have been giving their money to people to trade on their behalf. But, now, technology has come in to make it so easy,” she added.
Ijudaye Shettima, a trading specialist at TradelandFX, said the conference was aimed at equipping Nigerians to become digital savvy, master digital finance to create long-term wealth for themselves. She noted that the conference drew experts who have been trading for over two decades to impart relevant skills to participants.
Sam Oladipo, a trading expert, said there was a move from conventional trading in Africa, hence, the conference will enable people appreciate the need to leverage technology and make money conveniently.
