• Secures N7.74 trillion new listings
Nigerian Exchange Group Plc has announced plans to deploy a technology application that would ensure that the proposed banking recapitalisation and various capital raising exercises in the market are delivered digitally.
At the 63rd yearly general meeting of the NGX Group, held in Lagos yesterday, the Group Managing Director, Temi Popoola, said the priority of the Holdco is to ensure that the subsidiaries work in synergy and align in terms of strategy to create value for shareholders.
Shareholders at the meeting approved plans by the group to raise additional capital of N10 billion by way of rights issued to existing shareholders to boost its business operations, alongside a final dividend of N1.5 billion, translating to 75 kobo per share. NGX group had earlier declared an interim dividend of N495.53 million, culminating in 25 kobo per share, bringing the total dividend payout for the 2023 financial year to N1.
Popoola said: “There is a digital journey that the exchange is trying to run, which the holdco is driving. In our market, we talk about listings, we talk about the deeper market, one big gap is technology, the broader financial market consumes technology, on your smartphone you can open an account in one minute, why can’t we have it in our market.
“We want to make sure that for the first time, in the history of our market, every single one of this capital raising, public offer or rights issue is digital and how do we drive that, the operating exchange can speak freely to the assisting company, the CSCS for example and the entities speak to the registrars through technology. We would be launching very soon an application that would allow this public offer to be distributed to any Nigerian as long as you have a bank account,” he said.
Reviewing its performance, Popoola said the group secured N7.74 trillion in new listings during the period with FGN bonds accounting for over 85 per cent of the figure.
According to him, the federal government listed 64 FBN bonds translating to a market value of nearly N6.98 trillion, overshadowing the listings from corporate bodies and the Lagos State Government which stood at N486.22 billion and N274.14 billion respectively.
Popoola said that the trend not only validates the market resilience but also emphasizes its critical role in offering viable investment opportunities that help navigate through economic realities.
He pointed out that the group posted gross earnings of N11.8 billion, representing a 57.4 per cent rise when compared to N7.5billion achieved in the corresponding period in 2022. He said the upturn was due to its dynamic revenue stream, in addition to a significant uptick in transaction fees by 52.6 per cent.
He added that its strategic investment yielded a 5.4 per cent increase in treasury investment income.
The Charman, NGX Group, Umaru Kwairanga said by vigorously monitoring the performance of its business segments, Holdco guarantees the effective and efficient execution of NGX Group’s strategic initiatives.
He added that this oversight is pivotal to maintaining its position as a leader of Africa’s financial market, driving innovations and delivering exceptional services to investors.
