(Adds details, quote, shareholding)
By Chijioke Ohuocha
ABUJA, March 3 (Reuters) - The Nigerian Stock Exchange said
on Tuesday it had won approval from members to become a listed
company and had appointed a board of directors, paving the way
to offering shares to the public.
The exchange began changing its ownership structure from a
mutual company of stockbrokers in 2017, adding new shareholders
in a process known as "demutualisation".
It will now re-register as a profit-making entity owned by
shareholders, called the Nigerian Exchange Group Plc, with a
share capital of 1.25 billion naira ($4 million). It had been
operating as a not-for-profit entity.
It has not set a date for listing the new entity, in which
stockbrokers would will hold 78% of the shares. Ordinary members
will own the balance. Seven directors and five independent
directors have been appointed.
A separate subsidiary will be set up as regulator, to be
called NGX Regulation Limited, the exchange said.
"In furtherance of our plans, we will move to ... complete
all necessary registrations and seek the final approval from the
(Securities and Exchange Commission) to ultimately demutualise,"
Oscar Onyema, the exchange's chief executive said.
The exchange, the second biggest in sub-Saharan Africa and
one of the main entry points to invest in Africa, has around 200
listed companies, all included in its benchmark share index
Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), the continent's biggest
and most developed stock market, has been a listed company since
2006.
Nigeria is Africa's largest economy, but the equities market
has gone from being one of the world's best-performing frontier
markets to one of worst after currency restrictions and low
liquidity in 2015 deterred foreign investors.
This year, shares in the oil-producing nation had started to
rally. But fears that a coronavirus outbreak could hit demand in
China, one of Nigeria's major trading partners, have reversed
sentiment.
On Tuesday, stocks .NGSEINDEX rose 1.7% to 26,255 points,
recovering from an almost three-year low it reached the day
before The exchange has said it hopes that the demutualisation will
help it improve transparency and product development and deepen
the market, leading to greater inflows from foreign investors.
($1 = 305.9500 naira)