Economy
FG, State Governments Team up on Ease of Doing Business
By Dipo Olowookere
State governments have restated their commitment to initiate and implement Doing Business reforms that will positively impact on businesses and stand them out among their peers in the World Bank sub-national rankings.
This commitment was made in Abuja at the kick-off mission for the Sub-National Doing Business (SNDB) in Nigeria project organised by the World Bank and the Enabling Business Environment Secretariat (EBES).
Opening statements to the workshop were made by the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, who is Chair of the Nigerian Economic Council (NEC) Implementation Monitoring Committee, through a representative; and the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr Aminu Bisalla.
Welcoming participants to the event, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, thanked state governments for their willingness to drive the sub-national rankings project.
She noted that some states are already implementing reforms, but a lot more could be achieved by applying best practices like efficiency, transparency and performance management.
According to Dr Oduwole, “The key barometer on whether the various reforms are working will be the testimonials of small and medium business owners across the country.”
The workshop had commissioners of trade and commerce, budget and national planning, heads of investment agencies and other focal persons from nearly 20 states in attendance.
A reform leader at the Enabling Business Environment Secretariat (EBES), Mrs Toyin Bashir, stated that Doing Business reforms at the state level “will lead to job creation, as MSMEs currently make up 90% of registered businesses in Nigeria; better living standards; and increased foreign direct investments at a time when the country is grappling with a decline in oil prices.”
Mrs Bashir explained that removing bottlenecks around the 11 indicators on which states are to be ranked will provide relief for business owners and signal to the world that Nigeria is open for business.
“The 11 indicators affect firms throughout their life cycles. ‘Starting a Business’ and ‘Regulatory Environment’ affect firms at start-up phase; ‘Infrastructure’ and ‘Growth & Productivity’ affect firms in their daily operations; while ‘Registering Property’, ‘Access to land and property’ and ‘Dealing with Construction permits’ affect the firms when trying to get a location,” Bashir said. Furthermore, she explained that “‘Enforcing Contracts’ is a relevant indicator for when things go wrong, while ‘Transparency and accessibility to information’ is crucial at all phases of the business.”
The World Bank Doing Business Country Adviser for Nigeria, Ms Cemile Hacibeyoglu, listed some common features of successful reformers. Sharing best practice experiences from countries like Colombia, Costa Rica, Rwanda and Korea, she said “high-level leadership and ownership of the reform agenda, long term vision with clear objectives, inclusive reform process, detailed goals, private sector commitment and effective communication” are essential for a successful reform process.
In an interactive panel session, three states shared experiences on ongoing reform efforts and challenges – Kaduna State represented by the Commissioner of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, Dr Manzo Maigari; Sokoto State by Commissioner for Commerce, Mr A. Aminu; and the Special Adviser to the Governor of Osun State on Public Service Productivity, Mr Ademola Adeyinka.
The World Bank sub-national rankings of Nigerian states is expected to be released in 2018. It will be the fourth in the series, with the most recent conducted in 2014.
The Enabling Business Environment Secretariat (EBES) and the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council (NIPC) have both committed to supporting the state governments by facilitating collaboration and knowledge sharing workshops among the states as they implement their priority reforms.
It will be recalled that at the July 2017 National Economic Council (NEC) meeting, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Okechukwu Enelamah, and the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, had made a presentation seeking the buy-in of governors for the sub-national rankings. The project was unanimously endorsed by the governors at the meeting.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rallied by 0.89 per cent on Tuesday, August 4 amid renewed buying interest in unlisted stocks.
During the session, the market capitalisation added N24.07 billion to end at N2.739 trillion compared with Tuesday’s N2.715 trillion, while the NASD Security Index (NSI) gained 40.11 points to quote at 4,563.96 points compared with the preceding day’s 4,523.85 points.
The NASD OTC Exchange ended the trading session with two price losers and three gainers, led by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which chalked up N7.80 to close at N119.80 per unit versus the previous session’s N112.00 per unit. Afriland Properties Plc increased its value by N1.27 to N23.95 per share from N22.68 per share, and Nitrox Industrial Gases Plc expanded by N1.15 to N21.15 per unit from N20.00 per unit.
On the flip side, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc slid by N8.64 to sell at N144.00 per share compared with the previous day’s N152.64 per share, and 11 Plc dipped by 1 Kobo to end at N225.00 per unit, in contrast to Monday’s closing price of N225.01 per unit.
Tuesday’s trading data showed that the volume of securities rose by 9.0 per cent to 1.6 million units from 1.5 million units, and the number of deals climbed by 6.5 per cent to 33 deals from 31 deals, while the value of securities dropped by 26.9 per cent to N47.6 million from N65.2 million.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 76.9 million units exchanged for N5.5 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date with 3.4 billion units transacted for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
A 0.38 per cent loss was suffered by Nigerian stocks on Tuesday on the back of continued selling pressure from investors embarking on profit-taking.
Data from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited showed that the contraction was influenced by the 1.78 per cent decline recorded by the insurance sector, the 0.24 per cent slip printed by the consumer goods index, and the 0.09 per cent drop posted by the energy space, offsetting the 0.75 per cent growth achieved by the banking sector and the 0.21 per cent growth recorded by the industrial goods segment.
Investor sentiment was weak during the trading day, as the bourse ended with 13 price gainers and 40 price losers, representing a negative market breadth index.
LivingTrust Mortgage depreciated by 10.00 per cent to N3.42, Multiverse also shed 10.00 per cent to N22.95, McNichols dropped 9.92 per cent to N5.45, Thomas Wyatt dipped by 9.87 per cent to N3.56, and Eterna lost 8.57 per cent to trade at N33.00.
On the flip side, AVA Capital improved by 9.94 per cent to N9.95, Livestock Feeds expanded by 9.71 per cent to N8.65, Neimeth increased by 8.43 per cent to N9.00, AIICO gained 3.47 per cent to settle at N4.18, and Oando grew by 3.30 per cent to N36.00.
A total of 1.6 billion equities valued at N28.7 billion exchanged hands in 54,160 deals yesterday versus the 923.0 million equities worth N37.9 billion traded in 72,544 deals on Monday, indicating a 73.35 per cent surge in the trading volume, a 24.27 per cent decline in the trading value, and a 25.34 per cent slip in the number of deals.
The busiest stock was Japaul, which transacted 904.4 million units for N2.7 billion. Sterling Holdings sold 54.0 million units valued at N431.9 million, FCMB exchanged 49.5 million units worth N545.9 million, Chams traded 44.9 million units for N199.2 million, and Neimeth sold 42.4 million units worth N327.8 million.
Business Post reports that the All-Share Index (ASI) gave up 927.70 points to 244,802.83 points from 245,730.53 points, and the market capitalisation receded by N599 billion to N158.016 trillion from N158.615 trillion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira put up a better performance against the United States Dollar in the various segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Tuesday, August 4.
In the parallel market, it improved its value by N5 to settle at N1,400/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,405/$1, and at the GTBank forex desk, it appreciated by N1 to close at N1,373/$1, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1,374/$1.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) segment, the Nigerian currency gained N2.28 or 0.17 per cent against the greenback to quote at N1,362.55/$1 compared with the N1,364.83/$1 it was exchanged a day earlier.
Also in the official market, the local currency appreciated against the Pound Sterling during the session by N6.48 to finish at N1,831.41/£1 versus N1,837.89/£1, and chalked up N5.22 on the Euro to sell at N1,568.71/€1 versus N1,573.93/€1.
Interbank FX transactions increased 14 per cent day-on-day as market makers’ activities raised total Dollar volume exchanged to $156.23 million, more than 132 per cent above $137.05 million in turnover at the previous close.
The interbank FX turnover rose despite a marginal rise in deals at the NFEM window as data from the central bank put Tuesday’s quote at 139 from 138.
As for the cryptocurrency market, major tokens were mixed as global stock indexes hit fresh records on renewed enthusiasm for artificial-intelligence-related shares.
With cheaper oil, easing rate expectations and a strong risk-on rally in equities supporting digital assets, analysts say crypto appears to be driven by internal market dynamics rather than macroeconomic factors, even as traders watch for a potential Strait of Hormuz deal.
It was reported overnight that Iran and Oman were close to an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with an announcement targeted for Wednesday.
Binance Coin (BNB) grew by 1.8 per cent to $600.54, Bitcoin (BTC) rose by 0.9 per cent to $64,199.86, Solana (SOL) jumped by 0.8 per cent to $73.95, and Ethereum (ETH) advanced by 0.7 per cent to $1,867.21.
But Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 1.9 per cent to $0.1908, TRON (TRX) dipped by 0.6 per cent to $0.3268, Dogecoin (DOGE) slumped by 0.5 per cent to $0.0698, and Ripple (XRP) crashed by 0.4 per cent to $1.06, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.
