Nigeria’s equities market to open for physical trading in August, after 17 months closure

After staying closed to in-person physical trading for 17 months, Nigeria’s equities market is to be opened to licenced trading members in August, the Nigerian Exchange Limited has announced.

The decision to temporarily close the trading floor to physical contact trading following the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, had been taken as a measure to curtail the overpopulation and contact rate of individuals on the trading floor.

In a statement signed by Temi Popoola, its chief executive officer, and made available to business a.m., the exchange said that it is also leveraging the lay time to redesign sections of its building and spaces as part of the rebranding initiatives following the demutualisation process of the exchange.

“Since the temporary closure of our trading floors due to the pandemic, the market has continued to operate its normal trading hours through our remote trading platforms. Your support has been critical to the exchange’s resilience and continued ability to provide investors with access to liquidity during this challenging period while maintaining the health and wellbeing of our employees and key stakeholders. We are also leveraging the lay time to redesign sections of our buildings and office space as part of our rebranding initiatives following the conclusion of the demutualisation process.

“In light of the improved virus trajectory and vaccine availability in Nigeria, we are pleased to inform you that we are considering reopening all our trading floors in August this year. We will provide further details around the date and protocols for trading license holders and other stakeholders in due course,” the statement read.