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Lagos. – The Nigerian Stock Exchange said it’s making headway in persuading the four mobile-phone companies in Africa’s largest economy to sell their shares.
“The stance has moved from them not wanting to list to them looking at how to deal with the issues that would make it unattractive to list,” chief executive Mr Oscar Onyema said by phone from Seoul yesterday.

“We’re gaining traction.”

Africa’s second-biggest bourse after the Johannesburg Stock Exchange is trying to entice more companies to place initial public offerings to better mirror the make-up of the Nigerian economy.

As well as lacking telecommunications groups, the NSE has few utilities and oil companies even though Nigeria is the continent’s top crude producer. The NSE All Share Index has dropped 7,7 percent this year, the worst-performer among 14 African benchmark gauges monitored by Bloomberg after Zimbabwe.

While none of the operators have come with applications to list stock, the companies did highlight “structural issues” hindering initial public offerings, Onyema said, adding that the bourse is working with Nigerian authorities to address any shortcomings.

“Some don’t need to raise capital, but some do,” he said.

“If any one of the four carriers wanted to raise capital on the NSE, I don’t see that not being successful.”

The companies had 177,5 million lines between them at the end of August, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission.

South Africa’s MTN Group Ltd, which has a 49 percent market share, didn’t immediately respond to an e-mailed request for comment.

Emeka Opara, a spokesman for Airtel Nigeria, a unit of Bharti Airtel Ltd, couldn’t immediately comment, while calls to spokesmen at Globacom Ltd and the local unit of Emirates Telecommunications Corp weren’t answered. – Bloomberg.