Seplat Petroleum Development Co mulls listing on two stock exchanges

By Nicel Jane Avellana

Nov 11, 2013 03:32 AM EST

Nigeria-based oil firm Seplat Petroleum Development Co said it was thinking of listing its shares on two bourses. This was according to Augustine Avuru, the company's Managing Director. In an interview with Bloomberg, Avuru said, "A dual listing remains an option for Seplat for equity-raising." However, did not give more details about the plan. He said, "It will be wrong of us to discuss anything that is still undergoing regulatory approval."

The oil firm which purchased Niger River Delta assets from Royal Dutch Shell reportedly had plans to list in Lagos and London. This was according to a report dated June 27 in BusinessDay, a Nigerian newspaper. In an interview last month, Nigeria's Securities and Exchange Commission Arunma Oteh also said an oil exploration company was planning a dual listing, of which she said could set a precedent for others. However, Oteh did not give the name of the company. She added that the Nigerian regulatory authority had already given its stamp of approval for the oil firm. She said approval from the other bourse was scheduled to be given this month. She added that the oil exploration and production company had a reputation of buying oil fields from international companies and then turning them into viable assets.

Oteh said that in the next five years, the Nigerian Stock Exchange would seek 500 companies to conduct its debuts on the bourse. The second biggest stock exchange in Africa aimed to have a capitalization of USD 1 trillion in the next three years. She added that five companies had planned their IPOs by the end of the year. The Nigerian Stock Exchange's all-share index has jumped 35% this year, which made it the third best performer in the region. Nigerian oil production firm Oando, which lists in both Lagos and Johannesburg, experienced an 11% drop this year on both trading platforms, Bloomberg reported.

© 2024 VCPOST, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

Join the Conversation

Real Time Analytics