The first quotation of the Loterie Nationale du Bénin (LNB), admitted to the main compartment of the Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières (BRVM), will take place on Friday 13 December 2024, BRVM officials have announced.

The purpose of the LNB is to mobilise Benin's national savings to finance social, cultural and sporting investments. As such, it is responsible for operating all forms of games of chance, money games and betting consisting of an onerous agreement, subject to strictly formal rules and by which the parties mutually subject themselves to a risk that they create. In addition, the LNB is responsible for financing investment projects of a social, cultural or sporting nature, as decided by the Board of Directors in accordance with Benin's economic and social development plan.

The project to sell part of the shares making up LNB's capital was initiated by the State of Benin, the company's sole shareholder, with a number of objectives: to promote popular shareholding and thus diversify the shareholder base, to contribute to the development of the BRVM sub-regional stock market, to mobilise resources without incurring debt for the State, to guarantee the transparency of the sale operation, to improve the governance of LNB and to increase the company's reputation with the general public.

By decree dated 17 July 2024, the State of Benin decided to sell a maximum of 9 million shares on the WAEMU regional financial market through a public offer for sale (OPV). The 9 million LNB shares were distributed to the public from 7 to 25 October 2024 at a price of FCFA 4,800 per share.

 According to BRVM officials, the listing procedure that will be used for the first day of trading is the ordinary procedure. The first trading price will be determined by matching buy and sell orders against a reference price set at FCFA 4,800.