SEC Signs MoU with Morocco to boost market development

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with its Moroccan counterpart, Autorite Marocaine Du Marche Des Capitaux (AMMC). This is the first step towards achieving an effective cross border market policing between the two jurisdictions and enhanced market development through leveraging mutual comparative advantages.

The MoU, signed on the sidelines of the Nigerian- Moroccan bilateral talks during the visit of King Mohammed VI of Morocco, will serve as a platform for regulatory cooperation and information sharing between the two capital market regulators, according to SEC.

“The bilateral discussions covered a wide range of issues aimed towards deepening the mutual relationship between the two Countries. These included agriculture, aviation, immigration, banking, capital markets and the extractive industries, among others,” said SEC.

SEC Director General, Mounir Gwarzo, signed the MoU on behalf of Nigeria while Ms. Nezha Hayat, CEO, AMMC initialed for Morocco. “It is interesting to note that as members of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) which holds cooperation and integration as a cardinal objective, Nigeria and Morocco ordinarily have a platform to enter into bilateral agreements such as this as provided in the 38 IOSCO principles. The involvement of the governments of both countries at the highest level is therefore a mark of the high premium placed on the importance of the capital market to the economic growth and prosperity of the two nations.

For Nigeria, this is a welcome development as it presents an opportunity to leverage the progress achieved in the Moroccan market to enhance especially the delivery of a few of the objectives of the 10 – year Capital Market Master plan.

This, for example, is especially as relates to deepening the asset management space of the market, an area of comparative advantage for Morocco. The SEC Nigeria will also be understudying the advancements achieved by Morocco in growing the green capital markets which was the fulcrum of the COP22 conference recently held in Marrakech which focused on fostering green capital markets in emerging economies.