Economy
Employers Vital in Pension Scheme—Stanbic IBTC
By Dipo Olowookere
Nigeria’s largest pension fund administrator (PFA), Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers Limited, has described as fundamental the role of employers in the country’s nascent Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), a status that obligates them to highlight the importance and value of pension provision among their employees.
Speaking during an employers’ forum organized by the PFA in Enugu, which held on Wednesday, April 5, 2017, participants, drawn from employer-organizations spanning both the private and public sectors, including governments, parastatals, ministries, companies, and universities, among others, noted that such stakeholder engagements will help to boost enrolment and strengthen the pension industry in Nigeria.
This was as employers of labour in Nigeria’s South East geo-political zone commended the PFA for its resolute commitment to enhancing awareness about the CPS and its enormous benefits to Nigerians and the economy.
In his welcome address, Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers Limited, Mr Eric Fajemisin, said the PFA is keen about having the over 73 million employed Nigerians enrolled in the CPS to enable them benefit from its provisions, especially to plan for retirement, which is inevitable.
Mr Fajemisin, who was represented by the Executive Director, Operations, Mr Steve Elusope, said the role of employers in the success of the scheme is pivotal as the Pension Reform Act specifically mandates them to help their workers have retirement plans through the opening of retirement savings accounts, funding of those accounts and regular remittance of their pension contributions.
“There is a clear need to ensure the rapid growth of the Contributory Pension Scheme by increasing its uptake by Nigerians. Latest figures from the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics showed that the country has 73.4 million working Nigerians.
“Of this number only about 10% (7.3 million) are captured in the CPS. This forum is designed to bring together employers and pension experts where knowledge and information can be shared on the pension business and how to increase participation in the scheme,” Mr Fajemisin said.
The employers’ forum, titled Partnering to Deliver Excellent Pension Administration Services, will be held in eight cities across the country this year. The first edition held in Benin, Edo state on 23 March 2017.
The initiative was launched in 2014 as a platform to engage with employers, as a crucial anchor of the nascent pension scheme, to sign up to the CPS.
This year’s forum is focusing on derivable benefits of participation in the pension scheme; safeguards put in place to protect pension funds; expected participants in the pension scheme; ways to enhance collaborations to move Nigeria’s pension industry forward; the role of an employer/employee in the Contributory Pension Scheme; the challenges and the opportunities in the pension industry; and how pension assets can be deployed to support sustainable development in the country.
Other equally important issues examined are contributors’ access to their RSAs, claims processing, withdrawal from the pension scheme, and returns on investment on pension funds, annuity and regulatory oversight, among others.
Head, Computation & Remittance, National Pension Commission, Alhaji Mohammed Usman, who described the session as a positive experience, said the defined contribution accounts as defined in the PRA 2014 has become a very important income source for post-retirement comfort which must be embraced by all. He said the industry regulator has introduced numerous measures to enhance participation in the scheme, including establishment of regional offices to receive inquiries and other pertinent issues.
Also, Head, Business Development, Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers Limited, Mrs Nike Bajomo, said the PFA’s significant breadth of knowledge in the market, backed by the expertise and experience of Stanbic IBTC Group, a member of the over 153-year-old Standard Bank Group, will remain instrumental in delivering value-driven services to clients. Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers Limited, she said, has over 1.5 million retirement savings account holders nationwide, with assets under management in excess of N1.88 trillion. It pays approximately N1.8 billion to over 44,000 retirees monthly and over N261 billion has been paid to retirees since the PFA commenced operations in 2006.
Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers Limited is a subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC Holdings, a member of Standard Bank Group, a full service financial services group with a clear focus on three main business pillars-Corporate and Investment Banking, Personal and Business Banking and Wealth Management. Standard Bank Group is the largest African financial institution by assets and earnings. It is rooted in Africa with strategic representation in 20 countries on the African continent.
Standard Bank has been in operation for over 153 years and is focused on building first-class, on-the-ground financial services organisations in chosen countries in Africa and connecting other selected emerging markets to Africa and to each other, applying sector expertise, particularly in natural resources, globally.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited is seeking review of the controversial Capital Gains Tax increase, fearing it will chase away foreign investors from the country’s capital market.
Nigeria’s new tax regime, which takes effect from January 1, 2026, represents one of the most significant changes to Nigeria’s tax system in recent years.
Under the new rules, the flat 10 per cent Capital Gains Tax rate has been replaced by progressive income tax rates ranging from zero to 30 per cent, depending on an investor’s overall income or profit level while large corporate investors will see the top rate reduced to 25 per cent as part of a wider corporate tax reform.
The chief executive of NGX, Mr Jude Chiemeka, said in a Bloomberg interview in Kigali, Rwanda that there should be a “removal of the capital gains tax completely, or perhaps deferring it for five years.”
According to him, Nigeria, having a higher Capital Gains Tax, will make investors redirect asset allocation to frontier markets and “countries that have less tax.”
“From a capital flow perspective, we should be concerned because all these international portfolio managers that invest across frontier markets will certainly go to where the cost of investing is not so burdensome,” the CEO said, as per Bloomberg. “That is really the angle one will look at it from.”
Meanwhile, the policy has been defended by the chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, who noted that the new tax will make investing in the capital market more attractive by reducing risks, promoting fairness, and simplifying compliance.
He noted that the framework allows investors to deduct legitimate costs such as brokerage fees, regulatory charges, realised capital losses, margin interest, and foreign exchange losses directly tied to investments, thereby ensuring that they are not taxed when operating at a loss.
Mr Oyedele also said the reforms introduced a more inclusive approach to taxation by exempting several categories of investors and transactions.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Food Concepts Plc neutralized the gains recorded by three securities, returning the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange into the negative territory with a 0.27 per cent loss on Thursday, December 4.
Yesterday, the share price of the parent company of Chicken Republic and PieXpress declined by 34 Kobo to sell at N3.15 per unit compared with the previous day’s N3.49 per unit.
This shrank the market capitalisation of the OTC bourse by N5.72 billion to N2.136 billion from N2.142 trillion and weakened the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 9.57 points to 3,571.53 points from 3,581.10 points.
Business Post reports that Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by 50 Kobo to N38.50 per share from N38.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained 29 Kobo to sell at N55.79 per unit versus N55.50 per unit, and Geo-Fluids Plc added 5 Kobo to close at N4.60 per share compared with Wednesday’s closing price of N4.55 per share.
Trading data indicated that the volume of securities recorded at the session surged by 6,885.3 per cent to 4.3 million units from the 61,570 units posted a day earlier, the value of securities increased by 10,301.7 per cent to N947.2 million from N3.3 million, and the number of deals went up by 146.7 per cent to 37 deals from the 15 deals achieved in the previous trading session.
At the close of business, Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 5.8 billion units for N16.4 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 170.4 million units worth N8.0 billion, and Air Liquide Plc with 507.5 million units valued at N4.2 billion.
InfraCredit Plc also finished the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units transacted for N16.4 billion, followed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.2 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 536.9 million units traded for N524.9 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
The upward trend witnessed at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited in recent sessions continued on Thursday as it further improved by 0.10 per cent.
This was despite investor sentiment turning bearish after the local equity market ended with 23 price gainers and 28 price gainers, indicating a negative market breadth index.
UAC Nigeria gained 10.00 per cent to finish at N88.00, Morison Industries appreciated by 9.94 per cent to N3.54, Ecobank rose by 8.53 per cent to N36.90, and Coronation Insurance grew by 8.47 per cent to N2.56.
On the flip side, Ellah Lakes depreciated by 10.00 per cent to N13.14, Eunisell Nigeria also shed 10.00 per cent to finish at N72.90, Transcorp Hotels slipped by 9.95 per cent to N157.50, Omatek shrank by 9.23 per cent to N1.18, and Guinea Insurance dipped by 8.46 per cent to N1.19.
Yesterday, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 152.28 points to 145,476.15 points from 145,323.87 points and the market capitalisation chalked up N97 billion to finish at N92.726 trillion compared with the previous day’s N92.629 trillion.
Customs Street was bubbling with activities on Thursday, though the trading volume and value slightly went down, according to data.
A total of 1.9 billion stocks worth N19.2 billion exchanged hands in 23,369 deals during the session versus the N2.3 billion valued at N21.0 billion traded in 21,513 deals a day earlier.
This showed that the number of deals increased by 8.63 per cent, the volume of transactions depleted by 17.39 per cent, and the value of trades decreased by 8.57 per cent.
For another trading day, eTranzact led the activity chart with 1.6 billion units sold for N6.4 billion, Fidelity Bank traded 31.0 million units worth N589.3 million, GTCO exchanged 28.3 million units valued at N2.5 billion, Zenith Bank transacted 27.1 million units for N1.6 billion, and Ecobank traded 21.9 million units worth N744.3 million.
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