BlackRock’s iShares Exits Nigeria Due to Unprofitable Business Environment

BlackRock, the world’s largest manager of $10 trillion assets, announced closure and its decision to liquidate its iShares exchange-traded funds (ETFs) worth $400 million over the unprofitable business environment in Nigeria and Kenya.

As an affiliate of BlackRock, Inc., iShares Frontiers joined the influx of foreign investment exiting Nigeria, owning to a harsh economic environment caused by currency devaluation and inflation.

The Company’s Board of Directors approved a proposal to liquidate the fund. In light of persistent liquidity challenges in specific frontier markets, including, among other things, delays or limits on repatriation of local currency, the board determined that it is in the best interest of the fund and its shareholders for the fund to liquidate” iShares said in a statement.

According to a detailed report, the fund will enter an extended liquidation period, with the last trading day expected to be March 31, 2025. During this period, iShares will sell its assets in all markets and hold the proceeds in cash and cash equivalents. Currency conversions, including the naira, will impact the timing of the fund’s liquidation, leading to the extended liquidation period, iShares said.

After the market closes no earlier than August 12, 2024, but on a date as soon as practicable, the fund will cease trading and the creation and redemption of creation units,” iShare noted.

Meanwhile, Nigeria, in droves, is seeing the exits of foreign multinationals due to Nigeria’s economic policies by President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

These reoccurring exits of foreign investment, including Diageo’s recent exit on Tuesday, have proven evidential to the economic woes ravaging Nigeria’s economy.

Read more: Nigerian Lawmakers Push for New Presidential Aircraft Amid Economic Crisis, Sparking Public Outrage

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Mayowa Durosinmi

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M. Durosinmi is a West Africa Weekly investigative reporter covering Politics, Human Rights, Health, and Security in West Africa and the Sahel Region

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