The Telecommunications service provider, Airtel Africa has retained its position as the most valuable company listed on the equities market with a valuation of N7.16 trillion gaining over N4.08 trillion between January and August 2022 bringing the total stock market value to over N26 trillion.
Recall in the month of July 2022, Airtel Africa retained its position as the most capitalized firm listed on the equities market with a valuation of N7.16 trillion.
The Cement company, Dangote and MTN Nigeria also retained their position on the list in second and third places with valuations of N4.52 trillion and N4.07 trillion respectively.
Thereby establishing the Information Communication and Technology (ICT) sector as the most capitalized sector on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) as of the month of August, with N11.74 trillion aggregate market capitalization.
According to report, ICT sector gained N4.12 trillion in the first eight months of the year to shore at N11.74 trillion, an increase from N7.62 trillion recorded as of the end of December 2022.
The significant gain recorded by the sector is largely due to the N4.08 trillion gain in the market valuation of Airtel Africa, having overtaken the likes of Dangote Cement and MTN Nigerian in January 2022 to become the largest company listed on the stock market.
The sector comprises ten listed companies, although only two of them are household names, as they are the biggest telcos in the country – MTN Nigeria and Airtel Africa.
This sector accounts for 44.2% of the total equities market capitalization. Other companies in the ICT sector include E-transact, CWG, Courteville, Chams, Omatek, Tripple Gee, NCR, and Briclinks Africa.
Of the 13 sectors in the Nigerian stock market, only four of them are valued above N1 trillion. The sectors are ICT, Industrial goods, Consumer goods, and banking
The Nigerian information and communication sector comprises of telecommunication, publishing, motion picture, sound recording, music production, and broadcasting accounted for 18.4% of the nation’s economy.
The telecommunication sub sector, where the internet and mobile network service providers fall, accounts for 81.3% of the ICT sector. A cursory look at the data in the past 10 years also shows impressive growth in the country’s ICT sector.
Previous report noted that the sector recorded an estimated GDP of N6.27 trillion in 2012 and surged to N11.39 trillion in 2021, indicating an increase of N5.12 trillion in 10 years.