Nigerian banker Jim Ovia gains $17.93 million in two months as stake in Zenith Bank surges

Nigerian banking tycoon Jim Ovia has recorded a N7.36-billion ($17.93 million) boost in his net worth, as the market value of his stake in Zenith Bank surged by 6.4 percent in the past 62 days.

Ovia is the founder of Zenith Bank Plc, a Lagos-based banking group and Nigeria’s most profitable financial services company. Ovia holds a beneficial 5,074,104,311 ordinary shares in the tier-one lender.

The recent gains in his stake can be attributed to a surge in the share price of the leading lender, as value investors hold on to their existing stake while accumulating additional shares with the expectation to rake in dividends in 2022.

As of press time, Nov. 24, shares in the Lagos-based financial services group were trading at N24.25 ($0.05909), 41-basis points higher than theeir opening price on the Nigerian Exchange this morning.

Since Sept. 23, Zenith Bank shares have increased from N22.8 ($0.05555) to N24.25 ($0.05909) on Nov. 24. This translates to a 6.4-percent gain for shareholders in two months.

As a result of the share-price appreciation, the market value of Ovia’s stake in Zenith Bank has risen from N115.69 billion ($281.86 million) to N123.05 billion ($299.79 million) as of the time of writing, accruing a total gain of N7.36 billion ($17.93 million) for the leading banker.

The market value of Ovia’s stake in Zenith Bank makes him one of the wealthiest investors on the Nigerian Exchange.

In its unaudited results for the nine months ending Sept. 30, 2021, the financial services group reported a two-percent rise in earnings to NGN519 billion ($1.26 billion) from N509 billion ($1.24 billion) last year due to increased charges on current account maintenance and electronic product growth in the period.