BY NKIRUKA NNOROM

The Federal Government, FG, has been enjoined to encourage the listing in the nation’s capital market of the Federal Mortgage Bank (FMB), Bank of Industry (BoI), Bank of Agriculture (BoA) and other government agencies that mobilize investment in the mortgage and agriculture sectors.

The President, Chattered Institute of Stockbrokers, Mr. Mike Itegboje, gave the charge in his contribution as one of the panelists who spoke on “How to Attract New Companies & How to Leverage New Instruments in the Capital Market,” at the 2012 annual capital market conference in Lagos.

Itegboje argued that listing those banks will open them to opportunity to access cheap funds from capital market to finance projects in their sectors as well as reduce the interest rate chargeable on loans.

“My own case is that if we have a Federal Mortgage Bank that is handicapped by cash and cannot appropriately give loans, why not list it in the stock market and make Nigerians shareholders. in the same breathe, they can now float bonds and use those bonds to fund their commercial business which is giving loans to intended house owners.

Minister of Trade & Investment, Olusegun Aganga

“For BoI, the Bank of Industry right now is getting funds from the federal government and cooperating with state governments to get fund to give to investors. Now, if it is also listed with Nigerians participating as equity holders, they can also float bonds that can give them more funds to give out to SMEs and other commercial ventures. The same for infrastructure,” he postulated.

Continuing, he stated, “It is interesting to know that in other parts of the world like China, the Bank of Industry, the Bank of Agriculture and all other agencies that have commercial aspect of their lives that impact the people are all listed in the stock market, including the shipping lines, the Ports and even the Airport.”

He further argued that developing and listing those agencies that presently depend on annual government budgetary allocation for survival was the fulcrum for the development and sustenance of the entire economy.

Itegboje insisted that listing of those banks would encourage the development products that will attract both local and foreign direct investments in those sectors.

According to him, venture capitalists will not commit their money to an businesses in these sectors when there is not exit route, which the capital market offers.

He said, “Venture Capitalists do not take money to where there are no ventures. So, if we have agribusiness that allows companies to come up, then venture capitalists can say, ‘okay, there is an asset here. If we put money here it will work.”