Telco firm Briclinks Africa debuts on Nigerian Stock Exchange

Abuja-based telecommunications firm Briclinks Africa Friday debuted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) as the first company to be quoted on the bourse this year, and the first since BUA Cement listed its shares in January 2020.

Briclinks Africa was admitted to the NSE Growth Board, which aims to attract small to medium-sized companies that show the prospect for swift growth in their corporate earnings and are in the growth phase of their business cycle.

Companies in this category include Chellarams Plc, Living Trust Mortgage Bank Plc, McNichols Plc, and The Initiates Plc.

Briclinks Africa’s 10 million ordinary shares of N1 each at N6.26 per unit were listed by way of introduction, with Chief Executive Officer Mohammed Buhari commemorating the event with a digital closing gong.

“We are delighted to welcome Briclinks Africa Plc to The Exchange. This listing is a milestone in our desire to accommodate Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) that hitherto have been underrepresented in public markets,” said Oscar Onyema, the NSE CEO.

“It is indeed a critical step in the NSE’s efforts towards greater representation of growth companies on the bourse.

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“With this listing, we encourage Briclinks Africa Plc, as it commences life as a publicly quoted company, to continue to abide by its post-listing obligations whilst striving for transparency as this would ultimately create value for shareholders,” Mr Onyema added.

Mr Buhari said “we have dreamt about this day and worked towards it with effervescence right from the moment we decided to be listed on the NSE about 17 months ago.

“We have from this process emerged as a better entity, well-tuned to corporate best practices and culture. We would like at this point to thank our financial advisers to the listing, Afrinvest Securities, and the NSE team for their untiring support and guidance in making this day a reality.”

Briclinks Africa started operations as a telco in 2018 following the issuance of an Internet Service Provider licence to it by the Nigerian Communications Commission.