Joseph Besong: “We Will Continue To Protect Investors”

Secretary General, Financial Markets Commission

What challenges investors faced that prompted protection?

Some of the challenges have been the behaviours of some participants in the marketplace. First of all, you have to look at companies; if you see the corporate governance of a company then you will be sure that investors will not be actually protected, because they are usually the minority shareholders. If you don’t protect the minority shareholder adequately then things can go in any direction. Remember in early 2000 we have the situation of some two companies where real actors of the companies manipulated figures and that led to the collapse of these companies and investors lost their lifetime savings. The role of the Financial Markets Commission is to protect the interest of the investors at the time of buying of securities. We have to be there from the beginning to the end to protect them, that is the role.

Talking about protection, will you become a police officer behind the investor?

We are not police behind business people. We have rules and regulations like the police and we make sure that people follow them. In particular, we want to make sure that they disclose adequate information on their shares and securities to the public. To make sure the investors und...