Protocol:-

Let me begin by expressing our appreciation for the warm welcome from you and your team.

The world recognises Brazil for its flair and exploits in the beautiful game of football but there is so much more to admire and say about your unique history and the progress that the Federative Republic of Brazil has achieved in its over two hundred years as a sovereign nation. You have one of the most diverse ecosystem and population in the world. Your country has been able to utilise the abundant natural and human resources you are blessed with to build an economy that leads South America and is recognised as a leading economic powerhouse, a manufacturing titan and a key  driver  of the world's economy. 
 
There are many similarities between Brazil and Nigeria. Just like Brazil leads South America, Nigeria has a diverse and hardworking population that is the largest in Africa. We also are fortunate to be blessed with a diverse ecosystem, clement weather, and abundant natural and human resources. Nigeria's economy is driven by small and medium scale enterprises, but there is a large public sector with government owned enterprises controlling significant portions of the economy.

In terms of exchanges, Nigeria has several but the first and foremost is the Nigerian Exchange Group which was founded more than Sixty Years ago and presently has over Four  hundred listed companies/securities and a market capitalization of almost 100 Trillion Naira. This is small compared to the capitalization of your board, but we are determined to increase our products, list many more companies, and multiply our numbers with the assistance/partnership of you and other exchanges, also entrepreneurial investors from around the world who recognise our potential. 

The Nigerian Stock Exchange as I said earlier, was established more than Sixty years ago but it was just four years ago that we transformed from a mutual organisation limited by guarantee to a for Profit Public Company owned by and run for the benefit of thousands of shareholders. That transformation has come with various challenges in areas such as governance and regulation, technology, market expansion, product development, cost optimisation, and profitability.

The B3 Exchange has a history of over one hundred years but has constantly updated its structure, regulations, and technology to stay ahead of the curve. That is why you have been able to attain a market cap of around a Trillion dollars with many excellent listed companies and millions of retail and wholesale investors.

We are confident that we can learn from B3 Stock Exchange's experience and success in establishing a vibrant online trading system, instituting world class regulation and driving growth in listing. I believe you have probably tackled and surmounted similar challenges to the ones we face, and so we look forward to learning from your experience and partnering with you to move forward very quickly. 

In a highly competitive, fast evolving borderless world, we think that engagements and collaborations will determine the survival and growth of exchanges such as ours and that there are many areas for  cooperation between the B3 and the NGX.

So, we are here to share; learn and to partner with you and look forward to tremendous benefits from both sides at the end of this visit.

Thank you.

Alh (Dr) Umaru Kwairanga 
Chairman NGX Group.