The Federal Government said it would encourage state governments to raise long-term funds from the capital market to finance capital projects. It said rather than the states looking at the banking sector to raise funds, the capital market would be assisted to play its role in economic development.
The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, stated these at a meeting with stakeholders in the market, led by the Chairman, Capital Market Master Plan Council, Mr. Olutola Mobolurin.
Adeosun said the assistance to be given to the state governments in raising funds from the capital market had been captured in the Fiscal Restructuring Plan, which was already approved by the National Economic Council.
She said, “There is a very aggressive plan to develop housing; the capital market is sitting at the root of financing the sector and we have to find a way to unlock it “We need to create the instruments; we need to de-risk certain sectors; we need to look at procedures. At the moment, we are working on the fiscal sustainability plan and one of the things that we are saying to the state governments is that we want to take you away from the banks.
In the same vain, the Capital Market Master Plan Implementation Council also met with, the Minister of State, Ministry of Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, said it was critical to mainstream the capital market opportunities into the national economic planning policy framework so as to maximise the benefits for the nation.
The minister said that the capital market can provide long term funding to build infrastructure, create jobs and reduce poverty. She said that the government would develop a 25-year economic development plan and float $25 billion infrastructure fund, adding that the capital market would be reached for partnership.
