Nigerian stock exchange members back flotation plan

By Alexis Akwagyiram
LAGOS, Nov 18 (Reuters) - The Nigerian bourse won approval
from its members on Wednesday for a stock market flotation that
will turn the exchange into a publicly traded company and
position it as a gateway for foreign investment.
The exchange received backing for the listing at its annual
meeting, it said, paving the way for share offerings to the
public. It will not be issuing new shares in the listing.
"We believe we can become a financial hub for Africa and
with the backing of our stakeholders ... this objective can
become a reality," said Nigeria Stock Exchange CEO Oscar Onyema,
who is also group CEO under the new structure.
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 has re-registered as a profit-making entity owned by
shareholders, called the Nigerian Exchange Group Plc. It had
been operating as a not-for-profit entity.
The approval allows the exchange to list 2 billion ordinary
shares of 0.50 naira. It has not set a date for the listing, in
which stockbrokers will hold 78% of the shares.
The bourse, the second biggest in sub-Saharan Africa and one
of the main entry points to invest on the continent, has around
200 listed companies, all included in its benchmark share index
.NGSEINDEX .
Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), the continent's biggest
and most developed stock market, has been a listed company since
2006.
Nigeria has Africa's largest economy, but the equities
market has seen sell-offs this year after dollar shortages
caused by the impact of COVID-19 hit confidence and deterred
foreign investors.
But stocks have been rising since October after the central
bank cut interest rates the previous month to spur growth, and
as local funds piled into equities due to low bond yields. The
index has so far risen 27.6% this year.