The proposed dual listing of the Nigerian Exchange Limited with the Saudi Exchange has Saudi Aramco, a significant target and one of the world’s largest firms by revenue, as its primary focus.
The Punch reported that the group chairman of the Nigerian Exchange Group, Dr. Umaru Kwairanga, hinted at the ambitions for a dual listing with the Saudi Exchange while highlighting how President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms have made space for investment in the biggest economy in Africa.
“We plan to list businesses on the NGX, such as Aramco. When it comes to dual listings, we want to do for the Saudi Stock Exchange what we did for the London Stock Exchange.
“We visited NASDAQ with Mr. President last month. We talked about a plethora of business opportunities. Thus, it is expected to draw significant investment into the Nigerian economy, and I think the current administration is making significant improvements.
Speaking on the margins of the recent Saudi-African conference in Riyadh, Kwairanga said that the gathering provided a chance to explore collaboration between the Saudi government and the Nigerian business community.
He said that the Nigerian government saw the summit as a chance to present itself and that other African nations as well as those outside of it are considering the numerous new reforms that the new administration has brought about.
He stated, “We think we have opportunities to showcase, to Africans, Arabs based out of Saudi Arabia, given our population and many other advantages.”
In spite of the difficulties with foreign exchange scarcity, he was upbeat about the prospects in the NGX.
“We had a conversation on dual listing between the NGX and the Saudi Stock Exchange. We discussed how our largest companies quoted on NGX will take advantage of this with the Environment Minister and his officials,” he stated.