By Yakubu LAAH InvestAdvocate
Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) will on Tuesday (today) launch its proposed $1.0 billion premium board.
Oscar Onyema, chief executive officer (CEO) of the NSE on November 4, 2014 made this disclosure at the launch of the Corporate Governance Rating System (CGRS) for listed companies in Lagos Nigeria
The Nigeria’s Exchange said only companies with the highest corporate governance level will be listed on the premium board.
NSE affirmed the CGRS is a criterion for companies to be listed on its premium board in 2015.
The newly launched CGRS rates all listed companies in Nigeria on their corporate governance and integrity practices.
According to the NSE, qualifying companies that clear certain market capitalisation and liquidity criteria becomes part of a premium board on the Nigerian bourse.
The NSE currently has two (2) boards, the Alternative Securities Market or ASeM and its main board, which has over 188 quoted companies.
Reports by a session of the press say as at few weeks ago, only 11 of the over 188 quoted companies on the main board are qualified to be listed on the new board based on the $1 billion market capitalisation criteria.
Thisday reports that the biggest among them is Dangote Cement Plc with a market capitalisation N2.897 trillion ($15 billion), followed by Nigerian Breweries Plc with a market capitalisation of N973.69 billion ($5 billion).
Others are Guaranty Trust Bank Plc with a market capitalisation of N735.19 ($3.8 billion), Nestle Nigeria Plc N673.75 ($3.4 billion), Zenith Bank Plc has a market capitalisation of N533.11 billion ($2.9 billion), Lafarge Africa Plc has a market capitalisation of N450.98 billion ($2.2 billion), Ecobank Transnational Incorporated has a market capitalisation of (N360.20) ($2 billion), FBN Holdings Plc has a market capitalisation of N360.20 ($1.9 billion), Forte Oil Plc as a market capitalisation of N239.65 billion ($1.7 billion), Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc with a market capitalisation of N229 billion ($1.6 billion) and Guinness Nigeria Plc has a market capitalisation of N213.08 billion ($1.4 billion).
