The Nation Newspaper

Category: Equities

  • Stock Exchange lists Nigeria’s $1b Eurobond

    Stock Exchange lists Nigeria’s $1b Eurobond

    The Nigerian capital market recorded a milestone yesterday with the listing of the $1 billion Eurobond issued by the Federal Government on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). The $1 billion FGN Eurobond issued under Nigeria’s newly established Global Medium Term Note programme is the first foreign currency denominated security to be listed and traded in the Nigerian capital market.

    The $1 billion Eurobond has a tenor of 15 years with redemption in 2032 and a coupon rate of 7.875 per cent. The issue was oversubscribed by 780 per cent, prompting the Nigerian government to set in motion process for a supplementary issue of $500 million.

    Director General, Debt Management Office (DMO), Dr Abraham Nwankwo, said the listing of the Eurobond demonstrated the commitment of the DMO and the government to democratize the enefits of government debt issues so that the general Nigerian investing public can have the opportunity to participate in the value creation.

    “We want to create access, we want to create inclusiveness,” Nwankwo said, adding that government is committed to deepening the domestic capital market.

    He pointed out that the net proceeds of the Eurobond would form part of the funding for the 2016 capital expenditures as outlined in the national budget, assuring that Nigerians will see the benefits of the foreign debt issuance in the areas of key infrastructure projects.

    He assured that the government has enough monitoring agencies to ensure that the net proceeds from the debt issue is used in line with the stated objectives and the overall economic plan of the government.

    He also noted that the government would also continue to be mindful of the crowding out effect of its domestic bond issue, pointing out that the decision to shift the larger portion of debt issue to the international market was a deliberate attempt to decelerate domestic issuance and allow corporate issuers to take more advantage of the market after it has been developed by the government.

    In his remarks, executive director, market operations and technology, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr Ade Bajomo noted that Nigeria’s infrastructural gaps have long been identified as probably the core constraint limiting the realisation of the country’s economic potential.

    According to him, the achievement and sustainability of Nigeria’s growth and developmental objectives depends on a well-functioning and efficient capital market; enabling aggregation of – and access to – long term capital to support business and developmental needs.

    He reiterated the commitment of the NSE to supporting the government in achieving its developmental objectives by continuous innovation and championing the growth of the Nigerian capital market.

    “The Exchange offers issuers access to a highly diversified investor base, deep pools of capital, a wide and growing breadth of products to meet their specific business financing needs, as well as global visibility to support their corporate ambitions; whilst also ensuring adequate protection, transparency, and liquidity to investors,” Bajomo said.

    He pointed out that as a foreign-denominated instrument, the Eurobond will trade and settle in Dollars, its currency of issuance; thus setting the foundation for multicurrency capital raising and trading in the domestic market, which will open up hybrid capital raising options and create additional portfolio diversification opportunities for investors.

  • Med-View Airlines mulls IPO to raise funds

    Med-View Airlines mulls IPO to raise funds

    Med-View Airlines Plc plans to launch its initial public offering (IPO) in the second quarter of the year to raise new equity funds to expand its operations.
    Med-View Airlines on January 31, 2017 listed its entire issued share capital on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). A total of 9.75 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each were listed at N1.50 per share.
    Managing Director, Med-View Airlines, Alhaji Muneer Bankole, said the company would in the next three months float its IPO to raise additional funds and allow more investors to buy into the company.
    According to him, the airline would by April expand its operations to Francophone countries within the West African states.
    Bankole said the airline would expand its operations to Dakar, Senegal; Conakry, Guinea; and Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire in the next two months, noting that the airline has already commenced, Lome, Togo route.
    “We are in the market not to do anything extraordinary but to let all Nigerians know that there is something to grow together. This is a private entity that starts from zero. The durable, profitable and safest business you can do is transport. To carry cargo from Lagos to Abuja is 45 minutes; London is six hours; even by ship you will be there for three months. It is the only way you can move people and communicate to the next neighbor,” Bankole said.
    He said the aim of the airline was to connect all the West African states before expanding its operations to Europe and America.
    According to him, the airline will also commence Lagos-Dubai route in April, which has been in pipeline for over two years while the Baltimore, Washington DC in United States will start soon.
    “We are increasing our financial capacity in the area of growth. We are discussing with partners to acquire more aircrafts that we will bring back home to be able to increase our capacity,” bankole said.

  • SEC hails conviction of illegal operator

    SEC hails conviction of illegal operator

    Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Nigeria’s apex capital market regulator, has described the conviction of an illegal investment scheme operator, Mariam Moses Ventures Limited, as a warning to operators of illegal schemes.
    The Federal High Court, Kaduna division, had handed down a five-year imprisonment term against one Moses Samanja, managing director of Marian Moses Ventures Ltd. The court also ordered that the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) should wind up the company and use the funds in its accounts to restitute its clients.
    Mariam Moses Ventures Ltd was convicted for soliciting and collecting deposits from unsuspecting members of the public with unrealistic return on investment without any registration by SEC or the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
    “The conviction of this illegal operator serves as warning to perpetrators of illegal investment schemes that regulators will not ‘fold their arms’ in the fight against the activities of illegal fund and investments managers,” SEC stated.
    The Commission advised the investing public to always demand a SEC Registration or CBN licence before making deposit or subscribing to any scheme being promoted by any firm.

  • UPDC alerts investors to possible losses

    The Board of UACN Property Development Company (UPDC) Plc has alerted the investing public that the real estate company would record materially lower earnings for the immediate past business year, euphemism for negative bottom-line that could deny investors dividends for the second consecutive business year.
    Audited report and accounts of UPDC for the year ended December 31, 2015 showed that group revenue dropped from N11.70 billion in 2014 to N5.12 billion in 2015. Profit before tax stood at N30.76 million as against N3.54 billion in 2014. With this, the company could not declare dividend for the 2015 business year.
    The board of UPDC, a member of the UAC of Nigeria (UACN) Group, in a regulatory filing signed by the company secretary, Godwin Samuel, stated that it has “carried out a preliminary review, subject to audit, of the management accounts of our company for the year ended 31st December, 2016 and expect to report materially lower earnings”.
    UPDC’s share price dropped by 3.77 per cent or 8.0 kobo to close at N2.04 per share at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) as investors yesterday reacted to the profit warning. UACN, the parent company, also dropped by 4.97 per cent or 75 kobo to close at N14.35 per share.
    According to the board, the decline in earnings was mainly as a result of the recognition of losses on certain projects and impairment of investments in one joint venture project occasioned by significant increase in finance costs.
    “The results were further worsened by foreign exchange losses and the negative performance of our hotel asset,” the board stated.
    The board however assured that despite the continued lull in the real estate sector occasioned by the headwinds of the macro-economic environment, the fundamentals of the business remain strong, adding that UPDC is being restructured and repositioned to better deal with the challenges of the times and explore emerging opportunities.
    The profit warning could negatively impact the capital raising being planned by the real estate company. The Nation had recently reported that UPDC plans to raise about N5.2 billion new equity funds from its existing shareholders to reduce its debt burden and provide supportive capital for long-term growth.
    A source in the know had indicated that UPDC plans to undertake a rights issue of about 1.72 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at a price of N3 per share.
    According to the source, the qualification date for the rights issue was Thursday January 19, 2017 and the shares will be pre-allotted on the basis of one new ordinary share for every one ordinary share held as at the qualification date.
    The rights issue price of N3 per share represents a premium of 47 per cent on UPDC’s market price of N2.04 at the start of trading today. This makes the secondary market more attractive than the rights’ shares. Traditionally, rights issue is usually offered at lower-than-market price as a form of bonus and incentives to shareholders.
    An analyst stated that the UPDC’s rights price of N3 implies that the directors of the company and their professionally advisers believe that the company is undervalued at the secondary market.
    UPDC has already applied to the Quotation Committee of the NSE, which oversees new issues and listing, for the approval of the rights issue.
    Key extracts of the nine-month report of UPDC for the period ended September 30, 2016 showed that the real estate company recorded profit before tax of N132.95 million in the third quarter of 2016 as against pre-tax loss of N109.76 million in comparable period of 2015. Tax provision of N109.18 million in 2016 however depressed net profit after tax to N23.77 million, still a significant recovery from the net loss of N109.76 million recorded in third quarter 2015 when the company did not provide for tax due to the losses.

  • New investors acquire Universal Steel

    A group of new private investors has acquired Universal Steel Limited, transferring the ownership of the 50- year-old Ikeja, Lagos-based steel company to a new generation of private investors.
    Investment One Financial Services, a leading financial services firm in Nigeria, acted as sole financial adviser and arranger and brought together a group of private investors to complete the acquisition following the decision of the core investors to sell the company.
    Universal Steels Limited is a leading steel manufacturer with over 50 years of operations in Nigeria. At its peak, the company had an installed capacity of 120,000 metric tonnes per annum at its 10 hectare- production facility located within the Ikeja Industrial Scheme, in Ogba, Lagos.
    However, the company’s previous shareholders took a decision to wind down its operations and dispose of its assets. Following the acquisition of the assets, Universal Steel will be wound down by the previous shareholders.
    Group Chief Executive Officer, Investment One Financial Services, Nicholas Nyamali, said Universal Steel was a reputable company with track record in the steel industry.
    “We are very pleased to have led the execution and completion of this transaction, as Universal Steel is a reputable company with a long track-record in the domestic steel production industry.
    We are also very pleased with our ability to arrange private investors to complete the acquisition in record time despite the tough liquidity and economic conditions in the country today, ” Nyamali said.
    Managing Director, Investment One Capital Management, a division of Investment One Financial Services, Ademola Aofolaju, said the involvement of Investment One in the transaction was in line with the company’s strategic drive to provide specialist support to clients and investors seeking to make or exit long-term investments in critical sectors of the Nigerian economy.

  • Consumer stocks lead equities to N74b loss

    Leading fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs) companies yesterday headlined the decline at the Nigerian stock market as the sixth consecutive decline worsened the average year-to-date return at the market to -6.86 per cent.

    With leading FMCGs such as Nestle Nigeria, Nigerian Breweries, Guinness Nigeria and Unilever Nigeria dominating the top 10 losers’ list, the NSE Consumer Goods Index declined by 3.3 per cent. This overshadowed considerable bargain-hunting for other stocks.

    Despite preponderance of gainers to losers at 15 to 14, aggregate market value of all quoted equities on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) dropped by N74 billion to close at N8.663 trillion as against its opening value of N8.737 trillion. The All Share Index (ASI), the main benchmark index, also dropped from 25,244.29 points to close at 25,032.17 points, representing average day-on-day decline of 0.84 per cent. The sustained depreciation further built up investors’ losses so far this year to an average of 6.86 per cent of their portfolios.

    Nestle Nigeria, Nigeria’s highest-priced stock, led the losers with a loss of N24.40 to close at N600. Nigerian Breweries, Nigeria’s second most capitalised quoted company, followed with a loss of N5.93 to close at N112.82. Guinness Nigeria and Unilever Nigeria dropped by N1 each to close at N64 and N34 respectively. Other top losers included CAP, which dropped by N1.57 to close at N30.43. Zenith Bank declined by 60 kobo to close at N15.14. Eterna lost 17 kobo to close at N3.24 while Vitafoam Nigeria and Access Bank dropped by 10 kobo each to close at N2.08 and N6.70 respectively.

    Most sectoral indices also showed widespread sell pressure on large-cap stocks. The NSE Banking Index dropped by 0.75 per cent while the NSE Insurance Index and NSE Industrial Goods Index dropped by 0.2 per cent each. However, the NSE Oil & Gas Index rose by 0.84 per cent.

    Total turnover stood at 144.88 million shares valued at N1.91 billion in 2,868 deals. DN Tyre and Rubber was the most active stock with 21.2 million shares valued at N10.6 million. Sterling Bank followed with 16.7 million shares worth N11.7 million while Access Bank placed third with 14.4 million shares valued at N96.5 million.

    Meanwhile, Forte Oil broke away from its recent losing streak to lead 14 others on the gainers’ chart, rising by N2.70 to close at N56.70. PZ Cussons Nigeria followed with a gain of 57 kobo to close at N12.16. GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria added 50 kobo to close at N14.75. Ecobank Transnational Incorporated gathered 30 kobo to close at N9.80 while Dangote Flour Mills rose by 13 kobo to close at N4.10 per share.

    “We expect the current bearish mood to prevail further. However, the market is trading within an oversold region, indicating a buyers’ market for medium to long-term. We may see accumulating action tilted towards the banking stocks ahead of their earnings release,” SCM Capital, a broker-dealer at the Exchange, stated.

  • Capital market seeks balance, efficiency in budget implementation

    Capital market experts have called for a balanced and efficient approach that takes into consideration the direct and indirect impacts of the national budget on the nation’s capital market in the implementation of the 2017 national budget and in the future preparation of the budget.

    They spoke at a seminar on the 2017 budget organised by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The seminar, the first of its kind organised by SEC, brought together experts with professional, policy and academic backgrounds and brainstormed extensively on the implications of the budget to the capital market in Nigeria. The theme of the seminar was: “The 2017 Budget of Growth and Recovery: Relevance, Implications and Perspectives of the Nigerian Capital Market”

    While financial experts noted with concerns that deficit financing could exacerbate the crowding out of private sector and increase costs of fund, they agreed that channeling deficit funding to critical infrastructure and a further restructuring of the budget with emphasis on capital projects would stimulate national growth and help to whittle down negative side effects.

    Experts also agreed on the need to harmonise fiscal and monetary policies in a way to engender national growth, noting that the high interest rate and the monetary policy stance of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) are at variance with the national growth agenda.

    Director General, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr Mounir Gwarzo, said the Nigerian capital market will play an important role in the economic recovery of the nation by fostering capital.

    Gwarzo noted that the primary concerns for investors, in regard to both the budget deficit and the public debt, are the two related issues of interest rates and inflation, pointing out that increasing levels of public debt and continuing budget deficits naturally lead to higher interest rates.

    According to him, the 2017 budget maintained substantially higher allocations for infrastructural projects and the capital market is in the better position to address Nigeria’s infrastructure deficit financing.

    He noted that Nigeria is currently experiencing the most challenging economic situation in its history and nearly every business in Nigeria is affected one way or the other by the current economic realities.

    The lead paper at the seminar was presented by Dr. Afolabi Olowookere, Head, SEC’s Economic Research and Policy Management Division while the panel of discussants include Dr. Ore Sofekun, Managing Director, Investment One Venture Capital; Mr. John Chukwu, Managing Director, Cowry Asset Management Limited; Dr. Biodun Adedipe, Chief Consultant, B. Adedipe & Associates and  Mr. Bayo Rotimi, Chief Executive Officer, Quest Advisory Services Limited.

    Afolabi observed that the expansionary 2017 budget is necessary to return the economy to the path of growth and recovery.

    According to him, in financing the budget deficit, the debt segment of the capital market would derive some immediate benefits while the performance of companies that produce and supply goods to government priority sectors will likely improve.

    He, however, noted that the process of financing the budget deficit will further crowd out private investment.

    “In the medium-to long-term, more companies and stocks will benefit though. But, this is conditional on government’s effectiveness in using the high expenditure and deficit to finance specific productive capital that will later raise private sector productivity,” Olowookere said.

    He said the equities market may likely post a positive return this year given historical trend with economic performances.

    Chukwu underscored the need to improve infrastructure with a view to reducing cost of production, noting that high cost of production and high cost of fund mean that Nigerian companies cannot sustain profitable production.

    He called for urgent review of the monetary policy stance of the CBN, noting that the apex bank is unwittingly working for the collapse of the banking system with its policy stance that encourages capital flight from banks and lending activities to the safety of high-yielding government securities.

    He said the apex bank should reduce the cash reserve ratio and monetary policy rate to support the growth agenda of the government.

    Adedipe called for further integration of the capital market into the budget formulation and implementation.

    He said the expansionary budget may serve as enabler for the economy because of its focus on infrastructure spending, which should enable the productive base of the economy.

    Rotimi added that a robust privatisation schedule could provide government with quick wins that would help to stem wastages and improve on national revenue and infrastructure.

    According to him, privatising several government corporate assets and corporations would free up government from the recurring leakages in the national account while putting the private sector in a better position to drive the economic growth.

    He noted the need to be cautious in debt accumulation, pointing out that the government should not only be interested in the debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio but also debt to revenue.

    “Even in borrowing, we need to be cautious to ensure proceeds from borrowing go to infrastructure and capital projects. Even beyond borrowing, government can explore other options in the areas of private public partnership,” Rotimi said.

    Ore stressed the need to optimise the potential of the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as engines of economic growth, calling for a more productive engagement with the private sector in the pre and post budget processes.

    She urged government to take a complete view of the funding requirements of SMEs under its intervention funding, noting that funding and incentives should go beyond machineries to other critical links in the production cycle to ensure the desired impact.

    At the end of the event, a communiqué was issued and adopted and to be circulated to the relevant authorities. Major highlight include the fact that government deficit financing ultimately increases cost of funds to the private sector and influences asset reallocation in favour of government securities, conscious efforts need to be made to drive initiatives that generally improve the financial performance of listed companies and by extension, performance of the equities market. The capital market needs to contribute to removing constraints witnessed by listed firms as these affect stock performance.

    The Federal Government has proposed a budget of N7.298Trillion for 2017 with an estimated N4.94Trillion of aggregate revenue available to fund the budget. The fiscal plan will result in a deficit of N2.36Trillion for 2017 which is expected to be financed mainly by borrowing. It is the intention of the Federal Government to source about N1.067 Trillion of this deficit from external sources while N1.254 Trillion will be sourced by borrowing from the domestic market.

  • Stakeholders assure on investor protection

    Against the background of the allegations against a major stock market operator, stakeholders in the capital market have assured investors of the safety of their investments.

    In various statements, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the regulatory body that controls the practice of stockbroking, the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS); the umbrella body for stockbroking firms, Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria (ASHON) and Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), all assured that the capital market has robust regulatory framework to protect investors.

    SEC assured that it would do everything within the confines of the Investments and Securities Act (ISA) 2007 and the Rules and Regulations made pursuant to the Act, to ensure the protection of investors and their investments.

    According to the Commission, there are established robust frameworks for investigating complaints received from investors as well as excellent enforcement mechanism that borders on zero tolerance to any form of infraction in the market.

    “The Commission imposes stiff sanctions on erring operators to serve as a deterrent within the limits permitted by law, while infractions with elements of criminality are referred to the law enforcement agencies for prosecution as provided under Section 304 of the ISA 2007. In furtherance of this, the Commission has developed a thriving partnership with the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to prosecute these matters,” SEC stated.

    Speaking at the listing of Jaiz Bank, NSE CEO, Mr Oscar Onyema, said authorities at the Exchange have implemented far-reaching transformational programmes that have improved market access and provided products that are aligned to investors’ requirements.

    He added that the introduction of several transparency initiatives such as BrokerTrax, X-Compliance, X-Whistle, Compliance Status Indicator symbols, X-Issuer and X- Alert among others, have brought significant sanity to the market place and provided for a fair and orderly market.

    The Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria (ASHON) stated that the  capital market is a well-regulated market with enhanced investor’s protection

    ASHON assured that no investor would suffer unjustly in the capital market as there are processes and procedures to ensure that their investments are safe.

    The association urged the investing and general public to go about their capital market activities without fear assuring that it would continue to work very closely with the regulators, trade groups and investors to protect the integrity of the market by ensuring that its members uphold utmost level of professionalism in all their activities.

    Also, the CIS reassured the investing public that the Nigerian stock market would continue to remain a safe investment platform.

    CIS President, Mr Oluwaseyi  Abe said  investor protection would always remain a top priority for both the regulators and operators in the  capital market.

    He said the CIS would continue to collaborate with the regulators to ensure that stockbrokers keep to the dictum: “My word is my Bond”.

    According to him, by global standard, the  stock market has put in place various devices and processes to reinforce investor confidence in the market.

    He urged investors to continue to take advantage of the array of investment opportunities in the  capital market as every rule and regulation is geared towards their maximum protection.

    The stakeholders were responding to ongoing investigation into alleged infraction by the Chief Executive Officer, Partnership Securities, Mr Victor Ogiemwonyi.

    After extensive preliminary investigation into the alleged infractions by SEC and NSE, Ogiemwonyi has been in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) at the instance of the NSE.

  • Access Bank sells pension stake to Stanbic IBTC

    Access Bank Plc has sold its 17.65 per cent equity stake in Stanbic IBTC Pension Manager Limited (SIPML) to Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, the majority shareholder of SIPML.

    Access Bank at the weekend confirmed the sale of its equity stake in SIPML, stating that it had secured all necessary regulatory approvals for the sale.

    Access Bank’s share price rose by 4.99 per cent to N6.94 at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) as investors responded at the weekend to the inflow of the extraordinary, non-operational income. However, Stanbic IBTC Holdings’ share price simultaneously declined marginally by 0.06 per cent to N17.80 per share.

    The divestment was in continuation of the sale of the non core banking businesses of Access Bank in compliance with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s new licensing regime. In 2010, the CBN repealed universal banking licences and issued the Regulation on Scope of Banking Activities & Ancillary Matters, No. 3 which became effective on November 15, 2010; prohibiting banks from undertaking non-banking activities.

    The regulation classified banking into three categories including commercial banking, merchant banking and specialised banking. Following this, Access Bank had opted to operate as a commercial bank with international authorisation and thus the need to divest its equities in its non-banking subsidiaries.

    Four banks including Stanbic IBTC, First Bank of Nigeria, First City Monument Bank and Ecobank Transnational Incorporated had chosen to form holding companies to hold their non-core banking businesses.

    Access Bank had in furtherance of the divestment earlier unbundled and distributed the bank’s equity stake in Wapic Insurance Plc to shareholders of the bank in proportion to their equities in the bank.

    According to the scheme of arrangement for unbundling and distribution of Access Bank’s 4.88 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each in Wapic, shareholders of Access Bank received proportionate equities in Wapic based on their shareholdings in the bank. The distribution was based on a determined allocation ratio of 4.69.

    The number of the scheme shares that each shareholder was entitled to was calculated by dividing the number of his shareholding in Access Bank by the allocation ratio.

  • Jaiz Bank lists N37b shares, to begin dividend payment

    Jaiz Bank Plc, Nigeria’s first non-interest commercial bank, recorded another milestone yesterday as the first non-interest financial institution to be listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) with the admission of the entire issued share capital of the bank to the main board of the Exchange.

    The listing of the Jaiz Bank’s 29.46 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N1.25 per share lifted the market capitalisation of quoted companies by N36.83 billion. The listing was done by way of introduction, implying that Jaiz Bank’s shares would now be available initially through the secondary market. A total of 356,000 ordinary shares valued at N445, 000 were traded in six deals immediately after listing.

    Speaking at the post-listing presentation on the company, chairman, Jaiz Bank Plc, Dr. Umar Abdul Mutallab, said the listing of the bank on the Exchange would open up opportunities to all Nigerians to be part of the ownership while providing liquidity to existing shareholders.

    He explained that while Jaiz Bank is based on the principles of Islamic finance, the bank is an equal-opportunity institution that provides services to all customers and employment to all categories of people irrespective of their beliefs, regions and ethnicity.

    He pointed out that the shareholders of the bank also cut across all segments of the country and beyond noting that the “Jaiz Bank is for all Nigerians” but the only difference is that the bank only finances ethical projects.

    Managing director, Jaiz Bank Plc, Mr Hassan Usman, said Jaiz Bank has over its five years of operations built up a reputation as a solid bank noting that the bank broke even in its third years of operations and has been consistently profitable since then.

    He said the bank would begin dividend payment to shareholders by the end of the year ended December 31, 2017 with the board already approving a dividend payment policy that will see the distribution of 50 per cent of net profit after tax to shareholders as dividend.

    He pointed out that given the performance of the bank since it started operations in 2012 and its growth trajectory of 30 per cent average growth per annum, Jaiz Bank has bright prospects.

    He projected that the bank’s gross earnings would rise consistently over the next five years to N16.2 billion in 2021 while profit before tax is also expected to follow the same trend to N7.94 billion by 2021.

    “Our listing today, I am sure, will elicit public confidence that non-interest banking provides alternative model that will contribute to the socio-economic development of our country,” Usman said.

    He added that the listing would also enhance value of the company and increase transparency, pointing out that the listing is also in fulfillment of an earlier promise made at inception of the bank to the shareholders and the general public.

    Chief executive officer, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr. Oscar Onyema, commended Jaiz Bank for listing its shares, describing the listing as a bold and strategic step.

    “Your listing on the NSE today will not only showcase Jaiz Bank as an African champion, but will enable the bank position itself towards the actualization of its strategic vision of serving the Sub-Saharan Markets. As you are aware, Islamic finance has grown rapidly over the past decade, and this banking segment has become systemically important across many regions,” Onyema said.

    He pointed out that Jaiz Bank has gone through a rigorous process to meet the listing standards of the NSE and with the listing, the bank is showing its commitment to living a culture of strong corporate governance, excellent corporate citizenship and efficient services to its clients.

    Jaiz Bank was created out of the former Jaiz International Plc which was set up in 2003 as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to establish Nigeria’s first full-fledged non-interest bank. The bank is owned by some 27,000 shareholders including the Islamic Development Bank (IDB). It had obtained a regional operating license to operate as a non-interest bank from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on November 11, 2011 and began full operations as the first non-interest bank in Nigeria on January 6, 2012 with three branches located in Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Kaduna and Kano. It recently obtained a national banking license from the CBN.