Portfolio Investments

9 of Nigeria’s 26 publicly listed trillion-naira companies are in financial services

26 companies on NGX are valued above ₦1 trillion.
MTN Nigeria leads at ₦16.38 trillion, making it the most valuable listed company.
The top three firms (MTN Nigeria, BUA Foods, and Dangote Cement) are far ahead of the rest, each exceeding ₦13 trillion.
9 of the 26 companies are in the financial services sector.
Telecoms and manufacturing dominate the upper tier, highlighting infrastructure and essential services as market anchors.
Energy companies are firmly positioned, reflecting their central role in the economy.
Market concentration is high, as a few giants carry disproportionate weight relative to the 122 sub-₦1 trillion firms.
Sector diversity exists within the top 26, but most belong to industries tied to basic economic activity rather than emerging tech or high-growth startups.

South Africa led Africa’s bond market with $328.8 billion [in] volume and nearly 3,000 issuances

South Africa is the clear leader, recording a bond market volume of $328.8 billion and 2,952 issuances, far ahead of all other African economies.
Egypt and Morocco follow as strong contenders with bond volumes of $188.8 billion and $116.4 billion, respectively, though both trail South Africa by wide margins.
Côte d’Ivoire, Algeria, and Nigeria represent the mid-tier, each exceeding $65 billion, showing notable regional financial activity.
Smaller markets like Tunisia and Angola feature relatively lower volumes ($16.9 billion and $28.4 billion) but maintain significant issuance activity.

Endeavour Mining's share price of 2,253.0 pence is the highest among the largest African firms on the LSE

Endeavour Mining leads with a 2,253.0 pence share price — the highest among the largest African firms on the LSE.
Investec ranks second at 544.4 pence, showing a wide gap from the leader.
Seplat Energy (255.5 pence) is the second-highest in the extractive industry after Endeavour Mining.
Airtel Africa (210.0 pence) is the top telecom firm on the list.
Guarantee Trust HoldCo has the lowest share price at 5.0 pence.

The top 10 African companies on the LSE have a combined market cap of £29.8B; Airtel Africa leads with £7.32B

The combined market cap of the top 10 African firms on the LSE is £29.8B.
Airtel Africa leads with £7.32B, the largest market cap among African-listed companies.
Endeavour Mining follows with £5.63B, making it the largest extractive industry player on the list.
Commercial International Bank is the top financial services firm with £4.27B.
Five companies from financial services are in the top 10, collectively representing a major sectoral share.
The telecom sector is represented by Airtel Africa and Helios Towers (£1.25B), showing telecom’s increasing investment appeal.
Nigeria has two companies — Guarantee Trust HoldCo and Seplat Energy — [each] with over £1B market cap.

Nigeria's FDI made up only 2.5% of the country's capital imports in H1 2024

In H1 2024, Nigeria's FDI accounted for just 2.5% of the country's $5.98 billion total capital imports, down from 14% in H2 2023 and 6.2% in H1 2023. This highlights a shift towards other capital inflows like portfolio investments. Portfolio investments rose significantly to $3.48 billion, rebounding from $397 million in H2 2023 and $756 million in H1 2023.