By NKIRUKA NNOROM

The Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, has threatened to take legal action against any vendor or institution that carries out further distribution of its market data without registering with the Exchnage and paying the accompanying fees.

Chief Executive Officer, NSE, Mr. Oscar Onyema, gave the warning, Friday, at a stakeholders’ interactive forum to give an update on market data distribution.

Market data in this regard include data generated from the NSE on day-to-day basis, which include the price list of the listed securities, the volume, value and general figure emanating from the Exchange.

Onyema noted that a lot of investment had gone into the NSE’s technology upgrade, manpower education and various other processes that ensure that the market data are processed and made available to the public, saying that it would amount to intellectual theft to distribute such intellectual property without completing the necessary requirements.

Specifically, he stated that to date, NSE has spent over $10 million in securing its new trading engine –Horizon – which would be in place by fourth quarter of the year, while saying indiscriminate distribution would undermine the value of the data.

He explained that the electronic media would be required to pay $4,500 per annum to display the real time data, while they would need to pay $3,000 for delayed data. He also said the exchange will charge $25,000 and N1.2 million per annum for those seeking to redistribute real-time international and local data, respectively.

He said, “NSE provides free access to data on its website. As long as you are not distributing, you can access it without paying any fee. Anyone who wants to distribute it must sign an agreement with us and a licence fee paid. The fee allows you to use the data the way you want.

“What we are trying to do is to provide structure and standardise the re-distribution of data so that investors that want to use the data will know exactly what they are getting, when they are going to get it and the quality of what they are getting.

“Currently, the NSE is allowing the print media and dealing member firm to distribute the price list without paying any fee, but an agreement needs to be signed.”