Economy
NAICOM, Ministry Plan Insurance Policy for Government Assets
By Adedapo Adesanya
Plans by the federal government to insure all its assets across the federation has gotten a boost following a meeting between the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) and the Ministry of Finance.
At an event held this week, representatives of the Ministry met with the regulatory agency for the insurance sector in Nigeria about the development.
The Vice-Chairman, Sub-Committee, Publicity and Communication Sub-Committee, Mrs Ebelechukwu Nwachukwu, disclosed that the federal government officials were at the Insurers Committee meeting held in Lagos.
Mrs Nwachukwu, also the Managing Director, NSIA Insurance Company, explained that, “The representatives of the Ministry of Finance spoke to us on the willingness and readiness of the federal government to insure all its assets.
“As a result of the development, we are going to be having a meeting between the industry and the Ministry of Finance to discuss all the modalities and guidelines.
“Our discussion will address issues around data, premium payment, amongst others.”
According to her, the industry is excited that the government was paying attention to insuring its assets and sustain the culture, as this would set a positive pace.
Mrs Nwachukwu disclosed that a discussion was also ongoing between the operators and the commission to review the N5,000 third party motor insurance policy.
She said that the Commissioner of Insurance, Mr Sunday Thomas, following reactivation of the Insurers Committee, directed it to determine the adequacy of the current premium for the third-party motor insurance policy.
“The committee has received the permission of NAICOM to review and determine the adequacy of the current premium for the third-party motor insurance policy.
“When you have a third-party policy, it is necessary that you revisit it from time to time, so the technical and actuarial professionals will start working on that,” she said.
The managing director hinted that the insurers’ committee has also agreed to scale up the ECOWAS Brown card by going into automatic issuance in Nigeria.
“Issues around enforcement of the brown card issuance and lots of issues around the claims that have occurred for people who have it were also discussed extensively,” she said.
She also revealed that NAICOM also charged operators to show more interest in financial inclusion, review the guidelines around it and report to the commission.
“The commission will like to get feedback on anything that makes people show more interest in microinsurance and Takaful insurance,” she said.
On IFRS 17 and implementation, Mrs Nwachukwu noted that the regulator had encouraged all the insurers to ensure that they gather analysis and get ready by putting in place all internal requirements and board for the implementation.
The managing director disclosed that the rebranding project of the industry has been extended and would be re-initiated soon with a new structure that was different from the former.
It was also revealed that the sub-committees of the Insurers Committee have been reduced from eight to six. She listed the sub-committees as Corporate Governance and Ethics, Market Development and Government relation, Customer Services, Credentials Guidelines, Technical and Publicity/ Communication subcommittee.
The meeting was attended by top directors in NAICOM and Chief Executives Officers of insurance companies.
Insurers Committee was established by NAICOM and synonymous with Banker’s Committee.
It consists of NAICOM directors and CEO of all underwriter insurance companies in Nigeria.
The committee, inaugurated on Nov. 19, 2015, by the then Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, operates under a mandate to rebrand and strategically reposition the insurance industry.
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.
