Capital Gain Tax Implementation Fear Rattles Stock Market as 10 Firms Shed N4.95trn
Capital Gain Tax Implementation Fear Rattles Stock Market as 10 Firms Shed N4.95trn
Investors in the Nigeria equities market have continued to take flight as the January 2026 take off of the newly introduced capital gain tax draws closer. At the close of trades for the month of November, the market value of 10 blue-chip firms listed on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) dropped by a whooping N4.95 trillion with analysts predicting further downturn.
The 10 companies are: Nestle Nigeria Plc, Aradel Holdings Plc, Airtel Africa Plc, Dangote Cement Plc and Seplat Energy Plc. Others are: MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, Lafarge Africa Plc, Transcorp Power Plc, Presco Plc and BUA Cement Plc.
Cumulatively, the 10 firms contribute about N46.66 trillion or 51.1per cent to the overall N91.286 trillion market value of listed stocks during the period review.
Over the years, the 10 companies have been preferred by foreign investors because of their strong fundamentals, improved corporate earnings and dividend payout to shareholders.
The Nigerian stock market in November 2025 experienced its worst monthly performance, dropping by N6.54 trillion in market capitalisation, driven by intensified profit-taking triggered by mounting investor apprehension over the impending implementation of a 30 per cent tax from January 1, 2026.
Under the Nigeria Tax Act of 2025, capital gain tax has been raised to 30 per cent from 10 per cent.
An investigation by THISDAY revealed Dangote Cement suffered the highest decline, followed by MTN Nigeria and BUA Cement Plc.
Dangote Cement’s stock price dropped by 19 per cent to close at N534.60 per share from N660.00 per share, its market value fell by N2.12 trillion in November 2025.
Consequently, the NGX Industrial Goods Index led the monthly decline, falling 13.80 per cent month-on-month (MoM) to 5,133.60 basis points, followed by NGX Consumer Goods Index, though relatively resilient, but dropped 3.20 per cent MoM.
The stock price of MTN Nigeria depreciated by N49.50 per share or 9.5 per cent to close November 28, 2025 at N470.60 per share from N520.10 per share the previous month.
This impacted on the telecommunication company’s market value that dropped by N1.04 trillion to bring its overall market capitalisation to N9.88 trillion.
In addition, the market value of BUA Cement fell by N20.00 per share or 11.11 per cent to close November 2025 at N160.00 per share from N180. 00 per share.
Other major declines in market value include: Aradel Holdings, N399.73 billion; Transcorp Power, N263 billion, Airtel Africa, N152.21 billion, and Nestle Nigeria, N107 billion.
Nigeria’s capital market has faced massive headwind following fresh concerns over the impending 30 per cent CGT on share disposals.
The anxiety stems from new clarifications made by Taiwo Oyedele, Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, during an engagement organised by the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX).
Oyedele explained that under the new rule, investors who sell shares and reinvest the proceeds in fixed-income securities or other non-equity assets will be subject to a 25 per cent capital gain tax.
Commenting, Investment Banker & Stockbroker, Tajudeen Olayinka, said the drop in the market valuee of the companies is on the backdrop of President Donalld Trump’s threat and introduction of capital gain tax.
Olayinka stated, “The combination of these two factors have played a significant role in investors’ profit-taking in highly capitalised stocks on the NGX. The likes of Dangote Cement, among others that dropped when the market closed, have strong forces to pull down the market. The overall negative news around the market have played a significant role.”
Following the aggressive profit-taking in November 2025, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, had assured investors that the government will revisit provisions on capital gain tax in the new tax reform framework to ensure a fair and investor-friendly outcome.
Edun stated that the review would balance government revenue objectives with the need to attract private capital into key sectors of the economy.
“Considering the call for the reconsideration of the capital gains tax as stated in the new tax reform, we will meet again to come out with appropriate measures that will be good for investors and for Nigeria before implementation,” Edun said.
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