Experts list factors against market’s growth in H1 2019

The pre-elections’ development, policy implementation slowdown and sell-offs by foreign investors in 2018, will slow growth in the stock market in this first-half (H1) 2019.Besides, the monetary tightening by members of the frontier markets, will play a part in the projected developments, the Chief Economist and Advisory Partner at Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PWC), Andrew Nevin, has said.

“Overall, key drivers for the market from H1 2019 include commodity prices; exchange rate movement and stability; and inflation rate”, Nevin said in Lagos, at the breakfast meeting of Association of Corporate Treasurers of Nigeria (ACTN).The forum was for the Corporate Treasurers to have an in-depth discourse on the possible impacts of the business environment within the year and ways of restoring confidence in the financial markets.

The Chairman of Interim Council, ACTN, Zeal Akaraiwe, noted that the association fosters the interests of corporate treasurers in Nigeria, by providing a platform for policy advocacy, discussions on issues of mutual interest, education and standard development of the corporate treasury function.

Akaraiwe, who is also Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Graeme Blaque Advisory, said that as part of the efforts of the association towards the education and enlightenment of its members, it regularly host breakfast meetings where issues on economic policies as well as policy directions and their impacts on the activities of the corporates are reviewed and discussed with regulators, economists and financial markets experts as lead speakers/discussants.