A lot of people have encountered the term; “Market Capitalization”. Some see it as a very complex term that only full blown economists can understand. Others feel, well only stockbrokers or traders can understand or relate to this.
Why should I bother myself?
It’s understandable because the term looks scary at first glance; but it’s actually a simple term. Market capitalization is the total value of a company’s shares of stock. This value is calculated by multiplying the current market share price by the total number of shares outstanding (i.e., the number of shares issued and held by shareholders).
Example: Company A has issued 1 million shares, and the current stock price is $100. The market capitalization of company A is $100,000,000.
The market cap helps in determining the value of a company; the higher the market capitalization, the higher the market value of a company. The market capitalization is important for the following reasons:
a. To determine the size of a company
b. To make comparisons between different companies as related to their value
c. It helps investors determine the potential of investing in the company.
d. It is useful in identifying the growth and performance of the company.
To shed more light on these companies, a brief summary for each of these companies is given below. The aim of the summary is to give background information on these companies. The summary is meant to serve as a starting point for any one reading this article to relate with the data given better, and also to serve as a form of introduction to these companies.
Here are the top 20 companies in Africa by their market capitalization
- NASPERS
Location: South Africa
Market capitalization: $80,865,000,000
It is one of the leading internet and technological companies in the world and the largest company in Africa by market capitalization. It started as a newspaper publishing company in 1915 and has since gone on to become a leading technological company, with companies like Tencent, Prosus, Udemy, and OLX as some of its subsidiaries.
2. FIRST RAND GROUP
Location: South Africa
Market capitalizations: $19,090,000,000
It is the largest financial institution in Africa by market capitalization. It was founded in 1998 and has established itself as a leading financial institution in Africa. They operate through companies like First National Bank (FNB), Rand Merchant Bank (RMB), WESBANK, etc.
3. STANDARD BANK GROUP
Location: South Africa
Market capitalization: $16,347,000,000
The Standard Bank Group is a leading financial institution in Africa. Established in 1862, it is Africa’s biggest bank by assets. It offers services like commercial banking, foreign exchange, private banking, etc.
4. SOUTH AFRICAN VODACOM GROUP
Location: South Africa
Market capitalization $:14,292,000,000
It’s one of the top mobile communications companies in Africa, providing data, mobile, and financial services, among others. It was established in 1994 and can be found in over 30 African countries.
5. ANGLO AMERICAN PLATINUM
Location: South Africa
Market capitalization: $14,265,000,000
They are the world’s largest producers of platinum. Approximately 38% of the world’s platinum production (Wikipedia) The company was founded in 1995. It produces platinum, palladium, and rhodium, among others; they are used in jewelry making, fertilizer production, water and air purification units, etc. (angloamericanplatinum.com).
6. MTN GROUP, SOUTH AFRICA
Location: South Africa
Market capitalization: $413,537,000,000
They are a mobile telecommunications provider. They were founded in 1994 and are the leading telecommunications company in Africa. They have established themselves on the African continent, providing voice, data, and digital services, among others. Their head office is situated in Johannesburg, and they run their operations from there.
7. GOLD FIELDS
Location: South Africa
Market capitalization: $11,936,000,000
They operate gold mines in South Africa, and they are one of the largest producers of gold in the world. They were found in 1887, and they have grown to become very valuable, employing thousands of people and adding value to the economy of South Africa.
8. CAPITEC BANK HOLDINGS
Location: South Africa
Market capitalization: $11,044,000,000
It is a company in South Africa, providing retail, business, and insurance banking services; they operate these through their subsidiaries like Capitec Bank Limited and Capitec Life Limited (reuters.com). It was founded in 2001 and has established itself as a leading financial institution in South Africa.
9. MTN NIGERIA
Location: Nigeria
Market capitalization: $10,602,000,000
MTN Nigeria was established in 2001, and it’s the largest mobile network operator in Nigeria. They provide services like data, voice, and finance; mobile money has 76.7 million subscribers in Nigeria as of March 2023 (guardian.ng). MTN Nigeria was the first telecom company to introduce and roll out the 5G network in Nigeria.
10. ANGLOGOLD ASHANTI
Location: South Africa
Market capitalization: $10,196,000,000
They are a gold mining company, and as of May 2023, they were the fourth largest gold miner in the world (Wikipedia). They were founded in 2004 and can be found operating and running mining sites in a number of countries, including Brazil, Ghana, Tanzania, etc.
11. DANGOTE CEMENT
Location: Nigeria
Market capitalization: $9,986,000,000
It is a Nigerian-based cement manufacturing company. Founded by Aliko Dangote in 1981, the Dangote Cement Company has grown to be the largest cement manufacturing company in Africa. It has ventured into other African countries with plants in countries like Tanzania, Ghana, Senegal, etc. It is one of the largest companies in Nigeria and Africa.
12. ABSA GROUP
Location: South Africa
Market capitalization: $8,686,000,000
It is a company that provides banking and financial services. It was established in 1991 and provides services like retail banking, insurance, and asset management.
13. SASOL
Location: South Africa
Market capitalization: $8,638,000,000
They are an integrated chemicals and energy company. Established in 19050, they produce a range of products, including liquid fuels, coal tars, chemicals, and electricity. They have a presence in over 30 countries.
14. ATTIJARIWAFA BANK
Location: Morocco
Market capitalization: $8,335,000,000
The Attijariwafa Bank is one of the leading banks in Africa. It was established in 2003 when two banks, Banque Commerciale du Maroc and Wafabank, merged. They provide retail banking services, investment banking, etc.
15. KUMBA IRON ORE
Location: South Africa
Market capitalization: $8,163,000,000
Kumba Iron Ore is the largest iron ore producer in Africa and the fifth largest in the world. (Wikipedia). It was established in 2005, and it mines, ships, and sells iron ore. They also provide logistics and shipping services in addition to mining iron ore.
16. IMPALA PLATINUM HOLDINGS
Location: South Africa
Market capitalization: $7,874,000,000
They are a leading platinum-producing company; they also produce platinum-group metals. These products are used to produce fuel cells and electronics. They were founded in 1966, and they currently employ more than 70,000 people (implats.co.za). They also produce nickel, cobalt, etc.
17. BID CORP
Location: South Africa
Market capitalization: $7,533,000,000
They are an international food services and distribution company. They are into food service distribution (e.g., sea food, meat, etc.), food service retail (e.g., Chipkins), etc. It was established in 1998, and they are now a notable food service distributor in the world.
18. SHOPRITE HOLDINGS
Location: South Africa
Market capitalization: $7,408,000,000
It is the largest supermarket retailer in Africa. The company was established in 1979 and is one of the biggest companies in Africa. They are currently in over 10 African countries, operating their stores, supermarkets, and other businesses
19. MAROC COMMUNICATIONS
Location: Morocco
Market capitalization: $7,307,000,000
Established in 1998, Maroc Communications is the leading telecommunications company in Morocco. They operate in countries like Niger, Gabon, Mali, Togo, etc. They offer internet and mobile services. They also sell mobile and fixed-line handsets.
20. BUA CEMENT
Location: Nigeria
Market capitalization: $7,192,000,000
They are the second-largest producer of cement in Nigeria, the first being Dangote Cement. They were formed as a result of a merger between CCNN Plc and Obu Cement. They recently announced a price cut for their cement product.
