Darasimi Adebisi
The Group Chairman, Nigerian Exchange Group Plc (NGX Group), Mr. Otunba Abimbola Ogunbanjo yesterday expressed optimistic that the Group is well-positioned to deliver value to shareholders.
He stated this at the first Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Group as a demutualised, shareholder-owned, for-profit entity.
Ogunbanjo said, “This meeting is also historic in that it marks the first time in the history of the NGX Group that its AGM will hold outside the hallowed confines of the Exchange House in Lagos and we have chosen the Federal Capital Territory – Abuja – in recognition of the integral role the Federal Government of Nigeria played in actualising the demutualisation of NSE and its support in establishing NGX Group.
“I am both thankful for the invaluable support of our stakeholders and proud of the resilience NGX Group continues to demonstrate after over six decades. Despite the global pandemic and other economic shocks, it is indeed noteworthy that we have already begun to actualise the benefits of demutualisation including the alignment of stakeholders’ interests in the value created by the new Group under a revised Corporate Governance framework.”
Speaking on outcomes of the AGM, Ogunbanjo stated: “We received approval of new equity-based incentive schemes for employees which are in line with the authority granted to Directors by then Members of NSE at an Extraordinary General Meeting conducted in March 2020 and adhere to global best practices allowing us to attract and retain the best talent.
Shareholders of NGX Group, formerly The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), voted in support of the resolutions presented by the Group at AGM.
In addition to the re-election of the Non-Executive Directors who were retiring by rotation and the election of the members of the Audit Committee, shareholders also approved the proposed remuneration for the Board and non-executive members of the erstwhile National Council of the NSE.
Shareholders approved the group’s proposals to introduce equity-based incentives to employees’ remuneration, including an Employee Share Ownership Plan and a Long-Term Incentive Plan, aligning the interests of internal stakeholders with those of shareholders in long term value creation.
Speaking at the AGM, the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, NGX Group Plc, Oscar Onyema, expressed that: “We thank our shareholders for their support of the resolutions proposed at today’s meeting.
“Our 2020 results reflect the challenging macroeconomic and market conditions, as well as operational resilience of the Group with income and resulting surplus after tax valued at N6.02billion and N1.84billion respectively. In the context of COVID-19 pandemic, we maintained tight cost controls, which reduced expenses by 13per cent despite investments in technology that allowed us to operate remotely with zero downtime. The Group ended Year 2020 in a sound financial position with net asset growth of over 10per cent to N31.28billion.
“Looking ahead, NGX Group and its wholly owned subsidiaries – Nigerian Exchange Limited, NGX Regulation, and NGX Real Estate – continue to advance the realisation of our vision to be Africa’s leading integrated capital market infrastructure provider. As the Group progresses its plans to list on Nigerian Exchange, we look forward to welcoming a broader group of investors to share in our journey.”
