Business
Nigerian financial markets post healthy gains, but local investors still wary
“I will never put my money on stocks again. Experience they say is the best teacher,” he said.
Funke Bello, a 45-year-old civil servant, also lost out but has now dumped stocks for bricks and mortar to assure her long-term financial future. “I used to be active on market with thousands of stocks in blue-chip companies. I was making a lot of money in terms of capital gains until the crisis,” she said.
The losses she suffered forced her to withdraw her son from his school overseas.
Brighter Future
“I will not venture into stocks again. I am now into properties business. If you buy a house or a plot of land today and decide to sell it tomorrow, it will be at a good margin,” she said.
One senior manager at the stock exchange said the future looked brighter for the market on the back of strong economic indicators for the country as a whole. The economy is predicted to grow at a rate of 7 percent, the naira is stable against the US dollar, inflation is at a manageable 7.9 percent and interest rates are favorable for savings and investment.
“A lot has changed since the global recession,” said the official, who requested anonymity. “Investors are also enjoying high returns on investment due to impressive performances of quoted companies,” he said.
