Nigeria’s premier non-interest commercial bank, Jaiz bank has gotten the approval of the Nigerian Stock Exchange to list its shares.
Shareholders had earlier given approval of this at an Extra Ordinary General Meeting held October last year. They also approved the splitting of the nominal value of its shares from 1.00 Naira to 50 Kobo, raising its authorized share capital from 15 billion shares of 1.00 Naira to 30 billion shares of 0.50 Kobo.
A total of 29.46 billion shares will be listed at a price of 1.25 Naira per share, increasing the market capitalization of the exchange by N36.83 billion naira. The stock, last traded on the NASD for 1.55 Naira. The bank will make history, by being the first stock to cross from the NASD OTC to the NSE. The bank also intends to raise funds through an IPO to execute its expansion plans across the country, on the heels of its being granted a national license by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Jaiz Bank was founded in 2003, but got regulatory approval in 2011 and started full operations in 2012. The bank has a diversified ownership base, with a board comprised of experienced individuals such as Umaru Mutallab a one-time MD of UBA and Chairman First Bank, as well as renowned industrialist Aminu Dantata. The listing of the bank, will give a boost to the stock market which closed -6.1% last year and is down -2.32% as at Friday’s trading session.
