Economy
Securities Issuers Forum Will Enhance Nigeria’s Economic Growth—SEC
By Dipo Olowookere
The newly created Securities Issuers Forum (SIF) has the potential to enhance Nigeria’s economic growth, the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr Lamido Yuguda, has said.
Mr Yuguda made this disclosure on Wednesday during the virtual inauguration of the platform formed in collaboration with the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA).
He explained that the forum can contribute to Nigeria’s economic development because it will allow issuers to engage the commission in order to encourage more listings, improve the contribution of issuers to the development of the capital market as key stakeholders, deepen and broaden the market.
According to him, he sees a situation where the platform will act as a bridge between the SEC and issuers of securities, noting that this has been tested in European and American markets.
The SEC chief said with SIF, the agency will be better positioned to engage issuers on capital raising opportunities to facilitate increased participation in the capital market, development of new products to meet funding needs and addressing issues relating to compliance with regulatory requirements.
“The idea of a forum for issuers of securities is not novel as such fora exist in other parts of the world to cater to the interests of issuers of securities in the capital market.
“In Europe, the European Issuers acts as the voice of issuers of securities representing over 8,000 companies and national associations of issuers of securities.
“In the United States of America and South Africa, the American Securities Association and the Debt Issuers Association respectively serve as the associations for issuers of securities,” he stated.
“In Nigeria, NECA, the umbrella body for over 3,000 members seeks to protect interests and rights of businesses and ultimately influence policymaking.
“By encouraging the establishment of the SIF in collaboration with NECA, the SEC hopes to bridge the gap that exists between the expectations of issuers and the requirements of the regulator,” Mr Yuguda added.
“While forums for issuers are not very common in the African region, they have proven to be veritable tools for capital market advancement in the UK, Europe and Asia. The inauguration of SIF today thus marks an important move by Nigeria to reap the benefits associated with its establishment,” the capital market expert disclosed.
The SEC boss stated that the objectives of issuers forums among others are to maintain regular contact with the regulator and policymakers: advise the regulator and policymakers on regulations affecting companies/issuers: conduct research, organize conferences, roundtable discussions and other events for the benefit of members and promote sound corporate governance and ethical conduct among members.
Other objectives of the forum he said, are to promote healthy competitiveness among members: maintain an enabling business environment by monitoring issues of direct relevance to members and protect the interest of members and present their views at various fora.
“The commission had encouraged the creation of associations and trade groups for other capital market stakeholders such as shareholders and capital market operators. Therefore, SIF is expected to function seamlessly and attract members in line with precedence already established.
“The presentations which will be made today will reiterate further the important role which SIF will play in the Nigerian capital market and the resultant responsibility placed on members to ensure that the forum lives up to its expectation,” he noted.
In his remarks, DG of NECA, Mr Timothy Olawale, expressed appreciation to the SEC on the initiative of inaugurating the forum, saying that the event is important to the business community especially coming during the current economic constraints being faced globally.
He said regulators are expected to be business facilitators and expressed excitement that the SEC was working hard at facilitating the ease of doing business as well as bridge the gaps and aid companies to meet expectations of compliance.
“This Forum is a good one by the SEC as it will help us to do what is needful and right and we are very excited about it. It is commendable and we recommend this form of partnership to others.
“The forum will serve as a medium of regular engagement between SEC and issuers of securities in order to address challenges, improve the business environment and enhance the contribution of the capital market to the growth of the Nigerian economy. We might not achieve all we set out to do at once, but gradually we will get there,” he stated.
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.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira marginally depreciated against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Thursday, December 4 amid renewed forex pressure associated with December.
At the official market yesterday, the Nigerian currency lost 0.01 per cent or 18 Kobo against the Dollar to close at N1,447.83/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,447.65/$1.
It was not a different scenario with the local currency in the same market segment against the Pound Sterling as it further shed N15.43 to sell for N1,930.97/£1 versus Wednesday’s closing price of N1,925.08/£1 and declined against the Euro by 20 Kobo to finish at N1,688.74/€1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,688.54/€1.
Similarly, the Nigerian Naira lost N5 against the greenback in the black market to quote at N1,465/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,460/$1 but closed flat against the Dollar at the GTBank FX counter at N1,453/$1.
Fluctuations in trading range is expected to continue during the festive season as traders expect the Nigerian currency to be stable, supported by intervention s by to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)in the face of steady dollar demand.
Support is also expected in coming weeks as seasonal activities, particularly the stylised “Detty December” festivities, will see inflows that will give the Naira a boost after it depreciated mildly last month, according to a new report.
“As the festive Detty December season intensifies, inbound travel, tourism spending, and diaspora inflows are expected to provide moderate support for FX liquidity,” analysts at the research unit of FMDA said in its latest monthly report for November.
Traders cited by Reuters expect that the Naira will trade within a band of N1,443-N1,450 next week, buoyed by improved FX interventions by the apex bank.
Meanwhile, the crypto market was down as the US Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, core PCE, likely rose in September—moving in the wrong direction. However, volatility indices show no signs of major turbulence.
If the actual figure matches estimates, it would mark 55 straight months of inflation above the US central bank’s 2 per cent target. The sticky inflation would strengthen the hawkish policymakers, who are in favour of slower rate cuts.
Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 4.5 per cent to $2.08, Solana (SOL) went down by 3.8 per cent to $138.11, Litecoin (LTC) shrank by 3.1 per cent to $83.23, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 2.5 per cent to $0.1463, Cardano (ADA) declined by 2.1 per cent to $0.4368, Bitcoin (BTC) fell by 0.9 per cent to $91,975.45, Binance Coin (BNB) crumbled by 0.9 per cent to $899.41, and Ethereum (ETH) dropped by 0.7 per cent to $3,156.44, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 apiece.
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