Securities regulation in an emerging market, a comparison between Nigeria and Canada

Abstract

The 1990s witnessed more than any other decade the 'struggle' to balance high standards and professional reputation with the pursuit of profitable opportunities in competitive markets. 'Emerging securities markets' have not been left out of these pressures. This thesis attempts to focus generally on the legal, regulatory and institutional environments for investments in African emerging securities markets, with a particular emphasis on the Nigerian securities industry. Within this framework, the primary focus will be on the extent to which the Nigerian securities legislation provides for the protection of investors and market integrity in the Nigerian capital market. Noteworthy is the fact that these 'new frontiers' in most instances adopt regulatory norms and structures applicable to more developed markets, with little cognisance of their peculiar environmental and operational contexts. My study also attempts to determine how far the Nigerian securities industry can best adopt, and benefit from, established ethical practices in the more mature and developed Canadian securities industry, in hopes of avoiding otherwise negative consequences in the course of Nigeria's development and potential enormous growth in both its institutions and its laws. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)