NNPC, Dangote petrochemicals listings will boost market cap, says NGX chair

Umaru Kwairanga, chairman of the Nigerian Exchange Group, says the federal government has expressed commitment to sell a stake in the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.

According to NAN, Kwairanga spoke at the weekend while delivering a keynote address at the ‘For the Love of Our Country (FLOC)’ 2025 symposium, held at Bayero University, Kano.

The NGX chairman said Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals would soon be listed on the exchange.

Kwairanga said major listings in the oil and gas sector, “such as the planned sale of a stake in NNPC Ltd and the anticipated listing of Dangote Petrochemicals”, would significantly boost market capitalisation.

He said digital innovation is a key driver of market participation, citing the launch of NGX Invest, a digital platform for primary market offers and financial literacy campaigns targeting youths, students, and members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

The NGX chairman said there are ongoing engagements with institutional investors, such as pension fund administrators and mutual funds.

He also said sophisticated products like exchange-traded funds, derivatives, and ethical investment instruments are being developed.

Kwairanga said efforts are underway to integrate African capital markets through cross-border linkages, allowing investors in Nigeria to trade shares listed on exchanges in countries like Ghana and vice-versa.

“We are confident that Nigeria will have the broader, deeper, and more sophisticated capital market it deserves before the end of this decade,” he said.

Kwairanga said the group is committed to deepening Nigeria’s capital market in alignment with President Bola Tinubu’s vision of growing the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) to $1 trillion by 2030.

He said challenges such as declining disposable income, infrastructural deficits, and global economic headwinds could be surmounted.

According to the NGX chairman, the all-share index (ASI) rose from 48,837 basis points to 111,742 basis points, while market capitalisation grew from N26.375 trillion to N70.463 trillion by May.

He said bond markets were included, with total market capitalisation now at over N121 trillion.

“This growth shows that we have more than doubled the indices of both our equity and bond markets in just over two years,” Kwairanga said.

“However, our goal is even more ambitious as we work towards making the capital market central to achieving a $1 trillion economy.”

The NGX chief said the capital market is strategically important for financing long-term infrastructure, encouraging the formalisation of businesses, and reflecting the nation’s true economic potential.

He said Nigeria’s market capitalisation remains less than 20 percent of Nigeria’s GDP compared to South Africa’s Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), which exceeds its national GDP.

To address this, Kwairanga said the NGX group and its regulators, particularly the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), have implemented several initiatives to enhance market transparency and efficiency.