NASDAQ listed financial firm sees Nigeria commodity exchange opportunity

INTL FCStone a NASDAQ listed firm that provides specialized financial services in commodities, securities, foreign exchange and other markets is seeing opportunity for Nigeria’s fast evolving commodity market to become a driver of growth and diversification for the economy.

“Developing a functional commodities exchange will help Nigeria reduce its dependence on oil,” Stuart Ponder, INTL FCStone’s Senior Vice President EMEA, said in an interview with BusinessDay in Lagos.

“Banks can also contemplate better being able to lend to a wider range of people, especially those in the Agriculture and other industry by being able to manage such exposure better.”

INTL FCStone Ltd is a financial services firm, authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority in London, providing advisory, execution and clearing services to commercial clients seeking to mitigate exposures to FX, metals, energy and soft commodities.

It is a Category 1, Ring Dealing member of the London Metal Exchange, a full clearing member of ICE Clear Europe, CMECE, European Commodity Clearing AG and LCH EnClear, and offers clearing services on a host of global exchanges through group affiliates.

Ponder tells BusinessDay that the firm is willing to work with SRO’s (Self regulatory organisations), such as the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), and FMDQ OTC market place, regulators and banks to help develop Nigeria’s underdeveloped commodities and derivative markets.

To support Nigerian banks needing to broaden their understanding of derivative products and skills in hedging, the FMDA and INTL FCStone Inc. are bringing together a team of leading practitioners in the world’s major commodity markets and capacity-building specialists with experience in African financial markets to run a unique seminar that began in Lagos yesterday focusing on building skills in risk management for commodity-backed lending.

INTL FCStone Inc. had operating revenues of $490.9 million and total assets of $3.04 billion as at September 2014.

 

PATRICK ATUANYA