Mr. Lamido Yuguda, the Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), clarified that it was too soon to gauge how the return of the tax refund would affect corporate bond investments.

“For any asset class, investment is a function of many considerations, tax is just one part of the consideration,” Yuguda told reporters after the second virtual capital market committee meeting. Even if it is merely a portion, it is a crucial factor, particularly in cases where the tax rate is high.

Given that this only occurred this year, it is far too soon to determine if the fall or rise in corporate bond investments has truly had something to with the tax rebate.

“We believe that the tax rebate should be reinstated because the tax is a very important factor, and the market agrees. We have been working with the tax authorities and the fiscal authorities to advocate for that return to status quo,” he said.

Additionally, Yuguda reiterated the importance of capital market stakeholders stepping up their adoption of the Electronic Dividend Mandate Management System (eDMMS) in order to lower the amount of unclaimed dividends in the industry.