Economy
SEC Targets Trillions of Naira from Non-Interest Capital Market
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has said it plans to enhance the non-interest capital market because of its capability to boost liquidity in the financial markets by trillions of Naira.
The Director-General of SEC, Mr Lamido Yuguda, while speaking with the executives of the Non-Interest Financial Institutions Association of Nigeria (NIFIAN) in Abuja over the weekend, said the market segment was given attention in the 10-year Capital Market Master Plan.
According to him, in the next three years, the plan is to ensure that 25 per cent of the total value of the Nigerian capital market is from the non-interest sector.
“We are talking of trillions, which means that we are not scratching the surface right now. Both the market and the commission need to do more. We are working on ensuring that we have a framework that looks at issues relating to the non-interest capital market and ensures we tackle them.
“There are many opportunities in the market right now for non-interest products. The biggest players right now are the pension fund. PenCom is interested that whatever product is there have some basic risk management features in them, but I think there is a lot that we can do.
“You talk about the Sukuk market and the move towards complexities, I would say that even the simple Sukuk, we have not had enough of it.
“When we came in 2020, it was only the sovereign Sukuk and the subnational Sukuk from Osun State. We have tried to attract interest to the product by doing many seminars and rejoining IFSB fully. We also tried to encourage private issuers and show the potential of the Sukuk to other players in the market. This is a simple product but a very powerful one,” he said.
Mr Yuguda stated that Nigeria needs to adopt the normal Sukuk forms where money is raised via Sukuk, assets are built and then cash flows are generated from the assets which then flow back to the Sukuk holders.
“That’s the traditional way, which happened in countries like Malaysia. Malaysia has a lot of hotels and resorts, and the key financing tool they have used is the Sukuk. They understand the power of this Sukuk instrument. It’s a collateralised form of lending; the asset is built and belongs to the people who have contributed money.
“You can see the cash flows coming back. These hotels are increasing in output in the economy in which it is located. People are working, earning more income. The investors are happy because they are receiving the cash flows, and the country is getting more prosperous as people from other parts of the world go there to have a good life,” the SEC chief stated.
The DG emphasised the need for all stakeholders to create more awareness, as there is a lot of ignorance and misconceptions among others about Sukuk, and they all need to be addressed.
“A lot of countries have made tremendous progress which I think we can learn from. Once people see it and it works, we will get many interested in the sector.
“The commission is ready to commit human and material resources to ensure that the market grows to the level we want. We are interested in the market’s growth as that will positively affect the country’s economy,” Mr Yuguda stated.
He disclosed that the agency has just exposed the rules for Shariah advisors in its drive to grow this market segment, noting that Shariah governance is crucial, considering that compliance with Shariah rules and principles is important in non-interest capital market operations/transactions.
“The market is developing fast, and there is a need for the proper regulation of those that will drive the process. The provision of the rules is in line with local and international best practices. The regulatory organization in the Nigerian Financial System, such as CBN and NAICOM, had issued such guidelines to provide clear and good Shariah governance in their respective sectors.
“Making the Shariah Advisory service a registrable function in the market will assist in effective implementation of the proposed consolidation of the Shariah governance rules and will also be an additional source of revenue to the Commission,” the commission stated.
Speaking earlier, The President of NIFIAN, Mr Hassan Usman, urged SEC to provide a framework for non-interest finance to avoid operators’ misuse of the platform.
Mr Usman stated that Nigerians need more awareness of the non-interest capital market. He stated that the association is interested in programmes that will increase the enlightenment of the product and boost its contributions to market capitalisation.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed flat on Wednesday, August 5, as the market witnessed weaker trading activity with only two deals executed.
In the midweek session, the volume of securities exchanged by investors dropped 99.9 per cent to 802 units from the 1.6 million units recorded on Tuesday. The value of securities further decreased by 99.6 per cent to N208,240 from the preceding session’s N47.6 million, and the number of deals significantly went down by 93.9 per cent to two deals from the 33 deals recorded a day earlier.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 76.9 million units transacted for N5.5 billion.
GNI Plc was also the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million.
There were no price gainers or losers yesterday.
As a result, the market capitalisation stood unmoving at N2.739 trillion, while the NASD Security Index (NSI) remained unchanged at 4,563.96 points.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira slid against the US Dollar by N2.28 or 0.17 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Wednesday, August 5, to N1,363.85/$1 from N1,362.55/$1.
The local currency also declined against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N5.97 to close at N1,837.38/£1 compared with Tuesday’s closing rate of N1,831.41/£1, and against the Euro, it crashed by N6.54 to quote at N1,575.25/€1 versus the preceding session’s N1,568.71/€1.
But at the black market, the Nigerian Naira traded flat against the greenback yesterday at N1,400/$1, and also remained unchanged at the GTBank FX desk at N1,373/$1.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says rates have narrowed to below two per cent, while the country’s external reserves have risen above $52.5 billion, reflecting the impact of its ongoing monetary and foreign exchange reforms.
CBN Governor Yemi Cardoso, represented by the Acting Director of Corporate Communications and Investor Relations, Mrs Hakama Sidi-Ali, disclosed this on Tuesday during the CBN Fair in Gombe. He noted that reforms introduced since 2023 had significantly reduced the disparity between the official FX market and the parallel market.
“The Naira continues to strengthen, with the spread between official and Bureau de Change rates now below two per cent,” he said, adding that reserves at $52.5 billion were supported by sustained inflows and renewed investor confidence in the economy.
Interbank FX transactions slid as weaker market activities dropped total Dollar volume exchanged to $75.35 million, a 51.8 per cent decline from $156.23 million in turnover quoted at the previous close.
The deals at the NFEM window also fell as data from the central bank put Wednesday’s quote at 82 from 139.
In the cryptocurrency market, major were down as global risk sentiment softened as a key world equity index slipped and chipmakers fell.
The MSCI All Country World Index snapped a five-day run to fall 0.2 per cent as chipmakers retreated on both sides of the Pacific. South Korea’s Kospi, a bellwether for the AI trade, dropped 4.4 per cent.
Ripple (XRP) depleted by 1.7 per cent to $1.05, Binance Coin (BNB) decreased by 1.0 per cent to $594.87, Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 0.9 per cent to $0.1884, TRON (TRX) shrank by 0.2 per cent to $0.3261, Solana (SOL) crumbled by 0.1 per cent to $74.00, and Dogecoin (DOGE) went down by 0.1 per cent to $0.0697.
On the flip side, Ethereum (ETH) gained 2.3 per cent to trade at $1,911.41, and Bitcoin (BTC) rose by 0.8 per cent to $64,759.28, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
By Dipo Olowookere
The domestic stock exchange rebounded by 0.05 per cent on Wednesday on the back of renewed bargain-hunting by investors, though the level of activity waned.
After bleeding for a few days, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited heaved a sigh of relief yesterday, as the All-Share Index (ASI) gained 109.41 points to close at 244,912.24 points compared with the previous day’s 244,802.83 points, and the market capitalisation garnered N71 billion to settle at N158.087 trillion versus Tuesday’s N158.016 trillion.
Business Post reports that despite the rebound recorded by Customs Street at midweek, the market breadth index remained negative, as there were 20 price advancers and 29 price decliners, implying bearish investor sentiment.
Linkage Assurance appreciated by 9.94 per cent to N1.77, AVA Capital rose by 9.55 per cent to N10.90, Fortis Global Insurance advanced by 7.69 per cent to N2.80, McNichols gained 7.34 per cent to finish at N5.85, and Coronation Insurance surged by 5.51 per cent to N2.49.
Conversely, Honeywell Flour depreciated by 9.94 per cent to N16.30, PZ Cussons gave up 9.94 per cent to trade at N74.75, Zichis crashed by 9.74 per cent to N20.76, Learn Africa slipped by 9.62 per cent to N9.40, and Neimeth tumbled by 8.33 per cent to N8.25.
The busiest equity was FCMB, with a turnover of 369.2 million units valued at N4.1 billion. Chams transacted 46.7 million units worth N201.8 million, First Holdco transacted 43.5 million units for N5.7 billion, Access Holdings sold 29.8 million units worth N778.0 million, and Linkage Assurance exchanged 19.6 million units valued at N33.5 million.
At the close of transactions, market participants bought and sold 824.1 million units worth N25.5 billion in 48,114 deals, in contrast to the 1.6 billion units sold for N28.7 billion in 54,160 deals a day earlier, showing a shortfall in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 48.49 per cent, 11.15 per cent, and 11.16 per cent, respectively.
