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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Economy & Trade

Nigeria targets emerging-market status after FTSE upgrade

From The Punch · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Official statement New plan
  • FTSE Russell will reclassify Nigeria as a Frontier Market from Sept. 21, 2026, nearly three years after removing it from its indexes because investors struggled to repatriate capital.
  • The Finance Ministry described the move as support for the government’s macroeconomic and foreign-exchange reforms.
  • Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele said Nigeria aims to build a deeper, more liquid market capable of reaching Emerging Market status in the near term.

Nigeria is preparing to return to the global Frontier Market index after FTSE Russell confirmed a formal reclassification, while the government is already setting its sights on the next rung: Emerging Market status.

The reclassification is an important validation of Nigeria’s reform trajectory and a foundation for the next phase of the country’s capital market development.

— Federal Ministry of FinanceThe ministry’s assessment of Nigeria’s return to the FTSE Russell Frontier Market index.

The change takes effect on Sept. 21, 2026, nearly three years after Nigeria was removed from FTSE Russell indexes. Severe foreign-exchange illiquidity and execution bottlenecks had left foreign institutional investors facing months-long backlogs when trying to repatriate equity proceeds. FTSE Russell subsequently placed the country in an “Unclassified” status and removed its index constituents.

The Federal Ministry of Finance welcomed the decision as an endorsement of the government’s macroeconomic agenda and foreign-exchange market overhaul. “The reclassification is an important validation of Nigeria’s reform trajectory and a foundation for the next phase of the country’s capital market development,” the ministry said. It added, “It is a meaningful signal to global capital that our market is open, orderly and improving.”

It is a meaningful signal to global capital that our market is open, orderly and improving.

— Federal Ministry of FinanceThe ministry’s statement welcoming the reclassification.

Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele said the upgrade reflected structural changes across public and private institutions aimed at restoring investor confidence. “We see this as a milestone, not a destination,” Oyedele said. “Our ambition remains to build a capital market that is deep, liquid and competitive enough to earn Emerging Market status in the near term.”

We see this as a milestone, not a destination.

— Taiwo OyedeleThe finance minister’s response to the FTSE Russell decision.

The return followed regulatory changes in 2026, including the move from a T+2 to a T+1 trade settlement cycle on June 1. FTSE Russell had placed the market under review while it assessed the transition, then confirmed that the shorter cycle created no settlement or funding problems for foreign investors. The government credited the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Nigerian Exchange Group, the Central Securities Clearing System and market operators with supporting the reforms.

Our ambition remains to build a capital market that is deep, liquid and competitive enough to earn Emerging Market status in the near term.

— Taiwo OyedeleOyedele’s description of the government’s next objective for Nigeria’s capital market.
About this summary

Originally published by The Punch in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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