Capital Markets

The stock market is the continent’s third largest by capitalisation after Johannesburg and Cairo. The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) includes a main board with 186 equities, a board dedicated to SMEs with 12 listings, and a single exchange-traded fund. While investors welcomed what they saw in 2010 as a fleeting recovery in markets, 2011 was more challenging, as it came on the back of sustained volatility in global markets and fallout from the 2008 margin lending crisis. However, regulators have seized on the crisis as an opportunity to restructure exchange fundamentals by improving transparency and governance, while a pipeline of new issues and instruments is being built. These could translate to significant opportunities for value investors. This chapter contains interviews with Oscar Onyema, CEO, Nigeria Stock Exchange; and Wale Agbeyangi, Managing Director, Cordros Capital. It also includes share analyses on six local firms, with information provided by Cordos Capital.