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FTSE Russell has included 10 Nigerian companies in its FTSE Frontier Index Series as the country prepares to return to Frontier Market status after a three-year absence from the global index provider’s classification.
The global index provider revealed this in its September 2026 review of the Index, seen by Nairametrics.
The Nigerian stocks added to the index are Aradel Holdings, Dangote Cement, First HoldCo, Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO), MTN Nigeria Communications, Nestlé Nigeria, Nigerian Breweries, Presco, Stanbic IBTC Holdings and Zenith Bank.
The inclusion follows FTSE Russell’s decision to reclassify Nigeria from Unclassified to Frontier Market status, effective from the open of trading on September 21, 2026.
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The FTSE Frontier Index Series provides benchmarks covering large, mid and small cap companies across eligible Frontier markets and is designed to serve as a performance benchmark for investors and as a basis for index tracking products.
What they are saying
FTSE Russell noted that the Indices can be segmented by Size, Region, country, and Industry Sectors and are calculated on a price and total return basis.
While some global stocks were moved from ‘Mid Cap’ to ‘Large Cap’ on the Index, FTSE Russell classifies the 10 Nigerian stocks as ‘Newly Eligible’ and are listed as large-cap stocks.
The listing also largely reflects Nairametrics’ categorization of Megacap Nigerian stocks, a list dominated by the companies indexed by FTSE Russell.
Backstory
Nigeria was removed from Frontier Market to Unclassified status in September 2023 following significant and continuing delays affecting the ability of international institutional investors to repatriate capital and execute foreign exchange transactions.
However, the journey to reclassification began in October 2025, when FTSE Russell placed Nigeria on its Watch List for potential reclassification following improvements in foreign exchange liquidity, capital repatriation and market accessibility.
- In April 2026, FTSE Russell announced that Nigeria would return to Frontier Market status, setting September 21, 2026, as the effective date.
- That transition plan was later paused and subjected to an additional assessment following Nigeria’s move from a T+2 to T+1 settlement cycle on June 1, 2026.
- The review followed concerns from market participants that the shorter settlement cycle could create a de facto prefunding requirement for international institutional investors trading Nigerian securities.
- This prompted an extensive engagement involving NGX Group, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), FTSE Russell, global custodians and international institutional investors.
- In July 2026, a delegation from NGX Group engaged directly with global custodians and institutional investors to explain the operation of the T+1 settlement framework.
The discussions enabled NGX Group to provide evidence on the implementation of the new settlement cycle, respond to concerns raised by international investors and custodians and outline measures being taken to ensure that Nigeria’s market infrastructure remains aligned with international best practices.
On August 27, 2026, FTSE Russell confirmed that Nigeria’s reclassification from Unclassified to Frontier Market status will take effect from the open of trading on September 21, 2026.
What you should know
The inclusion of the 10 Nigerian companies places some of the country’s largest and most liquid listed businesses within a global benchmark as Nigeria re-enters the international Frontier Market universe.
Earlier, Nairametrics reported that listed MegaCap companies, most of which are now on the FTSE Russell Index, added N46.69 trillion in market value between December 31, 2025 and August 31, 2026.
According to Nairametrics Research, megacap stocks are companies with a market capitalization of N5 trillion and above.
Based on this threshold, only nine companies on the NGX qualified as megacaps as at the last trading day in August 2026, and these include Airtel Africa, Dangote Cement, MTN Nigeria, First Holdco, BUA Cement, Seplat, Aradel Holdings, Zenith Bank, and BUA Foods.
