Talks are in top gear for the listing of MTN Nigeria’s 20.35bn ordinary shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), after registering same with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) at between N80 and N90, according to news reports.
The listing would boost the NSE’s market capitalization by up to N1.892tr, thereby upsetting the top-10 table of most capitalised stocks, as the proposed entrant becomes the second-biggest company, coming behind Dangote Cement Plc.
Dangote Cement, which itself upset the table when it was listed in 2010, displacing then occupant of the table- Nigerian Breweries, boasts of almost twice the size MTN Nigeria at losting, with its N3.05tr market in value.
MTN Nigeria’s entry is however enough to upset the table, pushing food beverage and confectionery giant, Nestle Nigeria with N1.204tr as of Wednesday, May 9, 2019, to number three on the ladder; just as Guaranty Trust Bank, the biggest financial institution by market value, moves to fourth position; ahead of peer- Zenith Bank Plc.
Nigerian Breweries, which occupied the number one position before the coming of Dangote Cement in 2010, is further displaced to number five on the table; just like Stanbic IBTC Holdings moves to sixth.
Seplat Petroleum Development Company follows with its total market value at N341.239bn; ahead of FBN Holdings’ N269.214bn; while Access Bank occupied the 10th position with its N248.816bn; meaning that United Bank of Africa’s N225.716bn capitalization is now inadequate to secure a slot on the league.
Besides the size, the listing of MTN Nigeria, the country’s biggest mobile telecommunications company, further diversifies the NSE away from the dominance of banking stocks.