Regulatory Alerts2009-09-15
The Investments and Securities Act, 2007
This Act repeals the Investments and Securities Act of 1999 to establish the Securities and Exchange Commission as the apex regulatory authority for the Nigerian capital market, aimed at enhancing investor protection and market efficiency. It introduces comprehensive regulatory frameworks for market infrastructures, including securities exchanges, capital market operators, and collective investment schemes, while specifically tightening rules on mergers, acquisitions, and take-overs. Furthermore, the legislation institutes rigorous corporate governance standards, including mandatory internal control reporting for public companies and the establishment of an investor protection fund to mitigate risks.
THE INVESTMENTS AND SECURITIES ACT, 2007
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
The Act, amongst other things, provides for- (a) the establishment of Securities and Exchange Commission; (b) the repeal of the Investments and Securities Act 1999; (c) the enlarged powers and functions of the Commission over the capital market ; and (d) a set of new market infrastructures and wide-ranging system of regulation of investment and securities business in Nigeria, especially in the area of Mergers, Acquisitions and Take-Over, and collective Investment Schemes, where new provisions were made.
[Full text contents follow the structure of the Act, which covers the establishment and management of the Commission, regulation of market operators, securities registration, corporate responsibility, and the establishment of an Investors Protection Fund and the Investments and Securities Tribunal.]