Nigeria’s Lagos Stock Exchange (NSE) outshone the South African and Kenyan bourses over the past year in a development analysts attributed to political tensions in the latter two countries.
The Lagos all-share index (NSEASI) was among the best performing indices globally in 2017 in local currency unit terms, and surpassed the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).
It gained 42.3 percent over the calendar year, compared with Johannesburg’s 17.5 percent and Nairobi’s 16.5 percent.
The Nigerian market in 2017 enjoyed a lift from improved macro data and newsflow.
The economy emerged from recession, oil production recovered from mid-year, reserves accumulation was impressive and the FGN successfully tapped the Eurobond market twice.
On the other hand, growth was slower in South Africa and Kenya, two countries characterised by crucial elections last year.
Kenya, East Africa’s biggest economy is reeling from contentious presidential polls that saw incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta retained.