By Chinwendu Obienyi
Having satisfied the listing requirements of the Nigerian Exchange Limited as well as obtained relevant regulatory approvals, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Group Plc, recently listed its shares on the main board of the stock exchange. This means that the NGX Group is now listed in the Financial Services and Capital Market Infrastructure sector of the exchange, with the ticker “NGXGROUP” with a total of 1,964,115,918 shares admitted to trading.
According to the NGX market bulletin, the group’s listed price was at N16.15 per share as of when it was admitted and the volume of shares traded stood at 3.56 million units which was exchanged in 31 deals. By this, the group has added about N34.86 billion to the market capitalisation of the exchange.
Furthermore, the group also revealed that the new price of its shares will be traded at N17.75 per share while adding that the listing will enable a much wider universe of potential investors and market participants to share in its growth journey.
Commenting on the listing, the Group Chairman, NGX Group Plc, Otunba Abimbola Ogunbanjo said,the listing of NGX Group on NGX is another milestone attained pursuant to the Group’s 2018 – 2021 corporate strategy.
He explained that the group’s shareholder base has more than doubled since its demutualisation in March 2021 and added that its valued shareholders will benefit from the enhanced liquidity that listing on the exchange will facilitate.
Ogunbanjo said, “This listing will also enable a much wider universe of potential investors and market participants to share in our growth journey. As a Board, we embrace the letter and spirit of the listing requirements and we are committed to transparent disclosure, proactive stakeholder engagement and exemplary corporate governance.” Corroborating him, the Group Managing Director, NGX Group, Oscar Onyema, stated, that the listing of NGX Group on the nation’s premier exchange, will enable institutional investors globally as well as the Nigerian public to invest in NGX Group Plc.
Onyema noted that with strengthening market dynamics, serving the largest economy in Africa, NGX Group’s listing allows the group to expand in key capital market infrastructure verticals and look beyond Nigeria’s borders, even as it delivers on its growth plans to become Africa’s leading capital market infrastructure group.
When quizzed on the group’s dividend policy plan, Onyema said, “We just completed demutualisation which meant that there will be liquidity for shareholders through a transparent and efficient exchange with significant market depth. Going forward, the group’s board is engaging its entities to develop a dividend policy and each entity will translate the dividend which will be distributed to shareholders.