Operators of the Nigerian capital market have revealed listing the country’s telecommunications companies on the nation’s stock exchange (NGSE), coupled with the unbundling of the national electricity company, Power Holding of Nigeria (PHCN), could increase the economy’s value to 20 trillion naira (US$127 billion) and an index exceeding 40,000 points by December.
According to the capital market experts, Nigerian communications service providers and the PHCN are capable of sustaining the positive trajectory.
Nigeria’s capital market opened low at 6.513 trillion naira in market capitalization and 20,671.06 in index at the beginning of trading on January 3, 2012. It closed the year on Monday December 31, 2012 at 8.974 trillion naira and 28,078.81 basis points. This indicates a year-on-year gain of about 2.5 trillion naira.
However, there is a growing concern that the Nigerian capital market might relapse to losing the upward trend hinging on the fact that foreign investors largely dominate the Nigerian market, and may decide to offload their stakes (70 percent of the capital market) in stocks traded at the market.
None of the country’s mobile operators, which include giants MTN, Eitsalat and Bharti Airtel, are currently listed on the NGSE and few reasons have been given for why that is the case.
But Ariyo Olusekun, President of Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), and Mustafa Chike-Obi, Managing Director of Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), are confident the nation’s capital market will still take its pride of place if the on-going reforms in the economy and the attendant improvement in regulatory capacity are anything to go by.
Olusekun predicted the market could record about 20 trillion naira increment in capitalization. By merely listing certain companies in certain sectors of the economy, he said the All-Share Index which is an assessment of stocks performance could increase to 40,000 basis points by December.
