The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) says it is at the final stages of preparation for an initial public offering (IPO), in compliance with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
This is according to a statement released by the company in Abuja on Thursday.
The statement reads in part:
“NNPC Ltd Ready for Initial Public Offer
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) is at the final stage of getting listed in the capital market, in keeping with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.”
“This was disclosed by the Company’s Chief Finance and Investor Relations Officer (CFIO), Mr. Olugbenga Oluwaniyi, at a consultative meeting with partners at the NNPC Towers, Abuja, on Thursday.
“He said NNPC Ltd was currently engaging with prospective partners in an exercise tagged, “NNPC Ltd. IPO Beauty Parade” in line with capital market regulations before the commencement of the Initial Public Offer (IPO).
“According to the CFIO, the aim of the IPO Beauty Parade, is to access potential partners and determine in what ways they could be of support to the company.”
The listed the areas of partnership required to include: Investor Relations, IPO Readiness Advisers and Investment Bank Partners.
He said the company with the best offer in terms of project partnership would be selected for each of the three categories.
The Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) provides for the NNPC Ltd to list its shares in the capital market in line with the provisions of the Company and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 1990.
MARKET ANALYSTS REACT
Some analysts have opined that this latest announcement might be “yet another mirage given that the company has never lived up to expectations owing to the lack of transparency that has characterised its operations particularly in recent years.”
“The only reason why the NNPCL has been reluctant to list in the capital market three years after it became a limited liability company is not far fetched. If the company is listed, those underhand dealings and decades of opaque transactions will come to an end because as a public quoted company, its financial transactions would be visible to all the stakeholders”.