Economy
$30b Needed to Execute 30 Capital Projects in Five Years—Ambode
By Dipo Olowookere
Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State has disclosed that not less than $30 billion is required to carry out about 30 capital projects in the state in the next five years.
Mr Ambode made this disclosure on Monday when he spoke shortly before inaugurating a 12-member Economic Advisory Committee at the Lagos House, Ikeja.
He said the projected figure represents about $6 billion per annum, whereas the provision for capital projects in the 2017 budget is pegged at N500 billion (about $1.6 billion).
Alluding to the fact that the projection clearly shows that government alone cannot address the infrastructure deficit, the Governor said the inauguration of the Economic Advisory Committee was therefore a step in the right direction.
“If Lagos was a country and we are the fifth largest economy in Africa, then we have to start thinking about the number five. In that regard, you must not think taxes of Lagos state citizens or IGR, you must create some kind of platform that would allow some other people who are outside to tell us how to run a country in a state.
“Let me crave your indulgence to present a picture of what we are confronted with. Our 2017 budget has earmarked about N500 billion (about $1.6 billion) as capital spend. Whereas our recent Infrastructure needs analysis shows that over $30 billion would be required to achieve the 30 most impactful projects for the state over the next five years (an average of $6 billion per annum).
“It is evident that Government cannot address this from current resources. A key task of this Committee is therefore to provide specific advice on the overall finance strategy to bridge the massive infrastructure gap. I am therefore glad and privileged that nine competent and well respected Lagosians have accepted our request to serve in the Committee,” he said.
Highlighting some of the key functions expected of the Economic Advisory Team, Governor Ambode said they would be expected to bring an independent perspective on economic and business issues with a primary role of offering advice to his administration under the four strategic 2012-2025 Lagos State Development Plan (LSDP) pillars of Economic Development; Infrastructural Development; Social Development and Security as well as Sustainable Development.
Mr Ambode said that whilst the Committee is independent and largely constituted by members from the private sector, the need for integration and collaboration to ensure that the views are taken on board necessitated in having three members of the State Executive Council, led by the Commissioner for Finance in the team.
He expressed optimism that the Economic team would further expand his administration’s all inclusive governance mantra and achieve the key objective of getting independent views on economic and business issues in delivering the mandate to the people.
Governor Ambode later inaugurated renowned economist and Founder of Agusto & Co, Mr Olabode Agusto as the Chairman, while Commissioners for Finance, Mr Akinyemi Ashade; Energy and Mineral Resources, Mr Olawale Oluwo and Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives, Mr Rotimi Ogunleye are members of the Committee.
Other members include former Managing Director, Skye Bank, Mr Kehinde Durosinmi-Etti; former Country Senior Partner, PwC, Mr Kenneth Igbokwe; Founder/CEO Bestman Games Ltd, Mrs Nimi Akinkugbe; Managing Partner, Dalmeida, Ogunlana & Co, Mrs Adenike Ogunlana; Managing Director, Vetiva Capital, Dr Laolu Mudashiru; former Minister of Science & Technology, Mrs Omobola Johnson; Deputy Managing Director, Wema Bank Plc, Mr Moruf Oseni and Mrs Yetunde Akinloye who doubles as Secretary of the Committee.
Responding on behalf of other members of the Committee, Mr Agusto assured that they would work diligently and focus on the priorities of the state government aimed at making life more comfortable for Lagosians.
He noted that one of the major reasons why Lagos is making steady progress was the fact that businesses are thriving, adding that the Committee would take into cognizance the important role the private sector plays in that regard.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Four securities weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.95 per cent on Friday, erasing N41.17 billion from the bourse, which had its market capitalisation at N2.567 trillion compared with the previous session’s N2.618 trillion.
In the same vein, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) decreased at the close of business by 85.28 points to 4,277.07 points from 4,362.32 points.
The price decliners were led by 11 Plc, which gave up N20.50 to sell at N200.50 per share compared with the preceding day’s N221.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc dropped N16.94 to close at N155.20 per unit versus Thursday’s closing price of N172.14 per unit, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by N2.11 to N84.68 per share from N86.79 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc lost 11 Kobo to end at N16.74 per unit, in contrast to the N16.85 per unit it closed a day earlier.
During the trading day, the value of transactions jumped by 172.1 per cent to N29.9 million from the preceding session’s N10.9 million, and the volume of trades soared by 136.5 per cent to 955,096 units from the previous 403,901 units, while the number of deals went down by 11.4 per cent to 31 deals from 35 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 68.6 million units sold for N4.7 billion.
GNI Plc also ended the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
The last trading session of this week on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended on a negative note, with a 0.66 per cent loss on Friday.
This was influenced by sustained selling pressure and cautious trading, which forced investors into profit-taking.
Data obtained by Business Post showed that the energy sector fell by 4.66 per cent, the insurance counter dipped by 2.23 per cent, the consumer goods index depreciated by 0.96 per cent, and the banking segment shed 0.28 per cent, while the industrial goods space remained unchanged.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) of Nigeria’s stock exchange went down by 1,531.81 points to 232,049.02 points from 233,580.83 points, and the market capitalisation dropped N983 billion to settle at N148.905 trillion compared with Thursday’s N149.888 trillion.
Aradel was the worst-performing equity after it lost 10.00 per cent to close at N1,417.50. International Energy Insurance slipped by 9.95 per cent to N5.79, Trans-Nationwide Express depreciated by 9.89 per cent to N3.28, eTranzact crashed by 9.79 per cent to N14.75, and UPDC slumped by 9.72 per cent to N28.12.
The best-performing equity for the day was Universal Insurance, which gained 6.32 per cent to close at N1.01, McNichols grew by 5.52 per cent to N8.60, Linkage Assurance expanded by 4.67 per cent to N1.57, NGX Group appreciated by 4.35 per cent to N120.00, and Transcorp increased by 3.62 per cent to N41.50.
As look at the activity level indicated that investors traded 388.7 million stocks worth N18.4 billion in 44,631 deals compared with the 393.7 million stocks valued at N19.2 billion executed in 45,813 deals a day earlier, representing a decline in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 1.27 per cent, 4.17 per cent, and 2.58 per cent, respectively.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira recorded a loss of 82 Kobo or 0.06 per cent against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, June 26, exchanging at N1,380.93/$1, in contrast to the previous day’s rate of N1,380.11/$1.
Equally, the domestic currency further weakened against the Pound Sterling in the official FX market yesterday by N6.06 to settle at N1,824.90/£1 versus the preceding session’s N1,818.84/£1, and lost N10.74 on the Euro to sell at N1,577 .58/€1 versus N1,566.84/€1.
At the GTBank forex counter, the Naira depreciated against the greenback during the session by N4 to close at N1,387/$1, in contrast to Thursday’s value of N1,383/$1, and at the parallel market, it was unchanged at N1,395/$1.
Interbank FX activity among financial institutions has fluctuated amid a sharp slowdown in forex market interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as it allows demand and supply to move the market.
Also, a stronger greenback has generally put significant pressure on emerging-market currencies.
Nigeria has accessed the first tranche of a proposed $5 billion derivatives financing arrangement with First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC, the largest lender in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The $5 billion facility, approved by the National Assembly earlier this year, is part of the federal government’s plan to diversify external financing sources and reduce borrowing costs. Structured as a Total Return Swap with First Abu Dhabi Bank, proceeds are earmarked for refinancing debt and supporting infrastructure financing.
If the proceeds are brought into the country through the official FX market, the transaction will increase the currency reserves or Dollar liquidity.
At the cryptocurrency market, Solana (SOL) grew by 2.2 per cent to $71.92, Cardano (ADA) gained 1.1 per cent to trade at $0.1474, Ripple (XRP) also appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $1.05, Dogecoin (DOGE) expanded by 0.9 per cent to $0.0755, and Ethereum (ETH) improved by 0.4 per cent to $1,578.84.
On the flip side, TRON (TRX) slid 0.6 per cent to $0.3203, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 0.3 per cent to $564.33, and Bitcoin fell by 0.2 per cent to $60,219.37, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.
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