At least 10 Nigerian companies have been classified as eligible for inclusion in the FTSE Russell frontier index series ahead of Nigeria’s reclassification to frontier-market status.
Gatekeepers News reports that the companies were identified in FTSE Russell’s September 2026 review of the index series published on Wednesday.
The listed firms include GTCO, Zenith Bank, Dangote Cement, Aradel Holdings, First HoldCo, MTN Nigeria Communications, Nestlé Nigeria, Nigerian Breweries, Presco, and Stanbic IBTC Holdings.
FTSE Russell classified the 10 Nigerian stocks as “newly eligible” large-cap constituents of its frontier index series.
The designation “newly eligible” applies to stocks that have been cleared for index inclusion following a country or exchange reclassification.
The development comes ahead of Nigeria’s transition from “unclassified” to “frontier market” status, which is scheduled to take effect from the opening of trading on September 21. The eligible Nigerian companies will become active in the index series from that date.
FTSE Russell had initially announced Nigeria’s reclassification in April but subsequently subjected the decision to additional assessment following the country’s transition from a T+2 to T+1 settlement cycle on June 1.
The index provider had raised concerns that the shorter settlement period could result in a de facto prefunding requirement for international institutional investors.
However, following engagements with Nigerian market authorities and international investors, FTSE Russell confirmed that the reclassification would proceed as planned.
The index provider said it had observed no material settlement, operational, or funding issues since Nigeria implemented the T+1 settlement cycle.
The FTSE frontier index series provides benchmarks covering large-, mid- and small-cap companies across eligible frontier markets. It also serves as a benchmark for investors and provides the underlying basis for index-tracking investment products.
