London Stock Exchange : and The Nigerian Stock Exchange sign capital markets agreement

• Agreement to support companies dual listings in London and Lagos
• Post trade mechanism facilitates cross-listing and settlement of ordinary shares

London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) and The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) have today signed a capital markets agreement that supports African companies seeking dual listings in London and Lagos.

The agreement was signed by Nikhil Rathi, Head of International Development, LSEG and Oscar Onyema CEO, NSE. The agreement was witnessed by Sir Roger Gifford, UK Co-Chairman of the UK Government's Nigeria Emerging Capital Markets Task Force and his Nigerian Co-Chair, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhede, President of NSE. The agreement is for an initial period of two years.

The agreement follows the implementation earlier this year of a new settlement process between the UK and Nigeria. This made significantly more efficient the listing and trading of ordinary shares of Nigerian companies listed in London, as well as those of UK companies on the Nigerian market. Seplat, the oil and gas business, which raised $500m in an IPO via this new mechanism in April, was the first company to simultaneously dual list shares in London and Nigeria.

Nikhil Rathi, Head of International Development, LSEG said:

"The agreement signed today is a reflection of the global investment community's strong desire to be a part of the Nigeria story. As the world's most international exchange, LSEG looks forward to building on the success of existing dual listings in Nigeria and London and partnering with the NSE to showcase the rapid developments in Nigerian capital markets and the Nigerian economy."

Oscar Onyema, CEO of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, said:

"Today's agreement is another major step towards our goal of ensuring that all companies that have substantial operations in Nigeria are accessible to both Nigerian and international investors. In addition, we will be ensuring that our leading companies achieve the global profile and international institutional investment they deserve."

Sir Roger Gifford, Country Head for the European Bank SEB, former Lord Mayor of London, and Co-Chairman of the UK Government's Nigeria Emerging Capital Markets Task Force, said:

"I'm delighted to be here today to witness the signing of this agreement. This is exactly the sort of ambitious project the ECMT Nigeria was launched to support. Nigeria is without doubt one of the most promising opportunities for capital markets development worldwide.  An effective, transparent and well-governed capital market - across all asset classes - has the capacity to catalyse a nation's quest for growth and development. In particular, functioning markets for corporate equity and debt reduce the dependence on bank capital and make investment securities available to a broader range of investors: institutional, private and international. This agreement will build on existing strong commercial and economic ties between the UK and Nigeria to our mutual benefit. "

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Notes to editors:

There are 9 Nigerian or Nigeria-focussed companies quoted on London Stock Exchange including six oil & gas explorers and three major Nigerian banks. They have a collective market capitalisation of $14.2bn. 115 Sub-Saharan Africa-focussed companies are quoted on London Stock Exchange markets, comprising:

• 26 companies on the Main Market
• 3 GDR listings on the Main Market
• 2 GDR listings on the Professional Securities Market (PSM)
• 84 companies quoted on AIM, the growth market

About London Stock Exchange Group:

London Stock Exchange Group (LSE.L) is a diversified international exchange Group that sits at the heart of the world's financial community. The Group can trace its history back to 1801.

The Group operates a broad range of international equity, bond and derivatives markets, including London Stock Exchange; Borsa Italiana; MTS, Europe's leading fixed income market; and the pan-European equities platform, Turquoise. Through its markets, the Group offers international business, and investors, unrivalled access to Europe's capital markets.

Post trade and risk management services are a significant and growing part of the Group's business operations. LSEG operates CC&G, the Rome headquartered CCP and Monte Titoli, the significant European settlement business, selected as a first wave T2S participant. The Group is also a majority owner of leading multi-asset global CCP, LCH.Clearnet.

The Group offers its customers an extensive range of real-time and reference data products, including SEDOL, UnaVista, Proquote and RNS. FTSE calculates thousands of unique indices that measure and benchmark markets and asset classes in more than 80 countries around the world.

London Stock Exchange Group is also a leading developer of high performance trading platforms and capital markets software. In addition to the Group's own markets, over 40 other organisations and exchanges around the world use the Group's MillenniumIT trading, surveillance and post trade technology.

Headquartered in London, United Kingdom with significant operations in Italy, France, North America and Sri Lanka, the Group employs approximately 2,800 people.

Further information on London Stock Exchange Group can be found at www.lseg.com.