From Ngozi Onyeakusi, Lagos
The council of the Nigeria Stock Exchange NSE yesterday listed 543 million ordinary shares of Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc. at 50 kobo each at N576 per share.
The shares of the indigenous independent oil and gas company were listed on the NSE and London Stock Exchange (LSE) following a successful initial public offering (IPO) to raise about $500 million from the both the Nigerian and international capital markets.
Speaking during the presentation of the company’s Fact Behind the Listing on the floor of the NSE in Lagos, the Chairman of Seplat, Dr A BC Bryant Orjiako stated that this is the first time an upstream
company in the oil and gas sector is listed on the NSE and LSE simultaneously adding that the listing of the company on the LSE marked the first Nigerian company to have its ordinary shares listed on the main board of the LSE.
This, he described as a monumental achievement which he said was made possible by the able leadership of the Chief Executive Officer of the NSE, Oscar Onyema, the Securities and Exchange Commission SEC led by Arumah Ote and the Federal Government.
He added that the listing was in response to the reform agenda of the President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, which has automatically made the company leader in oil and gas in terms of market capitalization and a global brand stressing that it has opened doors of opportunities for other companies.
In her remark, the honorable Minister for Petroleum, Diezani K. Alison-Madueke commended the Seplat for the giant stride. She noted that the dual listing is a testimony to the government policy of indigenous participation in oil and gas industry.
The minister added that the government will continue to support all indigenous companies that will play in the oil and sector in order to thrive stressing that such support will continue increase number of
independent marketers in the sector even as she urged other oil and gas companies to emulate Seplat.
Also in his remark, the Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr Olusegun Aganga urged the company to continue with its leadership position in the oil and gas sector. He noted that the company listing its share in both NSE and LSE is indeed not an easy task, which according to him aimed at diversifying and deepening the market.
With the dual listing, he said that Seplat as demonstrated that the government policy is working.
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