The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) says it has reduced the time required for companies to obtain approval for offers from one year to 14 days.
In a statement on Monday, the commission said approvals would be granted within two weeks once all necessary documents are complete.
SEC said the initiative is aimed at enhancing efficiency in the capital market and positioning it to better support economic development.
”The capital market is the life and blood of any economy and of course, this is actually regulated by time. So, one of the first things we have tackled since we came was to reduce the time to market,” the commission said.
”Therefore, I can proudly say that we have reduced the time to market from over a year to fourteen days.”
SEC noted that issuers no longer face prolonged delays in their applications due to improved mechanisms that ensure swift processing and timely approvals.
As part of the banking recapitalisation exercise, the commission said banks raised over N2.2 trillion from the capital market using the electronic offering (e-offering) platform.
“All of these transactions have been fully subscribed and we have encouraged the use of technology,” SEC said.
”They used the e-offering platform meaning you do not have to use paper anymore to apply in this market. We hope to get better by the day.
“Technology is the in-thing, the ISA 2007 has provided for that. The NGX has an e-IPO system and that has been proven to be very effective.
“All of the offers that came within this period were approved within 14 days as promised.”
The commission reiterated its commitment to leveraging technology in its operations throughout the year and ensuring continued investor protection and market development.
