Global Courant
Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy and investment destination for many multinational companies in the energy, FMCG, telecom, agriculture and technology sectors, not to mention. It has international companies such as MTN, Airtel Africa, Nestle, Guinness, Lafarge, Seplat, Unilever and international breweries that are among the most valuable companies in the stock market. Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX).
Most of these companies do not necessarily enter the West African market because it has better conditions compared to other African countries – which is not necessarily the case – but to exploit the huge market size.
Nigeria is the most populous African country and home to more than 200 million people, with an annual population growth rate of 2.5 percent as of 2022. This makes it the continent’s largest economy, in addition to being one of the favorable investment destinations for foreign investors those looking for a huge market, it is also home to some large Nigerian-owned conglomerates.
Despite its market size, the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) is the second largest stock market on the continent, behind only the Johannesburg stock market. Below is a list of the ten most valuable Nigerian-owned companies in the NGX as of the last close, on Tuesday, May 30, 2023:
1#Access Holdings Plc (Holdco)
Access Holdings Plc (Holdco) is a Nigeria-based financial holding company that primarily holds investments (directly or indirectly) in financial and non-financial institutions. Access Holdings was acquired by the Nigerian banking magnate Herbert Onyewumbu Wigwe (CON)in a joint partnership with his friend and former colleague, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede in 2002. The Holdco does not engage in any income generating activity but allows Access Bank Plc (the Bank) to be managed separately from other non-banking subsidiaries, including Access to Insurance Brokers Ltd, Payment Services Company Ltd and Grow Microfinance Bank Limited.
The Bank is a full-service commercial bank operating in 12 countries with offices in Nigeria, Sub-Saharan Africa and the United Kingdom with representative offices in China, Lebanon and India. The Bank serves its various markets through five business segments: personal, business, commercial, corporate and investment banking, operations, and information technology (IT).
As of last close, the company had a market cap of 423.46 billion and generated N724.01 billion in revenue as of last close.
2#BUA cement
BUA Cement Plc is a Nigerian based cement manufacturing company closely owned by Nigerian billionaire Alhaji Abdul Samad Abubakar. It had a market cap of 3.12 trillion and had generated N360.99 billion in revenue as of the last close.
The company is mainly engaged in the production and sale of cement to the general public. It produces CEM II type cement under the BUA Cement brand and its factories are located in two states in Nigeria including Kalambaina, Sokoto State and Okpella, Edo State. The company also has depots in several states in Nigeria including Lagos, Abuja, Ilorin, Ibadan and Sagamu in Ogun state.
3#BUA Foods PLC
BUA Foods PLC processes, manufactures and distributes food materials in Nigeria. The company is still privately owned by Nigerian billionaire magnate Alhaji Abdul Samad Abubakar. As of the last close, BUA Foods PLC had a market capitalization of 2.21 trillion and sales of N472.60 billion.
BUA Foods PLC operates through flour, sugar, pasta and other segments. It offers fortified and non-fortified sugar, as well as by-products, such as bagasse, molasses, and mud biscuits under the brand name BUA; flour and bran; pasta and macaroni; edible oils, including palm olein, stearin, distilled fatty acid and others for direct and industrial use, including soap making; rice; and packaged foods. The company was founded in 2005 and is based in Lagos, Nigeria.
4#Depositary and Allied Plc
Custodian Investment Plc is an investment holding company with interests in life and non-life insurance, pension fund administration, trusteeship and real estate holding companies. The company was founded by Wole Oshin Wole, a multi-millionaire Nigerian businessman and insurance magnate.
The company’s segments include non-life insurance, life insurance, pension administration, real estate development and management, trustees and others, offering customers a broad range of high-quality products and services.
As of last close, Custodian and Allied Plc had a market cap of 35.59 billion and generated N66.64 billion in revenue.
5#Dangote cement
Dangote Cement Plc is a Nigerian based cement company founded by Nigerian billionaire and the richest man in Africa, Alhaji Aliko Dangote. The main activity of the Company and its subsidiaries is to operate plants for the preparation, production and distribution of cement and related products. The company operates through two segments: Nigeria and Pan-Africa.
The Nigerian operations include the three plants in Nigeria: the Obajana Cement Plant in Kogi State, the Ibese Plant in Ogun State and the Gboko Cement Plant in Benue State. While its an-African operations include its factories or import facilities in Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia. It is also aiming to operate in Congo and Sierra Leone.
As of last close, Dangote Cement had a market cap of 4.89 trillion and generated N1,630.19 billion in revenue.
6#Dangote sugar
Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc is a Nigeria-based company also owned by Nigerian tycoon and the richest man in Africa, Aliko Dangote. The company is engaged in refining raw sugar into edible sugar and selling refined sugar. As of last close, Dangote Sugar had a market cap of 266.02 billion and generated N411.02 billion in revenue.
The company’s products are sold through distributors across the country. The company provides value-added support services including logistics, supply chain management, credit and risk advisory, sales and merchandising. The refining operations are supported by warehouses strategically located across the country.
7#Zenith Bank
Zenith Bank Plc (Zenith) is a Nigeria based company and a leading tier-1 bank engaged in commercial banking. The bank was founded by the Nigerian banking magnate Jim James Ovia in May 1990 and started operations in July of the same year as a commercial bank. As of the last close, Zenith Bank had a market cap of 932.48 billion and generated N659.14 billion in revenue.
The Bank’s main activity is to provide banking and other financial services to corporate and private clients. Its services include the provision of loans and advances, corporate finance and money market activities. Its core businesses include corporate, investment and retail banking; commercial and consumer banking; personal and private banking; trading services and foreign exchange; treasury and cash management; and other non-banking financial services.
Zenith Bank has six subsidiaries, namely Zenith Bank (Ghana) Ltd, Zenith Pensions Custodian Ltd, Zenith Bank (UK) Ltd, Zenith Bank (Sierra Leone) Ltd, Zenith Bank (The Gambia) Ltd and Zenith Nominees Ltd. In addition to a branch of Zenith Bank (UK) Limited in the United Arab Emirates, the bank also has a representative office in China.
8#FBN Holding Plc
FBN Holding Plc. is a Nigeria-based diversified financial services company and parent company of First Bank of Nigeria Ltd and other subsidiaries. The bank is owned by shareholders, but Nnamdi Okonkwo is the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the holding company.
The principal activities of FBN Holdings Plc are mainly the provision of commercial banking services, investment banking services and the provision of other financial services and corporate banking. As of the latest close, FBN Holdings had a market cap of 531.25 billion and generated N118.03 billion in revenue.
9#United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA)
United Bank for Africa Plc (the Bank) is a Nigeria-based pan-African financial services company. The bank is closely associated with Nigerian businessman Anthony Onyemaechi Elumelu (Tony Elumelu), its current chairman.
The Bank provides business, commercial, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), consumer and personal (retail) banking services to more than 27 million customers, served through a variety of channels: more than 1,000 corporate offices and customer touch point with 2,669 automated teller machines (ATMs), 87,223 point of sale (PoS) and robust online banking services. As of the last close, UBA had a market cap of 348.83 billion and generated N566.16 billion in revenue.
In 1997, Elumelu led a small group of investors to take over a struggling Crystal Bank (later renamed Standard Trust Bank). Within a few years the bank became profitable and in 2005 he spearheaded one of the largest mergers in the sub-Saharan African banking industry by acquiring United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA).
Elumelu led the company as Group Managing Director from a single country banking group to a pan-African bank with subsidiaries in 20 African countries, France, the United States (US) and the UK.
10#First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Group Plc
FCMB Group Plc is a Nigerian commercial banking group that provides various banking and financial services to wholesale and retail customers in Nigeria and Europe through its subsidiaries. It has nine subsidiaries across three business groups: commercial and retail banking, investment banking (which provides banking services to structured large corporate organizations), and wealth and wealth management.
The commercial bank was founded by Otunba (Dr.) Michael Olasubomi Balogun, a Nigerian banking magnate and philanthropist. As of last close, FCMB had a market cap of 91.49 billion and generated N162.73 billion in revenue.
