Despite the continuous fall in the prices of Nigerian stocks, the Sierra Leone Stock Exchange has indicated interest to cooperate and partner with the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in the area of capacity building and manpower development.

The Executive Director, Sierra Leone Stock Exchange, Mr. Mohammed Jalloh said the global financial crisis which rocked the United States and other European countries should serve as a lesson to the African continent in terms of formulation of policies that would ensure regional integration and effective management of the continent's resources.

On the areas of partnership with the NSE, he said: "We are looking at manpower development and capacity building which is very important because a Stock Exchange could only be efficient if its manpower are well equipped with international best practices. We also want to leverage on the experience of the NSE on how to handle issues relating to the stock market since we are an emerging market."

Jalloh who paid a courtesy visit to the Exchange in an interview with Vanguard said: "We have seen the impact of the global meltdown on the economy of the United States and Europe; we have also seen what they are doing to salvage the situation.

I am sure that this would not last for long because it is not the first time that they are experiencing this type of crisis, but the most important thing is that we are not directly affected. But the lesson we have to learn from their experience as Africans is that it should serve as a basis for us to get prepared for such crisis in the future."

On the purpose of his visit to the NSE, he said that it was part of efforts aimed at ensuring the efficiency and stability of the Sierra Leonean capital market which according to him, is expected to begin trading activities soon. He pointed out that the NSE is an efficient capital market within the region, and as such, its important to other stock Exchanges cannot be over-emphasised. He said: "We decided to come to Nigeria to study the operations of the Nigerian capital market and gain some experience on how the NSE had been operating over the years."

He explained that the need to set up a Stock Exchange in Sierra Leone was conceived in 2001 adding that a lot of consultations and feasibility studies were made by international financial agencies.

According to him, "In 2004, the Commonwealth of Nations led by Mr. Maruf Yusuf came to Sierra Leone to look at the legal, regulatory and other frameworks required to set up the Stock Exchange. We have taken the effort further which is why we have come to Nigeria to seek assistance in terms of capacity building and operational experience."

He pointed out that companies have already been prepared for listing since there was an operational Over-the-Counter market where the shares of these companies were traded.

He added that the need to have a formal trading structure where stocks could be effectively traded necessitated the setting up of the stock market in Sierra Leone.

While speaking on the level of development of the Nigerian capital market, Jalloh said "Despite the current trend in the market, the Nigerian capital market is still efficient and is highly rated because of the fundamentals of the companies being listed on it. That is why it is a reference point for us and we want to use it as a model of how the Sierra Leonean Stock Exchange should be".