The Point has been reliably informed that Guaranty Trust Bank, Plc. has achieved the prestigious honour of a place on the London Stock Exchange, becoming the first African bank to be listed at such exalted business level.

In a press release sent to this paper, the GT Bank management reported that the bank has closed its $750 million offer for subscription of Global Depository Receipts, which was oversubscribed by 15%.

In the press release conveying the good news, the bank noted that “industry analysts have described as another unprecedented move to further deepen its forays into the international market, disclosing that the parent bank of GT Bank Gambia, Guaranty Trust Bank, Plc. Last week Thursday, 26th July, 2007 became the first Nigerian Company and the first African bank to be listed on the London Stock Exchange. “This is coming on the heels of the resounding success of the bank’s $750 million offer for subscription of Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”) which closed a week earlier. The offer was issued in London market to raise about $500m from international institutional investors outside Nigeria and about $250m from individuals and institutional investors in Nigeria,” the release stated.

The release went on to explain that a Global Depositary Receipt (“GDRs”) is a negotiable dollar denominated bank certificate issued in international financial markets through a registered depositary bank while it represents ownership of certain equity securities that are issued and traded in a local market as well as ownership of a certain number of shares of a company. “It can be listed / traded independently from the equity securities. GDRs are typically used by companies from emerging markets to raise capital and access investors in international markets,” the release elucidated.

The bank further revealed that the parent company’s GDR offer is the first such opportunity for Nigerians to make dollar-denominated investments in the securities of a Nigerian company listed and traded on London Stock Exchange, adding that “it opens up a previously unavailable large and global capital market to Nigerian investors considering that the London Stock Exchange is the primary market to many of the world’s largest companies, attracting some of the largest and most sophisticated investors in the world. The dividends of the GDRs are paid in US dollars.”

In retrospect the bank’s efforts to secure this position on the London Stock Exchange were highlighted, noting that hitherto it only traded in ordinary shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. “Following the closure of the Offer Period, the GDRs have been admitted to trade under the symbol “GRTB” on the market for listed securities of the London Stock Exchange through its International Order Book.” The release then gave an analysis of the London Stock Exchange’s comparative position in the global domain, portraying it as not only having gathered two centuries of experience but also as the cynosure of 350 reputable companies the world over. “Its wealth of experience, integrity, expertise as well as knowledge of the market has propelled it into becoming one of the world’s foremost equity exchanges, ahead the famed New York and Tokyo Stock Exchanges.”

“This land mark achievement reaffirms Guaranty Trust Bank’s desire to further strengthen its cross boarder presence and grow the confidence of international investors in the burgeoning Nigerian market. The bank already has a credible foot print in the international market with its highly successful $350 million Eurobond offer which was the first of its kind by any Nigerian Institution.

“The listing of Guaranty Trust Bank in the London Stock Exchange gives a positive commentary on the bank as one of Nigeria’s most profitable & and fastest growing banks while lending credence to its AA- (double A minus) by Fitch; and BB- (double B minus) by Standard & Poor’s, the ratings assigned by the two international rating agencies to any Nigerian or west African - based bank. The bank has subsidiaries in Gambia, Sierra Leone and Ghana,” the release concludes.