Aduragbemi Omiyale
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
In the first quarter of 2022, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited attracted $4 billion in Eurobonds, N1.701 trillion in domestic bonds and equities from the federal government and corporate organisations.
These debt instruments and stocks were listed on the platform to provide investment options to investors in the nation’s capital market, deepening the landscape, improving liquidity and tradability, as well as increasing access to capital to fund growth initiatives.
Under the NGX’s bond market, the Federal Government of Nigeria dominated issuances, raising about N589.05 billion locally and listing $4 billion in Eurobonds.
Corporates also leveraged the low yield environment to fund expansion objectives and pursue debt refinancing, raising a total of N35.3 billion.
In the equities market, NGX started the year with the landmark listing of BUA Foods’ 18 billion shares listed at N40 per share, adding N720 billion to the NGX market capitalisation.
Abbey Mortgage Bank also listed its right issue of about N3.028 billion, while Access Holdings, following its merger and acquisition listed new shares of 35.545 billion shares valued at N353.675 billion.
It is no secret that capital is critical for business growth either in form of debt through bonds, or equity through shares. The exchange, as an important component of the capital market, therefore plays a significant role in the capital formation process because of the tremendous opportunities that ensue from its activities.
It is expected that a thriving bourse will continue to mobilize long-term savings to finance long-term investment by providing risk capital in the form of equity or quasi-equity to entrepreneurs, a role NGX continues to prioritize.
It will be recalled that NGX highlighted five major focus areas in 2022 in its efforts to deepen access and attract a new generation of investors to the market.
The Chief Executive Officer, NGX, Mr Temi Popoola, said the exchange would drive its growth in 2022 by focusing on five strategic areas, including building on digital transformation, listings and delistings, technology, partnerships and sustainability.
He noted that 2021 was a historic year for the bourse as the former Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) completed its demutualisation process, following statutory approvals from the Securities and Exchange Commission and Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
Mr Popoola said NGX would seek to consolidate its historic status with a new verve of digitisation by creating innovative and automated access to the market while ensuring the overall quality of listed companies and ease of the capital-raising process.
According to him, the exchange would deploy strategic initiatives to attract financial technology (Fintech) firms to the stock market, including the launching of a Nasdaq-style board for the listing of tech companies.
“Today, there is a lot of capital raising from tech companies globally. Our market can be a source to raise this capital. SEC has already taken the lead. It will help to drive economic growth and mobilise capital from sectors of surplus to deficit,” Mr Popoola said.
He added that the NGX would also accelerate the digitisation of its processes and operations to attract more investors, especially the millennials and youths, who are increasingly turning to alternative investment options.
He said NGX would work to integrate the market with digital banks and other transactional channels in order to make the market a viable and accessible investment option to all investors.
Market enthusiasts continue to note with excitement the moves NGX is making in this regard and are gaining increasing confidence with the positive start recorded in 2022.
