Foreign investors are increasing their investments in Nigeria’s top banking stocks and other major companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. This surge comes as investors execute large block transactions outside the regular trading platform to avoid market fluctuations.
Sources revealed that offshore investors have been heavily buying shares in Tier-1 banks like Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO), as well as stocks in the brewing and cement industries.
A report from AIICO Capital Limited highlighted that foreign investors were particularly active in GTCO due to its strong financial standing in Nigeria. This increased demand led to a 2.5% rise in GTCO’s share price, even as the overall market trend remained negative.
According to Bizwatch Nigeria, GTCO’s shares were sold at N61 in a 13-million-unit block trade last Thursday. Other major stocks, including Nigerian Breweries, Lafarge Africa, Access Bank, and Zenith Bank, also witnessed significant transactions.
Last week, MTN Nigeria recorded a 5-million-share block trade at N245, while 980 million shares of Sovereign Insurance changed hands in off-market deals at prices ranging from N0.99 to N1.00 per share.
Geregu Power also saw a major transaction, with 9 million shares traded outside the exchange at N1,035 per share. Similarly, investors made large-scale transactions involving 20 million shares of GTCO at N58.00 and 10 million shares of Access Holdings at N23.50 earlier this month.
Stockbrokers explained that such large transactions, known as “cross deals,” are allowed in the Nigerian market and help prevent stock price volatility by matching buy and sell orders from different investors.
