First HoldCo, GTCO, Dangote Cement… FTSE Russell Lists 10 ‘Eligible’ Companies Ahead of Nigeria’s Reclassification

At least 10 Nigerian companies from different sectors have qualified for inclusion in the FTSE Russell frontier index series.

Some of the firms, disclosed in the FTSE Russell’s September 2026 review of the index series published on Wednesday, are GTCO, Zenith Bank, and Dangote Cement.

The other Nigerian stocks are Aradel Holdings, First HoldCo, MTN Nigeria Communications, Nestlé Nigeria, Nigerian Breweries, Presco, and Stanbic IBTC Holdings.

In the publication, FTSE classified the 10 Nigerian stocks as “newly eligible” large-cap constituents of the frontier index series.

‘Newly eligible’ means stocks cleared for index inclusion following a country or exchange reclassification. 

The inclusion comes ahead of Nigeria’s reclassification from “unclassified” to “frontier market” status, which takes effect from the opening of trading on September 21 — when the listed Nigerian companies will be active.

FTSE Russell first announced the reclassification in April but subsequently placed the decision under additional assessment following Nigeria’s transition from a T+2 to T+1 settlement cycle on June 1.

The index had expressed concerns that the shorter settlement period could create a de facto prefunding requirement for international institutional investors.

Following engagements with Nigerian market authorities and international investors, FTSE Russell announced that the country’s upgrade would proceed as planned, saying no material settlement, operational, or funding issues had been observed since the implementation of T+1.

The FTSE frontier index series provides benchmarks for large-, mid- and small-cap companies across eligible frontier markets and serves as a benchmark for investors and a basis for index-tracking products.