In the face of evolving economic conditions, NASD Plc demonstrated remarkable resilience and achieved significant milestones in 2024. Accordingly, the NASD Securities Index (NSI), increased by 223.75 percent year-on-year (y/y), rising to 3,002.68 points in December 2024, from 927.77 points in December 2023.
However, the Market Capitalisation declined by -18.12 percent y/y. Trading activities on the NASD OTC market increased significantly by 127.31percent, while the value of trades also increased strongly by 176.72 percent y/y.
For NASD, the second quarter (Q2) of 2025 has since commenced with a very positive month of April.
“We have maintained our business trajectory established in first quarter (Q1) 2025. We are going to conclude the delivery of a few novel products which we have applied to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for approval.
These products will help to unlock value in untapped areas of the Nigerian financial services sector and will broaden the Nigerian Capital market,” said Eguarekhide Longe, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, NASD Plc during a recent interactive session with select journalists in Lagos. He said, “We see 2025 closing with as strong, if not a stronger performance than 2024”.
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NASD Plc is the Over-The-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange licensed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to trade the securities of public unlisted companies.
Since commencing operations in 2013, NASD OTC Securities Exchange has grown to accommodate over 40 securities of companies in various sectors that cut across Financial Services, Consumer Goods, Oil & Gas, among others. As a company, NASD has since expanded to become a multi-asset Exchange, operating multiple platforms that cater to the capital needs of companies in different stages of growth, and investors with specific investment criteria.
For Longe, NASD Plc is “focused on origination”. He said, “To this extent we are driven by the need to be extremely innovative and propelled to drive inclusion of new business areas. The recent successful listing of the Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company Plc is a testament to NASD orientation to build its business around creating linkages within the economy that will deepen and broaden value which will make businesses do things differently and do more things. Unlocking infrastructure logically, we are convinced, is the key to driving innovation in the Nigerian Capital market and, ultimately, the Nigerian economy as a whole”.
“We realise the only way to grow most things is to build them. Economic development is about building things; whether it be brick and mortar construction, agriculture processing zones, the steel and foundries that are the bedrock of industrialisation, the logistics to move people around logically, and the social imperatives like education and healthcare. This is what NASD’s mission is to develop in the Nigerian Capital market,” Longe said.
“We are also mindful of the fact that Nigeria requires a new tribe of investors. We see the CBN launch of the Non-Resident Bank Verification Number (NRBVN) as an invitation to a borderless Nigerian Capital Market, which we will promote and take virtuous advantage of to match liquidity with the content that we will be putting through our market,” he added.
The year 2025 started on a strong note as NASD operating profit for first quarter (Q1) of 2025 came in at N164million, compared to a loss position of N44.1 million in Q1 2024. Furthermore, its unaudited profit for the period was N212.5 million, as against a loss of N32.7 million in Q1 2024.
Currently, NASD has 5 platforms, each serving specific purpose. They are: OTC Securities Exchange, NASD Enterprise Portal (NASDeP), VentureRamp, NASD Digital Securities Platform (N-DSP), and NASD’s Commercial Paper Platform.
