Nigeria’s foremost indigenous oil and gas firm, Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc has been migrated to the Premium Board of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) where big corporate names like Dangote Cement, Zenith Bank, First Bank among others are also members.
Incidentally, Seplat is the first oil and gas company to do so, an indication of its readiness to lead the way for others in the sector.
The pre-eminent Nigerian independent firm, alongside three other companies, joined the elite club of only three members on Monday, April 16, 2018.
The migration is historic because Seplat became a listed company just four years ago on April 14, 2014 and with this migration becomes the first in the oil and gas sector to attain the Premium Board.
Seplat was migrated alongside Access Bank, Lafarge Africa, and United Bank for Africa, sequel to them applying and meeting the Exchange’s listing requirements for the board.
Other companies listed on the Premium Board include Dangote Cement, FBN Holdings, and Zenith International Bank who were migrated to the Premium Board in 2015.
The Premium Board is the listing segment for an elite group of issuers who have met the Exchange’s most stringent corporate governance and listing standards. The Premium Board provides a platform for showcasing companies who are industry leaders in their sectors. It also gives a company access to a global pool of investors who are particular about companies managed in conformity to the highest standards in their target markets.
To feature on the Premium Board, companies must meet certain criteria, top of which is strict adherence to international corporate governance best practices as well as the Exchange’s highest standards of capitalisation and liquidity.
They must also attain a minimum market capitalisation of N200 billion as at the date of application, obtain a minimum score of 70 per cent on the Corporate Governance Rating System (CGRS), and maintain a minimum free float of 20 per cent of their issued share capital or a free float value equal to or above N40 billion.
Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc currently has a market capitalisation of N391.37 billion.
Dr. ABC Orjiako, Chairman of Seplat said: “Seplat has always adhered to international corporate governance best practices in every area of our operations as Nigeria’s pre-eminent independent.
“Conformity with rules and processes were critical to our historic dual listing on the NSE and LSE in 2014. I am glad to see our company Seplat, be the first company in the oil and gas segment to attain the Premium Board of the NSE.”
Also, Chief Executive Officer, NSE, Oscar N. Onyema said: “This migration affirms the strides our listed companies are making towards meeting the highest standards of corporate governance and underpins the robustness of our market.
“The new companies have consistently demonstrated their inherent values to be globally competitive brands and we congratulate them on the attainment of this migration.”
The NSE Premium Board and the associated Premium Board Index were launched on Tuesday, August 25, 2015.
