Bulls Lead As Domestic Equities Gain N88bn
The Nigerian equities market on Wednesday closed on a positive note, gaining 158.71 basis points. The NGX All Share Index also appreciated by 0.22 per cent to 70773.31 points from 70613.60 points traded. Market capitalisation of listed equities also increased by N88 billion to N38.885 trillion from N38.797 trillion reported the previous day. The trading result for the day showed that Japaul Gold led gainers table in percentage terms, gaining 9.87 per cent to close at N1.67 per share, Mecure followed with a gain of 9.80 per cent to close at N3.25 per unit, Prestige insurance added 9.76 per cent to close at N0.45 per unit, Cornerstone Insurance up by 9.72 per cent to close at N1.58 per share while Omatek increased by 9.62 per cent to close at N0.57 per share. Conversely, Caverton Business Solutions recorded the highest loss with 9.87 per cent to close at N1.37 per share, Meyer Pant trailed with a loss of 9.85 per cent to close at N2.47 per share, SCOA Plc fell by 9.60 per cent to close at N1.13 per share, Thomas Way dipped by 8.60 per cent to close at N3.72 per unit, UPDC dropped by 8.26 per cent to close at N1.11 per share. Volume of activities increased by 139.061 million, representing 30.95 per cent as investors traded 558.344 million shares valued at N9.794 billion in 6401 deals against 449.283 million shares worth N5.444 billion exchanged hands the previous day in 7100 deals. Transactions in the shares of FBNHoldings Plc led market activities with 209.898 million shares valued at N4.042 billion, United Bank for Africa followed with account of 53.724 million shares worth N1.099 billion, Universal insurance traded 43.685 million shares cost N10.194 million, Fidelity Bank exchanged 22.253 million shares worth N203.733 million, Unity Bank exchanged 18.028 million shares valued at N16.860 million.
Come, Invest In Nigeria’s Bubbling Economy, Tinubu Tells US
President Bola Tinubu has invited the United States business community to come and invest in Nigeria’s ‘bubbling’ economy. Tinubu, who rang the closing bell at the Nasdaq Stock Market in New York on Wednesday, called on the United States business community to invest in Nigeria’s “bubbling market”. The President, who is attending the ongoing 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, was accompanied to the bell ceremony by the President of the U.S.-Africa Business Center (USAfBC) at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Scott Eisner. The closing bell ceremony, held at the seven-storey tower of the Nasdaq headquarters in New York, signifies the end of a trading session. “I am happy to bring Nigeria to your doorsteps and honoured that we’re here today with a bubbling maket that will evolve the West African subregion,” Tinubu said. “The greatest economy is Nigeria. There is an immense opportunity in Nigeria that you can invest your money without fear. “We’ve removed a lot of the bottlenecks. We’ve cleared the subsidy that is corrupt and we’ve also retooled the exchange rate to a reliable, dependable one-figure floating of the exchange naira.”
Diversify Export Earnings, Increase FDIs To Address Fx Liquidity Challenge -Uwaleke
Professor of Finance and Capital Market, Uche Uwaleke, has said that except the Federal Government diversify its export base and increased foreign direct investments (FDIs), the liquidity challenge in the forex market would persist. Uwaleke, who gave the advice Monday in Abuja, added that the country’s weak economic indices would make it difficult for the government to implement the naira float. In a bid to address the widening exchange rate gap, the federal government resorted to a managed float of the naira on the I&E Window. However, this policy has failed to halt the fall of the naira. The exchange rate for a dollar to naira at the official window is N751.1 as of Monday, 11 September 2023, according to the data published by CBN. While at the parallel market, the naira exchanged for N925 to a dollar in Lagos. Experts have said that with a larger part of Nigeria’s revenue still coming from oil, it would not be easy for the government to address supply side constraints in the FX due to the country’s inability to meet it’s OPEC quota. “The only sustainable solution to deal with the liquidity challenge in the forex market is to have multiple streams of forex comprising export proceeds and foreign investments. “Nigeria’s economy is not ready for a complete float of the naira due to weak economic fundamentals. “Regrettably, over 90% of forex inflows still come from crude oil sales. A diversified export base is required to check volatility in a forex market where the exchange rate is determined by market forces. This is still lacking in Nigeria. “On the demand side, I support the idea of curbing dangerous currency speculation by making the trading in forex outside the Banks and BDCs illegal. By doing so, the CBN can be in a position to monitor activities in the forex market,” he said.
Equity market sustains bullish run, gains N158bn
Trading activities on the floor of Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Tuesday sustained an upward trajectory as the market appreciated by N158 billion. The market capitalisation of listed equities increased by 0.44 per cent to N35.842 trillion from N35.684 trillion reported the previous day. The NGX All Share Index also appreciated 286.26 basis points to 65488.67 points from 65202.41 points traded on Monday. Investors’ attention during the day were directed towards shares of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp), AccessCorp, and Fidelity Bank, ETI and others. An analysis of the investment showed that Cornerstones Insurance led gainers table with 9.84 per cent to N1.34 per unit, CWG followed with a gain of 9.74 per cent to close at N4.28 per unit, SCOA added 9.38 per cent to close at N1.40 per unit, ABC Transport increased by 8.33 per cent to close at N0.52 per unit. BUAFoods added 7.91 per cent to close at N165 per share. On the contrary, Nigerian Breweries, SUNU Assurance and Chellaram Plc recorded the highest loss during the day in percentage terms, declining by 10 per cent to close at N38.25, N0.72 and N3.96 per share respectively. John Holt trailed with a drop of 8.81 per cent to close at N1.45 per unit while Mutual Benefits dipped 6.82 per cent to close at N0.41 per share. The volume of trades increased by 61.864 million representing 26.71 per cent as investors traded 293.463 million shares valued at N4.122 billion in 5895 deals against 231.599 million shares worth N3.992 billion exchanged hands the previous day in 5494 deals. Transactions on the shares of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp) led market activities during the day with 41.441 million shares valued at N185.042 million, AccessCorp followed with account of 36.158 million shares worth N616.420 million, Fidelity Bank traded 32.105 million shares valued at N229.733 million, Omatek exchanged 15.006 million shares cost N4.293 million while Ecobank Transnational Corporate sold a total of 13.200 million shares valued at N208.479 million.
Investors trade N7.432bn worth of shares
The volume of transactions on the floor of Nigerian Exchange (NGX) on Wednesday increased as investors traded 291.714 million shares valued at N7.432 billion in 6213 deals. This is against 280.468 million shares worth N4.645 billion in 6296 deals on Tuesday. The market capitalisation of listed equities at the close of trading appreciated by N13 billion or 0.04 per cent to N35.369 trillion from N35.356 trillion reported the previous day. But the NGX All Share Index depreciated by 303.70 basis points to 64625.28 points from 64928.98 points traded on Tuesday. An analysis of the investment for the day showed that Eterna Plc led gainers table, increasing by 10 per cent to close at N17.60 per share, CWG followed with a gain of 8.61 per cent to close at N3.28 per unit, FTNCocoa gained 6.97 per cent to close at N2.15 per share, Livestock added 5.56 per cent to close at N1.90 while Vitafoam Nigeria Plc grew by 4.78 per cent to close at N21.90 per unit. On the contrary, NEM Insurance topped losers chart, dropping 10 per cent to close at N5.40 per share, SUNU Assurance trailed with a loss 8.51 per cent to close at N0.86 per share, Guinness Nigeria Plc down by 7.89 per cent to close at N0.35 per unit, Cornerstone Insurance 7.09 per cent to close at N1.31 per share, Omatek fell by 5.88 per cent to close at N0.32 per share. The result further showed that transactions in the shares of GTCO Plc led activities with 41.746 million shares valued at N1.552 billion, Universal insurance followed with account of 22.841 million worth N5.169 million, United Bank for Africa exchanged 22.553 million shares cost N315.379 million, Sterling Bank traded 21.642 million shares worth N76.981 million Transcorp traded 15.703 million shares valued at N62.652 million.
NGX urges FG to create enabling policies to attract listings
The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) has said that it is working with the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and Euroclear to create a dollar settlement platform that will enable tech startups to rise in dollars. The Exchange said that this would create opportunities for domestic investors to have access to their shares and at the same time, contribute to the growth of the Nigerian economy through democratization of capital formation. Speaking during the Annual A&O Fintech webinar themed; Fueling Fintech: The Power of Capital, the Role of Regulation, the Divisional Head, Capital Markets, NGX, Jude Chiemeka, said although public markets are viable options for raising capital, fintechs have preferably opted for private markets because of the regulatory rule of disclosure and stricter governance requirements that is necessary for listing publicly. He explained that to address this issue, NGX received approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch a technology board for fintechs and tech companies to raise capital. Chiemeka stressed that the tech board is geared at encouraging tech firms to come to the market and raise capital in local currency, which would prove beneficial amid the high interest rate environment that had made foreign investors hawkish. While stating that the issue of settlements may discourage fintechs from accessing capital in US dollars on the public market, Chiemeka revealed that the Exchange was working on a partnership that is directed at fixing that problem. He said, “NGX is working with CSCS and Euroclear to create a dollar settlement platform that allows tech companies (start-ups or existing ones) to raise capital in dollars. We have reviewed listing procedures for tech companies who want to list. Requirements around the number of shareholders, years of operation among others have been relaxed to catalyse these listings.” Owing to the high-interestb rate environment, Chiemeka said that domestic investors had been allocating their Assets under Management (AuM) to majorly FGN bonds. He further revealed that there had been more outflows than inflows from FPIs and that had impacted the performance of equities in recent times, especially as regards volume and value of transactions. He called on the present administration to eke out deliberate and enabling policies to drive listings on the exchange’s platform.
DMO auctions FGN bonds worth N360bn
The Debt Management Office (DMO), acting on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN), has recently conducted an auction for the subscription of four FGN bonds valued at a total of N360 billion for the month of August 2023. As outlined in the offer circular released by the DMO on Thursday, the first bond on offer is an April 2029 FGN bond, with a value of N90 billion and an interest rate of 14.55 percent per annum. This particular bond constitutes a 10-year re-opening of the existing issue. Similarly, the second bond available for subscription is a June 2033 FGN bond, also valued at N90 billion, and carrying an interest rate of 14.70 percent per annum, serving as a 10-year reopening. Furthermore, the DMO has presented a June 2038 FGN bond, valued at N90 billion, with an interest rate of 15.45 percent per annum. This bond represents a 15-year reopening of a previous issuance. The last offering is the June 2053 FGN bond, also valued at N90 billion, and featuring an interest rate of 15.70 percent per annum. This bond represents a 30-year reopening of the original issuance. “They qualify as securities in which trustees can invest under the Trustee Investment Act “They qualify as government securities within the meaning of the Company Income Tax Act and Personal Income Tax Act for tax exemption for pension funds amongst other investors. “They are listed on the Nigerian Exchange Limited and FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange. “All FGN bonds qualify as liquid assets for liquidity ratio calculation for banks,” the DMO said. All of the mentioned FGN bonds are available for subscription at a unit cost of N1,000, with a minimum subscription requirement of N50 million and subsequent subscriptions in multiples of N1,000. For bonds that are re-openings of previously issued bonds with fixed coupons, bidders are expected to pay a price corresponding to the yield-to-maturity bid that successfully clears the auction volume, along with any accrued interest on the instrument. Interest on these bonds is paid semi-annually, and the principal repayment is set as a bullet payment due on the maturity date. It’s noteworthy that FGN bonds enjoy the full backing of the Federal Government’s faith and credit, with their security secured by the general assets of Nigeria. These FGN bonds have multiple benefits, including qualification as securities in which trustees can invest under the Trustee Investment Act. They also fall under the category of government securities in accordance with the Company Income Tax Act and Personal Income Tax Act, qualifying for tax exemptions for pension funds and other investors. Additionally, these bonds are listed on both the Nigerian Exchange Limited and the FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange. Furthermore, all FGN bonds are considered liquid assets for the calculation of liquidity ratios for banks. The DMO’s auction of these FGN bonds reflects the government’s continued efforts to manage its debt and financial obligations while providing investment opportunities for both institutional and retail investors.
Revenue Generation: NRC commissions Police Station, shops, flats
The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) on Thursday inaugurated 48 shops and seven apartments at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Station of the Standard Gauge Railway in Lagos, to increase revenue generation. It also inaugurated a new police station in the area to enhance security. The Managing Director of NRC, Mr. Fidet Okhiria, at the event, said that it was the practice of the corporation to lease property for the land owners to develop it. He said that the Board members had advised the management to be developing properties to enable the corporation to get more revenue. “A time will come where there will be no empty land to lease that we should have something on the ground that will be bringing money so that they can get revenue. “We took that decision, that is why we built a hotel at Apapa Road recently near the Headquarters. “First and Second floor of the building at Marine Road, are 48 shops and the last floor is seven flats of rooms, self-contained, which consist of a parlour, kitchen, toilet, and bedroom,” Okhiria said. He urged the NRC property management to be responsible in managing the investments so that the intention of building them would not be defeated. The NRC boss said that the building was occupied by some railway staff members and they were relocated after a fire incident in 2021. He said that they discovered that a lot of market activities took place in the area, so they changed it to shops with a big parking space. Okhiria said that the commissioning of another NRC Police Station at Bola Ahmed Tinubu Terminal in Apapa would motivate the policemen to protect Railway properties easily within the area. He said that after the inauguration, the station would be handed over to the Commissioner of Police for proper utilisation. The Managing Director, NRC Property, Mr Timothy Zalanga, said that they discovered that the Marine Bridge area was more commercial than residential. Zalanga said that the intention of developing some of the NRC properties was to increase revenue. He commended the Board and the Management of NRC for extending the ideas to them, promising to make the best use of the properties. Zalanga said that the former police station was far from the terminal. He said that after they extended the car parks at Bola Ahmed Tinubu Station, they had to build another station before relocating the police from their former place. The Contractor of the NRC property shops and flats on Marine Road, Alhaji Mutitala Sanni, Managing Director, Lane Ltd., said the building contained 48 shops, 24 toilets, and seven apartments. “It took us six months to complete the building, while we were granted a year to complete the construction. “We faced challenges of squatters, police, and also state government, but we were able to surmount the challenges with the quick intervention of the NRC management. “The contract was awarded with an estimate of N400 million and there are lots of unforeseen circumstances coming up now,” Sanni said. The Director, Railway Transport Services, Federal Ministry of Transport, Mr Finban Zina, commended the NRC for showcasing progress in their duties in spite of the situation in the country. He urged Nigerians to focus on the positive improvement of the society.
Domestic equity market gains N542bn
Nigeria’s domestic equity market on Thursday sustained its upward trade story, growing by N542 billion. The market capitalisation of listed equities increased by 1.55 percent to N35.515 trillion from N34.973 trillion reported the previous day. The NSE All Share Index also appreciated by 995.70 basis points to 65263.06 points from 64267.36 points reported the previous day. A review of the investment showed that Nigerian Breweries, Sterling Bank, and PZ Cusson led the gainers’ table with 10 percent each to close at N41.80 per share, N3.63, and N18.15 per share respectively. Chellaram Plc added 9.96 percent to close at N3.05 per unit, Dangote Sugar added 9.95 percent to close at N35.90 per unit. On the contrary, Eterna Plc topped the losers’ chart, dropping by 9.83 percent to close at N23.40 per share, JohnHolt trailed with a drop of 9.82 percent to close at N1.47 per unit, Thomas Way fell by 9.40 percent to close at N1.06 per share, Mcnichols dipped by 9.33 percent to N0.68 per unit, Courtvellle Business Solutions down by 9.09 percent to close at N0.60 per unit. The volume of transactions increased by 114.491 million, representing 34.61 percent as investors traded 445.275 million shares worth N5.087 billion in 7095 deals, against 330.784 million shares cost N4.269 billion exchanged hands the previous day in 6251 deals. Trading in the shares of Sterling Bank led market activities with 69.452 million shares valued at N238.093 million, FCMB group followed with account 33.332 million shares cost N217.816 million, AccessCorp traded 32.985 million shares valued at N568.981 million, Japaul Gold traded 28.366 million shares cost N28.846 million, Fidelity Bank exchanged 27.351 million shares cost N219.595 million.
Nigeria’s equities bounces back, gains N41bn
Transactions on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) on Wednesday closed on a positive note, appreciating by N41 billion. The market capitalisation of listed equity appreciated by 0.12 percent to N34.973 trillion from N34.932 trillion reported the previous day. The NGX All Share Index also increased 75.16 basis points to 64267.36 points from 64192.20 points traded the previous day. A review of the investment showed that Nascon, Chams Plc, and Abbey Building Society led the gainers’ table in percentage terms, gaining 10 percent to close at N35.75 per share, N0.99 and N1.21 per share respectively. Skyways Aviation Handling followed with a gain of 9.96 percent to close at N28.15 per share, and Dangote Sugar Refinery added 9.93 percent to close at N32.65 per unit. On the other hand, Thomas Way and TIP topped the losers’ chart with a drop of 10 percent each to close at N1.17 and N0.72 per share respectively. UPL trailed with a loss of 9.78 percent to close at N2.49 per unit, Omatek fell by 9.76 percent to close at N0.37 per share, JohnHolt was down by 9.44 percent to close at N1.63 per share. Volume of trades declined by 431.313 million, representing 56.60 percent as investors traded 330.784 million shares valued at N4.269 billion in 6251 deals against 762.097 million shares worth N7.710 billion in 7935 deals. Trading activities on the shares of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp) led market activities with 58.829 million shares worth N209.186 million, FBNHoldings followed with an account of 27.951 million shares cost N502.759 million, Ecobank Transnational Incorporate traded 21.303 million shares cost N330.246 million, AccessCorp exchanged 20.697 million shares cost N34.178 million while Chams Plc traded 16.964 million shares valued at N16.135 million.