Economic development: Korean govt reveals how it will collaborate with Nigeria

The Republic of Korea has pledged to continue effective collaboration
with Nigeria to ensure the nation attains its economic development
goals.

Ambassador of the Republic of Korea, Intae Lee, stated this in a
goodwill message at the official opening of a Seminar on the
Operations and Regulations on Derivatives Market in Nigeria under the
Knowledge Sharing Programme, KSP held at the Head office of the
Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC in Abuja Wednesday.

The KSP which is on "Capacity Building on Operation and Regulation of
Financial Derivatives Markets in Nigeria", is based on the following
topic areas: Development of Nigerian Derivatives Market, Operation,
Surveillance, and Supervision on the Derivatives Market, Monitoring
and Surveillance on Derivatives Market of Nigeria and Establishment of
ICT infrastructure for Financial Derivatives Market.

The Ambassador said the ceremony envisages the bright future that the
two great nations will continue to build together, particularly in the
area of economic and developmental cooperation. With that vision in
mind, he said Korea has abundant developmental knowledge and
experiences to share with Nigeria.

According to Intae, "The Knowledge Sharing Programme represents what
Korea has to offer the world. Once a poverty-stricken-country, the
Korean people have built one of the most thriving market economies.
Korea now also boasts the 11th largest economic growth country in the
world.

Through the KSP, Korea is going to share with Nigeria the recipes for
the success of our derivatives market. Through this program, I
sincerely hope Nigeria to become the financial hub of the entire
African continent, not just of West Africa. Through the KSP, Korea is
now offering the secrets behind our success to Nigeria so as to walk
together the paths toward greater prosperity, affluence, and success.

He expressed confidence that the launching of the first KSP project
will serve as a cornerstone for the bolstered economic cooperation
between the two countries in the future.

In her remarks, Acting Director-General of SEC, Mary Uduk, expressed
appreciation to the government of the Republic of Korea on the
programme, saying it will assist greatly in developing the derivatives
market in Nigeria.

Uduk said the country will not have a viable derivatives market
without building the capacity of the regulator and other stakeholders,
adding that the KSP will provide an opportunity to further develop the
capital market in Nigeria.

The Acting DG also disclosed that the Commission will welcome any
collaboration with the Republic of Korea to drive to digitalize
operations in the Commission and the market.

"The entire capital market is embracing financial technology and here
at the SEC we are working on automating our processes to improve our
regulatory work and we are open to collaborations to make this
happen," She added.