NSE Market Cap Rises to N14.288tn on Airtel

• NSE Market Cap Rises to N14.288tn on Airtel

The Nigerian Stock Exchange came alive on Tuesday after a long period of bearish trend as Airtel Africa listed shares on the exchange.

The listing bolstered market outlook just as it was witnessed during MTN Nigeria Plc debut in May.

Airtel Africa boosted market Capitalisation of listed equities from N12.909 trillion on Monday to N14.288 trillion on Tuesday, adding N1.36 trillion to the Nigerian equity market.

The NSE All-Share Index grew slightly by 0.10 percent to 29,318.02 basis points, up from 29,287.87bps it closed on Monday.

Airtel Africa listed 3,758,151,504 ordinary shares at N363 per unit to emerge the second telecommunication company to be listed after MTN NG.

Mr Oscar Onyema, the CEO, NSE, who was obviously delighted by the listing, said: “Listing on the Exchange reaffirms Airtel Africa’s long-term commitment to expanding opportunities and providing everyday services to Africans and Nigerians in particular.

“It also indicates the firm’s belief that our platform, which has a total market capitalisation of N25.20tn across various asset classes, remains a veritable avenue for raising capital and enabling sustainable national growth.

“This listing serves to deepen the telecoms and technology sector for investors and provides an opportunity for a wider group of Nigerians to be part of the African telecoms growth story.”

The company’s shares gained 10 percent after the listing and it is now the third largest stock by market value — N1.36 trillion or $4.4 billion — on the NSE.