BY PETER EGWUATU
LAGOS—The Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria, AMCON, is considering listing the three bridge banks on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, as options to disposing them.
The three bridge banks are: Keystone Bank Ltd, Enterprise Bank Ltd and Mainstreet Bank Ltd.
Managing Director, AMCON, Mr. Mustafa Chike-Obi, who revealed this to newsmen, yesterday, after the opening of the 16th annual Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers, CIS, conference and induction of new associates said, “AMCON is weighing the option of core investors and listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.”
Chike-Obi said: “We are awaiting our adviser. In 2014, we would offload our shares to preferred investors. We injected money into the banks and we will not sell our shares now until it is profitable to do so. We are the largest holder of shares and we are confident about the sustenance of the stock market recovery.” He further predicted that Nigeria may have a single digit interest rate, before the end of 2013, just as he revealed that the bridge banks will be off loaded to investors by 2014.
Chike-Obi said: “If the trend in the management of the monetary policies and inflation continue like what we are seeing now, the country will have a single digit interest rate before the end of 2013.”
Similarly, he further predicted that the Nigerian stock market index will hit 40,000 points before the end of 2013. According to him, “If investors continue to patronize the market and regulators and operators continue to do the work they are currently doing I see the market attaining 40,000 points market before the end of 2013. Nigerian stock market is relatively the best market in terms of returns on investment despite the global financial meltdown.”
Speaking also, Director General, Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, Ms. Arunma Oteh said: ‘The capital market will be repositioned to tap from the Federal Government transformation agenda of the agricultural sector.”
Oteh said market participants must be prepared to tap from the development in the market, noting that the market was experiencing increased participation of institutional and retail investors.
