Economy
Experts Provide Roadmap to Advance Nigeria’s Lubricant Market
By Adedapo Adesanya
As part of the efforts to address the influence of technological developments on the Nigerian lubricants industry, stakeholders gathered at the virtual 2022 Nigeria edition of the International Lubricants Conference (ILC) to share insights on global trends as well as practical suggestions to improve the state of the industry.
The ILC is a bi-annual conference organised to enlighten relevant stakeholders on key industry developments and advancements while connecting manufacturers with key stakeholders.
This year’s edition was held on April 28 and 29, 2022, and had in attendance Mr Taiye Williams, Managing Director of Lubcon Limited; Mr Indu M Gupta, Director for Product Research and Development, Innova Specialty Chemicals; Niket Shah, Director Openspace Services Pvt Ltd; Mrs Lilian Ikokwu, Chief Marketing Officer OVH Energy Marketing; Mr Roberto Vargas, Technical and Commercial Consultant for the Lubricant Industry in Latin America; Mr Godwin Gabriel-Ejeh, General Manager Operations, Pacegate Limited amongst others.
Although Nigeria’s lubricant market currently accounts for about 20 per cent of Africa’s total lubricant demand, the industry is still in its infancy. The adoption of innovative technological advancements, favourable regulations, increased stakeholder collaborations, and consumer education will boost performance strengthening the industry.
The conference themed Technology and its application to the lubricants industry featured panellists and speakers who shared insights on technological advancements in the lubricants industry, the influence of digital technology on the lubricant industry value chain, global regulatory changes as well as an analysis of the raw material supply chain and logistics in Nigeria.
Commenting on the impact of the conference, Mr Williams, the keynote speaker, commended the organisers, noting how insights shared will affect the decisions of stakeholders.
He further commented on the technology and its application to the lubricants industry, noting that, “As manufacturers push the boundaries of engine development, the pursuit of performance has placed new demands on the lubricants required by modern machines.
“With the application of technology, the lubricant industry will produce top quality products, build the capacity of the industry and increase output for Nigeria to remain relevant in the lubricant market.”
Speaking at the conference, Mrs Lilian Ikokwu, the Chief Marketing Officer, OVH Energy Marketing, she said technology is a tool to curb the proliferation of substandard lubricants in Nigeria.
“75 per cent of the lubricants consumed in this country is produced locally which is encouraging. We do hope that in a very few years we would do 100 per cent of what we produce. Out of the 25 per cent being imported, 64 per cent of that volume is substandard. In total, we have 70 per cent of Total Lubes consumed in Nigeria being substandard,” she said.
On his part, Mr Godwin Ejeh, the General Manager, Operations for Pacegate Limited, who spoke on Evolve, Adipro’s CSR said, “the vision of Evolve is to educate the girl child by providing school supplies, thereby giving back to the community. This initiative was birthed from two of the studies ranked 6th (educating women) and 7th (Family Planning) out of 100 in making an impact on reducing the CO2 emissions in the atmosphere.”
One of the panellists, Mr Franklin Oranusih, General Manager, Sales and Technical, Pacegate Energy and Resources Limited, addressed the presence and causes of adulterated lubricants in the market.
He said “the reason for having substandard lubricants is not farfetched. Most of the blenders present in Nigeria do not put many factors into consideration during the product formulation process.”
He concluded that with an understanding of the right proportions of components, blenders will produce standard lubricants for the Nigerian market.
This edition of the programme also recognised outstanding industry players with the presentation of awards. The 2022 ILC Prime Player award was presented to Ammasco International Limited for the second time in a row, Total Energies also received the 2022 ILC Impact Award, Bestaf Trading was awarded the 2022 ILC Best Production Technology while Seahorse Lubricants was awarded the 2022 ILC Quality award.
The ILC, being one of the largest lubricant conferences held annually in Nigeria, continues to offer industry professionals the valuable opportunity to develop long-lasting business partnerships and learn about the latest advancements, challenges, and opportunities within the sector.
The South Africa Edition of the ILC will be taking place on November 17 and 18, 2022, and will attract stakeholders across the world to drive conversations and topical issues in the lubricants industry.
By Dipo Olowookere
Renewed buying interest raised the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited by 0.33 per cent on Monday, with gains recorded in almost all the major sectors of the bourse at the close of transactions.
According to data harvested by Business Post, the insurance counter expanded by 0.62 per cent, the banking index grew by 0.59 per cent, the energy sector appreciated by 0.40 per cent, and the consumer goods space improved by 0.10 per cent, while the industrial goods segment closed flat.
When the closing gong was struck by 4 pm to signify the close of business on Customs Street, the All-Share Index (ASI) was up by 1,113.76 points to 243,707.07 points from 242,593.31 points, and the market capitalisation chalked up N714 billion to close at N156.308 trillion compared with the previous session’s N155.594 trillion.
Interest in Nigerian stocks yesterday resulted in a rise in the activity level, with the trading volume soaring by 17.86 per cent to 717.2 million units from 608.5 million units. The trading value advanced by 77.19 per cent to N56.7 billion from N32.0 billion, and the number of deals surged by 36.22 per cent to 73,321 deals from 53,826 deals.
FCMB was the busiest stock during the trading day, with a turnover of 152.3 million units worth N1.8 billion, Premier Paints exchanged 61.0 million units valued at N135.3 million, Dangote Cement traded 34.7 million units for N29.7 billion, The Initiates sold 32.8 million units worth N1.0 billion, and Jaiz Bank transacted 32.6 million units valued at N293.3 million.
Yesterday, the market breadth index was positive after the exchange closed with 37 price gainers and 28 price losers, representing strong investor sentiment.
International Energy Insurance gained 9.92 per cent to settle at N7.98, the Initiates added 9.91 per cent to its share price to quote at N32.15, ABC Transport garnered 9.68 per cent to trade at N6.80, Abbey Mortgage Bank grew by 9.63 per cent to close at N10.25, and Linkage Assurance soared by 9.36 per cent to N1.87.
On the flip side, Fidson Healthcare gave up 10.00 per cent to finish at N122.85, Academy Press crashed by 9.70 per cent to N7.45, RT Briscoe depreciated by 9.43 per cent to N13.45, SUNU Assurances tumbled by 9.37 per cent to N4.06, and Learn Africa decreased by 8.70 per cent to N10.50.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a marginal 0.05 per cent drop on Monday, June 8, depleting the market capitalisation by N1.27 billion to N2.606 trillion from N2.607 trillion, and cutting the Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 2.12 points to 4,356.20 points from the previous 4,358.32 points.
The contraction witnessed during the session was triggered by a price loser, which overpowered that gains recorded by two securities on the trading platform.
Data indicated that MRS Oil Plc lost N6 at the close of business to settle at N165.00 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N171.00 per share.
Conversely, Lighthouse Financial Services Plc added 9 Kobo to sell at N1.03 per unit versus 94 Kobo per unit, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc appreciated by 8 Kobo to N78.48 per share from N78.40 per share.
The volume of securities traded by investors yesterday soared by 51.9 per cent to 213,188 units from 140,345 units, and the value of securities increased by 12.6 per cent to N20.2 million from N17.9 million, while the number of deals executed fell by 7.4 per cent to 25 deals from 27 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 64.8 million units exchanged for N4.4 billion.
GNI Plc also remained as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira opened the new trading week on a negative note on Monday at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) and the black market.
At the parallel market, the Nigerian currency weakened against the US Dollar by N5 to sell for N1,380/$1 compared with the preceding session’s rate of N1,375/$1, and at the GTBank FX desk, it shed N1 to trade at N1,373/$1 versus N1,372/$1.
At the official market, it lost 63 Kobo or 0.05 per cent against the Dollar during the session to close at N1,362.84/$1, in contrast to last Friday’s value of N1,362.21/$1.
However, the Nigerian Naira gained N2.30 against the Pound Sterling at the spot market yesterday, quoting at N1,821.29/£1 compared with the previous rate of N1,823.59/£1, and improved against the Euro by 23 Kobo to settle at N1,574.35/€1 versus N1,574.58/€1.
Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that interbank forex turnover increased to $92.248 million across 90 deals, from $73.565 million last Friday.
On the policy front, participants believed that the application of the fourth edition of the Foreign Exchange Manual of the central bank, which introduces updated guidelines for foreign exchange transactions and tightening compliance requirements for authorised dealers and market participants, will enhance market flexibility and ease previous restrictions.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market snapped from recent declines, jolted by Strategy’s purchase of 1,550 Bitcoin for approximately $101 million, increasing its total holdings to 845,256 BTC. The company raised $181 million through common stock sales, using the proceeds to fund the bitcoin purchase and increase its cash reserves to $1 billion, pushing the price of the coin higher by 3.2 per cent to $63,731.69.
Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 8.4 per cent to $0.1738, Ethereum (ETH) rose by 5.2 per cent to $1,711.54, Solana (SOL) expanded by 5.1 per cent to $67.82, and Ripple (XRP) improved by 4.9 per cent to $1.18.
Further, Dogecoin (DOGE) jumped by 4.3 per cent to $0.0873, Binance Coin (BNB) soared by 2.7 per cent to $609.50, and TRON (TRX) increased by 0.7 per cent to $0.3274, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $0.9997 and $0.9998, respectively.
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