Bisola David
The removal of Union Bank of Nigeria’s shares from the Nigerian Exchange Limited’s Official Daily List on Monday resulted in a N132 billion decrease in market capitalization.
According to The Punch, the Nigerian Exchange Group’s regulatory body, NGX Regulations Limited, sent out a notice to trading license holders on Monday, November 27, 2023, stating that Union Bank’s entire issued share capital had been delisted from the Daily Official List of NGX, “Following the approval of the Bank’s application to delist its entire issued share capital from the Nigerian Exchange Limited.”
In preparation for the delisting, trading in the company’s shares was halted on November 14.
Union Bank’s shares closed trading at N6.65 per unit on Friday, the day it was removed from the NGX Daily Official List. The bank had a market capitalization of N193.65 billion. The principal shareholder of Union Bank, Titan Trust Bank Limited, had previously declared that it would delist from the market in May after purchasing the minority shareholders’ shares in the bank.
At the close of Monday’s trading, the All-Share Index, the benchmark index for listed shares, increased by 0.17 percent, or 123.33 points, to settle at 71,353.81, placing it in the green. Market capitalization ended the day at N39.040 trillion, down N132 billion from Friday’s recorded N39.172 trillion.
Additionally, AccessCorp, United Bank for Africa, Zenith Bank Plc, and Universal Insurance Plc’s equities propelled Monday’s market performance. Positive investor mood led to 32 winners and 20 losers.
First Bank of Nigeria Holding, John Holt, and Tantalizer, whose stocks each saw a 10% jump to conclude trading at N22, N1.87, and N0.55 per unit, respectively, led the gainers chart. Other stocks on the gainers’ list are Sunu Assurance, whose share price increased by 9.73 percent to N1.24 per unit, and Multiverse, which gained 9.98 percent to close at N6.39.
With its shares closing at N6.70, down 9.09 percent, ETranZact was at the top of the losers’ chart. With a 9.24% drop to close at N1.67, Unity Bank—which is rumoured to be in talks with Providus Bank about a business combination, landed on the losers’ chart. RT Briscoe dropped 8.96% of its share price to close at N0.61 per unit, Guinea Insurance lost 5.88% to conclude at N0.32 per unit, and Omatek stocks lost 9.09% to close trading at N0.90.
From 582.77 million units exchanged on Friday to 746.67 million units today, there was a minor increase in the volume of transactions on the NGX. 9,267 transactions totaling N5.94 billion were made to exchange the equities. There were 124 stocks traded during the Monday session.
The day’s trend was mostly driven by the volume and value drivers of banking equities, such as AccessCorp, UBA, and Zenith Bank.
