Wigwe: Access Corporation may consider dual listing of shares

20 Jan Wigwe: Access Corporation may consider dual listing of shares

Access Holding Company Plc, trading under the Access Corporation, may consider dual listing in a bid to set appropriate pricing for its share and enable shareholders derived value for their investment.

Speaking while unveiling the five years strategy of the financial institutions, Group Chief Executive Herbert Wigwe said he was unimpressed by the current pricing of the Holdco stock on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX).

Wigwe, who spoke in Lagos to media personalities and analysts also promised shareholders of incremental dividends in the years ahead but emphasized the policy of the company to maintain the residual dividends.

“We believe much is prioritising investment of the bulk of our profit to build infrastructure for the growth of the organization,” the group CEO said,

He disclosed that part of the five years strategy of the company is to expand its operations to 26 countries over the next five years, up from 16 currently.

Access Corporation plans to enter new markets including the US, France, Hong Kong and Malta, as well as African countries such as Namibia, Angola, Ethiopia and Egypt by 2027.

“By the end of 2027, we expect to be in at least 26 countries and in at least 3 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries supporting trade (United Kingdom, France & United States of America) The customer acquisition drive to hit 100 million for the Retail Business by 2027 will continue, as we migrate the majority of customers to digital platforms by 2027 across all touchpoints,” Wigwe said.

While not ruling out local mergers and acquisitions, the Group CEO said it is becoming extremely difficult to find institutions that possess similarities with the culture and vision of Access.

“Increase profitability as Access drives scale and gains relevant market share and takes advantage of developing economies of scale Drive customer penetration at a lower cost base by leveraging technology and data to digitize and personalize customers’ experience

“By 2027, we expect the Nigeria Bank to be contributing 52 percent of revenues compared to 82 percent (9M’22). The new verticals will also be contributing 12 percent of total revenues, as revenues from African Subsidiaries is expected to double over the next five years,” Wigwe said in his presentation.