HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF NIGERIA STOCK EXCHANGE

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF NIGERIA STOCK EXCHANGE

The Nigeria Stock Exchange was founded in 1960 as the Lagos stock exchange. It started operations in Lagos in 1961 with 19 securities listed for trading. In December 2nd 1977 it became known as the Nigeria Stock Exchange, with branches established in some of the major commercial cities of the country.

The beginning in 1960 the Lagos Stock Exchange opened in Lagos Nigeria. In 1977 the name had been changed to the current Nigeria Stock Exchange. The branches: the exchange has the following branches in the major cities of the Federation, Kaduna (1978) Port Harcourt (1980), Kano (1989), Onitsha (Feb, 1990), Ibadan (August, 1990), Abuja (October 1999) and Yola (April 2002). As at inception in 1961 the NSE started trading in Lagos with 19 securities. At the end of the 20th century there were over 262 securities trading there.

Within the past 30 years the Nigeria Stock Exchange has grown rapidly to match other exchanges in the world. It along with the Russian Exchange are the newest and fastest growing exchanges. The Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE or the Exchange) was founded in 1960 and today services the second largest financial center in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The NSE, a registered company limited by guarantee, is licensed under the investments and securities Act (ISA) and is regulated by the securities and exchange commission (SEC) of Nigeria. The exchange is a founding member and executive committee member of the African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA), an affiliate member of the world federation of exchanges (WFE) and an affiliate member of the international organization of securities commissions (IOSCO).

The Nigeria Stock Exchange is an automated exchange and provides listing and trading services, as well as electronic clearing, settlement and delivery (CSD services through central securities clearing system (CSCS) plc, an associate company to the NSE, which also offers custodian services. Along with securities listing and trading services, the exchange offers market data dissemination services, market indices and much more. The NSE continues to evolve to meet the needs of its valued customers, and to achieve the highest level of competitiveness. With about 256 listed securities, the exchange operates fair, orderly and transparent markets that bring together the best of African enterprises and the local and global investors communities. The Nigeria Stock Exchange is porsed to champion the acceleration of Africa’s economic development and to become “the gateway to African market”.