Nigeria Seeks to Unlock Liquidity From Tightly Held Stocks

Nigerian regulators are reviewing free-float requirements for listed companies to boost liquidity, deepen the equity market and attract investors.

Many of Nigeria’s largest listed firms are tightly held by controlling shareholders, which limits liquidity and heightens the risk of sharp swings in prices. Nigeria requires large companies to have a minimum public shareholding of 20% or at least 40 billion naira ($29 million) of shares available for trading.