Temi Popoola, the Nigerian Exchange Ltd. (NGX) CEO, says the nation’s bourse aims to drive more technology companies to the exchange and deepen capital formation in the sector.

On the review of the exchange, the NGX boss said it made a strong showing with its performance in 2022, as it recorded landmark transactions.

Mr Popoola said, “In 2022, the equities market performance was evidenced by the 19.98 per cent increase in the NGX All-Share Index, which rose from 40,270.72 points to 51,251.06 points,  just as the market capitalisation also closed at a high of N27.92 trillion, up from N21.06 trillion in 2021.”

According to him, the total turnover of trades in 2022 improved by 27 per cent from N916 billion to N1.16 trillion year-on-year from 2021, while market participation was heavily skewed to the domestic investors. The Fixed Income market saw a slight uptick in turnover to N3.89 billion in 2022 from N3.53 billion recorded in 2021, representing a 10.20 per cent year-on-year increase.

The NGX boss said the exchange traded funds market capitalisation increased from N7.35 billion in 2021 to N8.42 billion in 2022, representing a 14.56 per cent increase in the market capitalisation. 

“Stanbic IBTC ETF 30 which tracks the performance of NGX 30 index was the best performing ETF in 2022, having began the year at N68.5 and closed at N245, reflective of 257.66 per cent returns,” stated Mr Popoola. “ETF transactions fell from N34.22bn in 2021 to N211.02 million in 2022. This represents a 99.38 per cent decline in ETF turnover. Altogether, this signalled a good year for the Exchange despite global macroeconomic headwinds.”

The NGX CEO disclosed this at the presentation of the NGX 2022 Market Recap and 2023 Outlook held virtually on Wednesday in Lagos.

He said the NGX Technology Board listing rules were approved by the apex regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in December 2022.

The CEO said, “Currently we are in consultations with stakeholders in the sector and we are confident of securing a few big names within the year.”

Mr Popoola said that NGX would be forging more with development finance institutions, banks, both local and international, to further develop the market. He also said the management of NGX planned to do more on trading to improve data dissemination and attract a larger investor base, especially from the retail side. 

Mr Popoola emphasised that the exchange would be using listings as a vehicle for meeting strategic aspirations as the new dispensation comes in through increased advocacy and engagements.

“NGX sees sustainability as not just important but also a profitable frontier of its business and work is ongoing on developing a framework for certifications in carbon credits trading, pending regulatory approval. On the capital market’s digital transformation, the exchange is working on USSD launch in collaboration with telecommunications, banks; unlocking the African Capital markets via payment integration with Afreximbank’s Pan African Payment Settlement System,” he explained.

Mr Popoola added, “Altogether, 2023 is likely to be a new dawn for the market and the Nigerian economy as significant events take shape in the macroeconomic and political environments.”

 (NAN)