*400 companies to list on NSE
Peter Egwuatu
& Michael Eboh
4 December 2011, Sweetcrude, Ijebu Ode – The Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, has kicked against the decision of the Federal Government to delay the listing of public companies on the stock exchange after their privatisation.
This is even as the NSE said that over 400 companies have indicated their readiness to list on the secondary segment of the Nigerian capital market.
Speaking at the 2011 national workshop of the Capital Market Correspondent Association of Nigeria, CAMCAN at Ijebu Ode, Ogun state, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, NSE, Mr. Oscar Onyema, represented by Mr. Bola Adeeko, Chief of Staff, NSE, said the Federal Government should direct the Bureau of Public Enterprise, BPE, to ensure that government’s holding in the soon-to-be privatised companies are listed on the NSE immediately they are privatised.
He said listing the companies on the NSE will drive the growth of the Nigerian capital market and contribute in the quest of ensuring that the market becomes a barometer of the Nigerian economy.
Furthermore, Onyema stated that listing the privatised companies will create a sense of belonging among Nigerians
He also called for an enabling law that will encourage telecommunications companies like GSM service providers, upstream oil companies and multinational companies among others to list on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
He noted that getting this companies to list on the NSE will help promote the national interest perspective and ensure that Nigerians are seen to be benefiting from the wealth of these companies.
On the over 400 companies set to list on the NSE, Onyema said the companies’ decision to list was borne out of a series of discussions between them and the NSE.
The planned listing, according to Onyema, is also an indication that confidence is returning to the market.
He explained that of the over 400 companies, a number of them says they will list within the next one year while others said they would approach the market to raise funds to help shore up their capital base and expand their operations.
He, however, said that the NSE will not force companies to come list or delist, noting that the capital market is a free market with free entry and exit.
The NSE boss reiterated that bringing new companies to the exchange remains one of the core focus of the NSE in the next couple, adding that this is in line with its broader goal of emerging as the gateway market for the African continent within the next five years.
