CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Stock Market is viewed as a medium to encourage savings, help channel savings into productive investment, and improve the efficient and productivity of investment. The emphasis on the growth of stock markets for domestics‘ resource mobilization has also been strengthened by the need to attract foreign capital in non-debt creating forms. A viable equity market can serve to make the financial system more competitive and efficient. Without equity markets, companies have to rely on internal finance through retained earnings. Large and well established enterprises are in a privileged position because they can make investment from retained earnings and bank borrowings, while new companies do not have easy access to finance. Without being subjected to the scrutiny of the stock market, big firms get bigger, and for the emerging smaller companies, retained earnings and fresh cash injections from the controlling shareholders may not be able to keep pace with the needs for more equity financing which only an organized market place could provide. The corporate sector would also be strengthened by the requirements of equity markets for the development of widely acceptable accounting standards, disclosure of regular, adequate, and reliable information. While closely held companies can camouflage poor investment decisions and low profitability, at least for a while, public held companies cannot afford this luxury. The availability of reliable information would help investors make compares‘ of the performance and long term prospects of companies; corporations to make better investment and strategic decisions; and provide better statistics for economic policy makers.
Success in capital accumulation and mobilization for development varies among nations, but it is largely dependent on domestic savings and inflows of foreign capital. Therefore, to arrest the menace of the current economic downturn, effort must be geared towards effective resource mobilization. It is in realization of this that consideration is given to measure the development of capital market as an institution for the mobilization of finance from the surplus sectors to the deficit sectors. Levine (1991) showed a positive relation between financial stock market and economic growth by issuing new financial resources to the firms. The financial stock market facilitates higher investments and the allocation of capital, and indirectly the economic growth. Sometimes investors avoid investing directly to the companies because they cannot easily withdraw their money whenever they want. But through the financial stock market, they can buy and sell stocks quickly with more independence. An efficient stock market contributes to attract more investment by financing productive projects that lead to economic growth, mobilize domestic savings, allocate capital efficiently, reduce risk by diversifying, and facilitate exchange of goods and services (Mishkin 2001; and Caporale et al, 2004).