In a confirmation of the coronavirus social distancing economy where Technology firms are set to outperform industrial and other real sector firms, MTN Nigeria has again eclipsed Dangote Cement to regain its position as Nigeria’s largest listed Company.
As can be seen from the U.S Technology heavy Nasdaq which has risen above highs reached earlier in the year before the pandemic induced lockdowns and selloff, most analysts expect the increasing use of Technology and data to impact positively of Tech shares.
In Nigeria the biggest winner from this will be the Telecomms names including MTN Nigeria and Airtel which investors are able to buy since they are listed on the stock exchange.
MTN Nigeria now currently has a market capitalization of N2.4 trillion, compared to Dangote Cement at N2.1 trillion.
MoneyCentral estimates that MTN Nigeria and Airtel Africa will get a combined $700 million lift from the surge in data usage in 2020.
Cyclical firms like Dangote Cement are however, expected to take a hit in the second quarter due to the lockdowns imposed by various governments across the African continent.
Also the expected GDP contraction of many countries in 2020 will be negative for the bottom-line of Cement companies.
Investors may have taken notice and are moving money into MTN Nigeria, helping it to eclipse Dangote Cement.
Dangote Cement still has one advantage however over MTN Nigeria in the form of having a higher dividend yield.
The largest cement maker in Nigeria sports a dividend yield of 12.97 percent, compared to 4.21 percent for MTN Nigeria.
Afrinvest recently put a buy rating on MTN Nigeria and Airtel Africa.