Six Nigerian stocks join the FTSE Frontier 50 Index
In Nigeria, shares of six local companies have been included in the FTSE Frontier 50 Index, which tracks the 50 most liquid securities in frontier markets. The list includes First HoldCo, Dangote Cement, MTN Nigeria, Aradel Holdings, Guaranty Trust Holding Company and Zenith Bank, Premium Times Nigeria reports, citing a market notice dated September 4.
Six stocks in the FTSE Frontier 50
The FTSE Frontier 50 Index comprises the 50 most liquid stocks from 26 frontier markets tracked by FTSE Russell. In addition to liquidity, the index uses the FTSE country classification methodology, which assesses markets by size, basic governance principles and market infrastructure.
At the beginning of the week, on Monday, the market value of First HoldCo stood at 6.8 trillion Nigerian naira, Dangote Cement at 17.4 trillion naira, MTN Nigeria at 17.1 trillion naira, Aradel Holdings at 6.5 trillion naira, Guaranty Trust Holding Company at 4.9 trillion naira, and Zenith Bank at 5.3 trillion naira.
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Since the start of the year, the returns of these stocks on the local exchange in Lagos have stood at 213%, 69.8%, 59.1%, 122%, 46.3% and 108%, respectively.
Inclusion in a broader index
Last week, FTSE Russell also approved the inclusion of shares in Stanbic IBTC Holdings, Nestle Nigeria, Nigerian Breweries and Presco in the broader FTSE Frontier Index. These four securities, together with the six stocks in the FTSE Frontier 50, are set to join the FTSE Frontier Index later this month and will be classified as Large Cap.
As of August 31, the FTSE Frontier Index included 375 stocks of companies from Pakistan, Morocco, Bangladesh and Kenya, among other countries. Last month, FTSE Russell upgraded Nigeria's status from unclassified to frontier market. Nearly three years earlier, the country was downgraded due to a currency crisis that made it difficult for foreign investors to repatriate their funds.
