NASD to unveil new products, unlock investment in Real Estate and Co-operative Societies

NASD OTC Exchange Plc is planning to unveil some innovative products and unlock investment opportunities in the real estate and co-operative societies. This is a strategic move to deepen its activities in the Nigerian financial market.

Although details of the concept, structure and benefits of the new products are yet to be disclosed, Eguarekhide Longe, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, NASD said the leading OTC Exchange was awaiting regulatory approvals to make public the initiatives.

“NASD is focused on origination. To this extent we are driven by the need to be extremely innovative and propelled to drive inclusion of new business area We are going to conclude the delivery of a few novel products which we have applied to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for approval.

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“These products will help to unlock value in untapped areas of the Nigerian financial services sector and will broaden the Nigerian Capital market. As a hint, these products will touch upon the Real Estate and the much-untapped Nigerian Cooperative Societies. We see 2025 closing with a strong performance, if not stronger than 2024,” Longe said.

In an interactive session with some financial journalist in Lagos on Thursday, he stated that despite the inclement operating environment in 2024, the Exchange demonstrated resilience and recorded significant growth.

According to him, the NASD Securities Index (NSI), increased by 223.75 percent year-on-year (y/y), rising to 3,002.68 points in December 2024, from 927.77 points in December 2023. He stated that although the Market Capitalisation declined by 18.12 percent y/y, trading activities increased significantly by 127.31 percent while the value of trades also increased strongly by 176.72 percent y/y. Aradel Holdings Plc. constituted approximately 79 percent of the value of trading activity.

“Our market is an incubator for start-ups. This explains why despite the delisting of some large cap stocks like Aradel, which constituted about 79 percent on our trading value last year, we started on a strong note this year as our operating profit for first quarter (Q1) of 2025 hit N164.0 million, compared to a loss position of N44.1 million in Q1 2024. Furthermore, our unaudited profit for the period was N212.5 million, as against a loss of N32.7 million in the preceding year .

“The recent successful listing of the Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company Plc is a testament to NASD’s orientation to build its business around creating linkages within the economy that will deepen and broaden value. Q2, 2025 has commenced with a very positive month of April. We have maintained our business trajectory established in Q1:2025”, he said.

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“We realise the only way to grow most things is to build them. Economic development is about building things; whether it be brick and mortar construction, agriculture processing zones, the steel and foundries that are the bedrock of industrialisation, the logistics to move people around logically, and the social imperatives like education and healthcare. This is what NASD’s mission is to develop in the NigerianCapital market. We are also mindful of the fact that Nigeria requires a new tribe of investors.

“We see the CBN launch of the Non-Resident Bank Verification Number (NRBVN) as an invitation to a borderless Nigerian Capital Market, which we will promote and take virtuous advantage of to match liquidity with the content that we will be putting through our market”, said Longe.