February 16, 2017/NSE

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen:

I am pleased to welcome you to this Facts Behind the Offer of Top Services Limited Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT).  On behalf of the National Council, Management and Staff of The Nigerian Stock Exchange, I congratulate the Fund manager, Issuing house and other parties to the transaction on receiving the Exchange’s approval for an initial Public Offer to raise ₦20bn by offering 20,000,000 units at ₦1,000.00 per unit.

In their filing to the Exchange they indicated that the funds raised from this offer would make possible the purchase of various retail commercial properties, located in the South West of Nigeria. If successful, the new REIT will join UPDC REIT, Skye Shelter REIT, and Union Homes REIT  on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

This facts behind the offer is designed to enable the Sponsors to provide information on the offering to the key stakeholders in the market.  It shows the confidence the Sponsors and fund managers has on our platform as a mechanism to bring issuers and investors together.  The NSE with total market capitalization of N16.18tr across all of our asset classes has implemented; far-reaching transformational programmes that have improved market access and provided products that are aligned to investors’ requirements; several transparency initiatives (such as BrokerTrax, X-Compliance, X-Whistle, Compliance Status Indicator symbols, X-Issuer, X- Alert etc.) that have brought significant sanity to the market place and provided for a fair and orderly market. The NSE is positioned as a premiere listing destination for African corporates, governments and international issuers looking to access the capital market of the largest economy in Africa.

I wish to encourage other fund managers to take advantage of the opportunities available in the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) market through product innovations that meets investors’ needs and appetite.  I encourage investors to take advantage of the opportunities presented by Real Estate Investment Trust schemes which typically offers stable and regular income distribution from diversified portfolio of real estate and real estate related assets. I also urge fund managers to continually make available educational materials on REIT that will help investors make informed decisions.

The Exchange promises to continue its collaboration with market stakeholders- Regulators, Dealing Member Firms, Fund Managers, Issuing Houses, etc. to collectively promote increased awareness and education on REITs amongst the investor community in Nigeria.

We thank you, the invited guests for your presence today and encourage you to participate fully during the interactive session with the company.  We wish Top Services Limited great success as it embarks on its capital raise exercise through this initial public offering (IPO) of N20b using the platform of a globally recognized Exchange.

Ladies and Gentlemen, join me in welcoming the Fund Manager to the podium to give the presentation.

Thank you.
Oscar N. Onyema, OON