London Stock Exchange Provides $26bn for African Companies in 10 Years

• London Stock Exchange Provides $26bn for African Companies in 10 Years

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) has provided $26.1 billion for African companies in the last 10 years, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr. Oscar Onyema has said.

Onyema disclosed this while speaking at the third “London & Lagos Capital Markets in Partnership’ conference held at the LSE at the weekend.

According to him, eight Nigerian companies were among those that benefitted from the international capital raising on the LSE, noting that more African companies (112) are listed in London than any other international exchange.

The 112 companies, he said, have a combined market capitalisation in excess of $200 billion, the largest concentration of African quoted companies outside of Johannesburg.

Out of these companies, eight companies listed on London Stock Exchange Group(LSEG) markets with their primary area of business in Nigeria with a total market capitalisation of $6.5 billion.

Onyema said the collaboration between NSE and LSE has assisted in giving international visibility to these companies.

He has therefore restated the commitment of Nigerian bourse to the collaboration.

Onyema said in November 2014, LSE Group and NSE signed a capital markets agreement aimed at supporting African companies seeking dual listings in London and Lagos.

“This made significantly more efficient the listing and trading of ordinary shares of Nigerian companies listed in London, as well as those of United Kingdom (UK) companies on the Nigerian market. Seplat, the oil and gas business, raised $500 million in an Initial public offering (IPO) via this new mechanism in 2014, and was the first company to simultaneously dual list shares in London and Nigeria,” he said.

Also speaking, the CEO, LSE Nikhil Rathi said the conference was a reflection of the global investment community’s strong desire to be a part of the Nigeria story.

“As the world’s most international exchange, we are ideally positioned to build on the success of existing dual listings in Nigeria and London, boosting global investor awareness of the country’s exciting growth trajectory. Our strong partnership with the NSE allows us a unique opportunity to showcase the rapid developments in Nigerian capital markets and the Nigerian economy,” Rathi said.

In his speech, United Kingdom Minister of State for International Trade, Greg Hands said:”I know from my own time in Nigeria that the UK and Nigeria have long enjoyed a close and prosperous business relationship. The UK is one of Nigeria’s largest investors and the Government is committed to boosting trade between our two countries. We are actively helping British companies export to Nigeria and Nigerian businesses to locate and expand in the UK. I welcome this initiative as a further step to deepen the commercial links between our nations.