Economy
Naira, Fuel Scarcity Sharply Weakens Nigerian Business Activity
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
For the first time in many months, the Nigerian business activity index fell into the negative region in February 2023 due to the scarcity of fuel and Naira in the financial system.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) redesigned the N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes last year and gave Nigerians till January 31, 2023, to swap their old notes for the new ones.
However, after calls from various quarters, the deadline was shifted to February 10, 2023.
Two days before the expiration, three state governments went to the supreme court to stop the implementation of the policy designed to reduce the amount of cash in the system.
The apex bank asked the parties to maintain the status quo pending the determination of the matter, and before the presidential election last Saturday, many Nigerians and businesses found it difficult to get cash to carry out transactions.
In its Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for February 2023, Stanbic IBTC Bank said it had a reading of 44.7 points compared with the 53.5 points achieved in January 2023.
Business Post reports that readings above 50.0 signal an improvement in business conditions in the previous month, while readings below 50.0 show deterioration.
In the report, it was observed that cash shortages across the Nigerian economy had a severe impact on the private sector midway through the first quarter of the year. Substantial declines were seen in both output and new orders, while firms scaled back their purchasing activity and employment.
Companies were also impacted by shortages of fuel, which added to price pressures and led to supplier delivery delays.
The 44.7 points recorded last month ended the 31-month sequence of expansion. The decline in operating conditions was the sharpest since the survey began in January 2014, excluding the opening wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the second quarter of 2020.
The most severe impacts of cash shortages were seen with regard to output and new orders, which both fell substantially as customers were often unable to secure the funds to commit to spending.
The decline in new orders was the first since June 2020, while the fall in output ended a seven-month sequence of growth. In both cases, the reductions were the most pronounced in the survey’s history, apart from during the opening wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
With new orders and output falling, companies reduced their input buying and staffing levels accordingly. The declines were the first in 32 and 25 months, respectively. The decrease in purchasing reflected not only a drop in customer demand but also difficulties for companies to find the funds to pay for items.
Alongside cash shortages, the private sector was also impacted by a scarcity of fuel in February. This had a notable impact on suppliers’ delivery times, which lengthened for the first time in close to six-and-a-half years and to the greatest extent since April 2016.
The slump in PMI shows that while the central bank has managed to reduce the amount of cash held outside the banking system to a record low, it has come at a cost to the economy.
“The lingering cash shortages will likely continue to dampen economic activities and could depress economic growth” this quarter, said the Head of Equity Research West Africa at Stanbic IBTC Bank, Muyiwa Oni, adding that the Nigerian economy could grow at 3 per cent in 2023 due to the challenges.
“Furthermore, persistent fuel shortages from the beginning of the year saw petrol pump prices increase, which both increased production costs for firms and led to supplier delivery delays. Sure, the lingering cash shortages will likely continue to dampen economic activities and could depress economic growth in Q1:23,” he stated.
In turn, shortages led to a rise in fuel costs which were widely mentioned as having been behind a further marked increase in purchase prices.
Higher raw material costs and currency weakness were also factors pushing up purchase prices. The rate of inflation was the softest since June 2020 but marked nonetheless and stronger than the series average. Staff costs also rose again in February, but at a modest pace.
The passing on of higher input costs to customers resulted in a further sharp rise in output prices, albeit one that was the weakest in four months.
Hopes that economic conditions will improve, alongside business expansion and investment plans, led to confidence in the year-ahead outlook for business activity. The sentiment was at a five-month high but still relatively muted.
By Bon Peter
The Area 11 Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in Onne, Rivers State surpassed its 2024 annual revenue target by N16 billion.
This information was revealed to newsmen by the Customs Area Controller of the Command, Mr Mohammed Babandede, at a news conference last week.
He also disclosed that the command recently intercepted 12 containers of illicit drugs worth over N20.30 billion concealed in various items.
According to him, the content of the seized container included 1,721,100 bottles of 100ml cough syrup codeine, 510,000 tablets of 50mg Really Extra Diclofenac, 7,100,000 tablets of 225mg Royal apple Tramadol and Tramaking, 3,461 pieces of sanitary ware fittings used for concealment, 840 pieces of Chilly cutter used for concealment, and 153 cartons of TVS rubber.
“Our vigilant officers and men have successfully intercepted and seized an additional 12 containers (40 feet) of illicit medicine.
“This is a testament to our unwavering commitment to safeguarding public health, ensuring security of our nation and compliance with Nigeria’s import regulations. This also justifies our commitment to trade facilitation, transparency, effective and efficient service,” he said.
He said last year, the command received the support of different stakeholders, thanking them for working with the agency to achieve success.
“We appreciate the continued support and collaboration of all stakeholders, including the media, in amplifying our message and efforts to combat smuggling,” he said.
Mr Babandede stated that, “It is worth noting that the morale and dedication of our officers have been significantly bolstered by the Comptroller-General of Customs’ award, recognizing Area 2 Command as the Best Command in Anti-Smuggling Operations.
“This honour has further strengthened our resolve, and I assure you that we will not relent in performing our duties to protect the lives and well-being of Nigerians.”
The customs chief said earlier last year, the command was given a revenue target of N618 billion but as of December 31, 2024, it generated N634 billion, higher than the N321 billion recorded in 2023, promising to do more in 2025.
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited appreciated by 0.39 per cent on Friday as the demand for local equities continued to increase.
During the final trading session of the week, the insurance maintained its upward trend with a growth of 7.81 per cent as the banking index appreciated by 1.08 per cent, the consumer goods sector rose by 0.52 per cent, and the industrial goods counter expanded by 0.33 per cent, while the energy space went down by 0.49 per cent.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) jumped by 406.19 points to 103,586.33 points from 103,180.14 points, and the market capitalisation increased by N248 billion to N63.166 trillion from N62.918 trillion.
The bourse recorded 67 appreciating shares and 11 depreciating shares, implying a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
Chams, Omatek, NCR Nigeria, Learn Africa, and Regency Alliance topped the gainers’ table after they gained 10.00 per cent each to finish at N2.31, 88 Kobo, N6.05, N4.95, and 88 Kobo, respectively.
On the flip side, TotalEnergies lost 9.74 per cent to trade at N630.00, CWG depreciated by 6.04 per cent to close at N7.00, Thomas Wyatt went down by 5.26 per cent to N1.80, ABC Transport crumbled by 4.07 per cent to N1.18, and UAC Nigeria shed 3.19 per cent to N31.90.
Yesterday, investors traded 709.3 million stocks valued at N8.2 billion in 13,593 deals compared with the 829.8 million stocks worth N5.7 billion transacted in 11,752 deals on Thursday, representing a slowdown in the trading volume by 14.52 per cent and a rise in the trading value and number of deals by 43.86 per cent and 15.67 per cent, respectively.
At the close of business, Chams topped the activity log with 58.1 million equities sold for N133.8 million, Veritas Kapital traded 55.1 million shares valued at N89.2 million, Abbey Mortgage Bank exchanged 50.1 million stocks for N165.5 million, AIICO Insurance transacted 39.7 million equities worth N68.3 million, and NPF Microfinance Bank sold 34.3 million stocks valued at N64.0 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange extended its positive start to the year with a 0.08 per cent rise on Friday, January 3.
The market saw a gain of N840 million, with the value of the alternative bourse growing to N1.046 trillion from the N1.045 trillion it closed a day earlier as the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) made an addition of 2.43 points to wrap the session at 3,052.34 points compared with 3,049.91 points recorded at the previous session.
The appreciation posted yesterday at the NASD OTC exchange was caused by two price gainers led by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc which jumped by 2 Kobo to end at 20 Kobo per share compared with the preceding session’s 18 Kobo per share and UBN Property Plc, which improved its value by 16 Kobo to close at N1.98 per unit, in contrast to Thursday’s closing price f N1.82 per unit.
The market posted a price loser, which was FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc as it dropped 18 Kobo to finish at N39.76 share versus the previous day’s N39.94 per share.
There was an 856.6 per cent surge in the volume of securities traded in the session to 11.3 million units from the 1.2 million units traded in the preceding session.
Equally, there was a jump in the value of shares traded yesterday by 1,078.4 per cent to N56.8 million from the N4.8 million made previously, and the number of deals increased by 22.7 per cent to 27 deals from 22 deals.
FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc was the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 1.4 units worth N55.8 million, IGI Plc came next with 10.6 million units valued at N2.1 million, and 11 Plc was in third with 6,45 units sold for N1.4 million.
IGI Plc closed the day as the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 10.6 million units sold for N2.1 million, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc came next with 1.4 million units valued at N55.8 million, and UBN Property Plc followed with 275,740 units worth N545,965.
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