Economy
I’m Not Threatened by Otedola’s Investment in Transcorp—Elumelu
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Chairman of Transcorp Plc, Mr Tony Elumelu, has played down talks that he’s threatened by the investment of his close friend, Mr Femi Otedola, in the company.
Recall that two weeks ago, it was reported that Mr Otedola had acquired a 5.52 per cent stake in Transcorp to become the largest single individual shareholder of the conglomerate. He is only behind UBA Nominees Limited with a stake of 9.26 per cent.
His acquisition of the company’s shares later triggered buying pressure on the stock, stoking speculations that the businessman, who owns Geregu Power, was planning to take over Transcorp, especially its power subsidiary.
Mr Otedola is not new to investing in companies. He invested in First Bank and spurred a leadership tussle, which attracted the attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
In an interview with Arise TV on Wednesday, Mr Elumelu said Mr Otedola remains his friend and “brother,” stressing that he was happy about his interest in the organisation he acquired in 2012.
“I am happy that Femi Odetola is investing locally, and he should be commended for that, and I also welcome him for that,” Mr Elumelu, who doubles as the chairman of UBA Group Plc, said in the interview monitored by Business Post.
“When friends and investing public invest in a public company like this, it is a validation and tells you they believe in your story, vision, management, leadership and competence,” said, adding that, “I like my friend (Otedola) coming on board, and I look forward to working with him to take Transcorp to greater heights.”
Mr Elumelu stated that, “About 10 years ago, before we took over Transcorp, people were not interested [in the company]. People lost confidence in the company. Today, under our leadership, Transcorp has consistently paid dividends in the last five years. There is a capital appreciation for the company.”
He emphasised that the coming of the “man I admire” to the board of Transcorp would be to the advantage of “shareholders” as the company’s stocks will become “investors’ toast.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
Seven price gainers flipped recent declines at the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange, raising the alternative stock market by 2.19 per cent on Friday.
According to data, the market capitalisation added N51.24 billion to end N2.389 trillion compared with the previous day’s N2.338 trillion, while the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) climbed 85.65 points to close at 3,994.32 points, in contrast to the 3,908.67 points it ended a day earlier.
Business Post reports that the advancers were led by MRS Oil Plc, which improved its value by N13.00 to N200.00 per share from N187.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained N7.40 to settle at N91.55 per unit versus the previous day’s N84.15 per unit, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc appreciated by N6.08 to N71.00 per share from N64.92 per share, Afriland Properties Plc added 66 Kobo to finish at N17.17 per unit versus N16.51 per unit, IPWA Plc rose 37 Kobo to N4.15 per share from N3.78 per share, First Trust Mortgage Bank Plc grew by 11 Kobo to N1.20 per unit from N1.09 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc went up by 10obo to N3.70 per share from N3.60 per share.
On the flip side, there were two price losers led by Geo-Fluids Plc, which depreciated by 28 Kobo to N3.32 per unit from N3.60 per unit, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc dropped 5 Kobo to sell at 45 Kobo per share from 50 Kobo per share.
Yesterday, the volume of trades went down by 92.0 per cent to 3.7 million units from 45.8 million units, the value of transactions fell by 59.4 per cent to N84.5 million from N208.2 million, while the number of deals went up by 7.7 per cent to 42 deals from 39 deals.
CSCS Plc remained the most traded stock by value (year-to-date) with 32.6 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion, trailed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 119.6 million units valued at N470.3 million, and Resourcery Plc with 1.05 billion units traded at N408.6 million.
Resourcery Plc closed the day as the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.05 billion units sold for N408.7 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 119.6 million units worth N470.3 million, and CSCS Plc with 32.6 million units worth N1.9 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira weakened further against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, February 20, by N4.97 or 0.37 per cent to N1,346.32/$1 from the N1,341.35/$1 it was transacted on Thursday.
Heightened FX demand tilted the market toward the downside yesterday, exerting upward pressure on rates despite efforts by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to stabilise the foreign exchange market.
Also in the official market, the domestic currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling during the session by N9.39 to sell for N1,815.25/£1 versus the previous day’s N1,805.86/£1, and lost N7.33 against the Euro to close at N1,584.62/€1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,577.29/€1.
The story was not different for the Nigerian Naira at the GTBank FX desk, where it depleted against the Dollar by N7 on Friday to quote at N1,356/$1 versus the N1,349/$1 it was sold a day earlier, but remained unchanged in the black market at N1,370/$1.
It was observed that risky sentiment among Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) contributed to the FX market, amid fears of hot money flight due to capital gains tax and other factors.
As for the cryptocurrency market, it was mostly green yesterday in reaction to a Supreme Court verdict dismissing a fresh 10 per cent global levy by President Donald Trump.
The apex court on Friday described Mr Trump’s global tariff rollout as illegal. The decision did not clarify what should happen to tariff revenue already collected, and it doesn’t necessarily spell the end of the trade agenda, with multiple legal and executive avenues still available.
Litecoin (LTC) grew 2.7 per cent to $55.00, Cardano (ADA) appreciated 2.6 per cent to trade at $0.2815, Binance Coin (BNB) expanded by 2.6 per cent to $627.19, Dogecoin (DOGE) recouped 1.3 per cent to quote at $0.1, Ripple (XRP) jumped 0.7 per cent to $1.43, Solana (SOL) improved by 0.5 per cent to $84.15, and Ethereum (ETH) soared 0.1 per cent to $1,962.78.
However, Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.2 per cent to sell for $67,850.49, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
A further 0.99 per cent was gained by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Friday after a positive market breadth index supported by 53 price gainers, which outweighed 23 price losers, representing bullish investor sentiment.
During the trading day, the trio of Jaiz Bank, Fidson, and NPF Microfinance Bank chalked up 10.00 per cent each to sell for N11.00, N86.90, and N6.27, respectively, while Deap Capital appreciated by 9.96 per cent to N7.62, and Mutual Benefits increased by 9.94 per cent to N5.42.
Conversely, Secure Electronic Technology shed 10.00 per cent to trade at N1.62, Sovereign Trust Insurance slipped by 9.73 per cent to N2.32, Ellah Lakes declined by 7.91 per cent to N12.80, International Energy Insurance retreated by 5.56 per cent to N3.40, and ABC Transport moderated by 5.26 per cent to N9.00.
Data from Customs Street revealed that the insurance counter was up by 2.52 per cent, the industrial goods sector grew by 2.28 per cent, the banking space expanded by 1.43 per cent, the consumer goods index gained 1.23 per cent, and the energy industry rose by 0.05 per cent.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 1,916.20 points to 194,989.77 points from 193,073.57 points, and the market capitalisation moved up by N1.230 trillion to N125.164 trillion from Thursday’s N123.934 trillion.
Yesterday, investors traded 820.5 million stocks valued at N28.3 billion in 63,507 deals compared with the 898.5 million stocks worth N38.5 billion executed in 61,953 deals, showing a jump in the number of deals by 2.51 per cent, and a shortfall in the trading volume and value by 8.68 per cent and 26.49 per cent apiece.
Closing the session as the most active equity was Mutual Benefits with 79.0 million units worth N427.1 million, Zenith Bank traded 44.0 million units valued at N3.8 billion, Chams exchanged 43.9 million units for N182.0 million, AIICO Insurance transacted 42.4 million units valued at N179.8 million, and Veritas Kapital sold 36.0 million units worth N90.6 million.
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