The Managing Director of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Mr. Ahmed Kuru, has assured stock market stakeholders that the corporation will not dump its stocks into the market for now.
AMCON was set up in 2010 to stablise the financial sector after the global meltdown of 2008 and 2009. In the process of stabilising the sector, AMCON bought some assets including equities of listed companies. There have been apprehension that if AMCON should decide to offload those shares in the stock market now, its current bear state would worsen.
But speaking during a visit to the NSE in Lagos on Monday, Kuru said the corporation did not have the intention of selling its equities in the next 12 to 16 months.
He said: “It is not even in our interest to dump our shares now because the market has gone down. So what we are trying to do now is to work in partnership with the management of the NSE and see how we can restructure the companies in such a way and manner that we do not dump the shares. We will do it in line with the activities in the exchange so that we follow the growth path. We can be releasing the stocks that we are holding so that we not disrupt stability of the market,” Kuru said.
According to him, AMCON management will sit with the management of the NSE and take a long term view of the stocks the agency is holding so that they do not lose value.
“We have to work with the management. Working together with the exchange so that we can help the market to grow,” he said.
Kuru explained that although some of the assets are facing challenges as a result of the current economic headwinds, the objectives of AMCON is bring the companies back to life.
“Our objective is how to bring some of those companies back to life. The economy is a bit tough for all of us. Everybody is challenged right now. Once you know what the issues are, you will be able to come up strategies that will allow you to come out of the situation. AMCON is looking at the various companies, analyse the issues and find how to revive them,” he said.
