By Adedapo Adesanya

Four price gainers helped the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange close higher by 0.35 per cent on Thursday, January 16.

The value of the trading platform jumped by N3.69 billion during the session to N1.072 trillion from the N1.068 trillion it closed in the preceding session, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) made an addition of 10.67 points to wrap the session at 3,103.83 points compared with 3,093.16 points recorded at the previous session.

Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc added 3 Kobo to its price yesterday to trade at 33 Kobo per unit compared with Wednesday’s closing price of 30 Kobo per unit, Newrest Asl Plc appreciated by N2.85 to N31.18 per share from N28.53 per share, 11 Plc gained N2.90 to close at N256.00 per unit versus the N253.10 per unit it finished a day earlier, and  FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc grew by 21 Kobo to N39.16 per share, in contrast to midweek’s N38.95 per share.

On Thursday. there was an 85.3 per cent increase in the volume of securities traded by investors to 1.2 million units from the 666,494 units recorded in the preceding session, the value of shares traded surged by 8.9 per cent to N18.0 million from N16.5 million, and the number of deals leapt by 65 per cent to 33 deals from 20 deals.

FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc remained the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 million units worth N134.9 million, trailed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 8.9 million units sold for N43.0 million, and Afriland Properties Plc valued at 690,825 sold for N11.1 million.

IGI Plc closed the day as the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 23.5 million units sold for N5.3 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 8.9 million units valued at N43.0 million, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc followed with 3.4 million units worth N134.9 million.

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Governors of the 36 states of the federation have finally thrown their weight behind the controversial tax reform bills months after they earlier rejected them.

At a meeting of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) on Thursday, the governors, however, proposed a new sharing formula for the Valued-Added Tax (VAT).

They want 50 per cent of the VAT to be shared based equality, 30 per cent based on derivation, and 20 per cent based on population.

The governors also recommended there must be no increase in the VAT rate or reduction in Corporate Income Tax (CIT) for now for economic stability.

In addition, they suggested that there should be no terminal clause for TETFUND, the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) in the sharing of development levies in the bills, supporting tthe continuation of the legislative process at the national assembly that will culminate in the eventual passage of the tax reform bills.

“The Forum reiterated its strong support for the comprehensive reform of Nigeria’s archaic tax laws. Members acknowledged the importance of modernizing the tax system to enhance fiscal stability and align with global best practices.

“The Forum endorsed a revised Value Added Tax (VAT) sharing formula to ensure equitable distribution of resources: 50% based on equality, 30% based on derivation, and 20% based on population.

“Members agreed that there should be no increase in the VAT rate or reduction in Corporate Income Tax (CIT) at this time, to maintain economic stability,” the group said in a statement issued after the meeting.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira halted four consecutive sessions of depreciation on Thursday after its value improved against the  US Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) by 0.17 per cent or N2.63.

Data obtained from the FMDQ Securities Exchange showed that the Nigerian currency was traded on the greenback yesterday by N1,548.47/$1, in contrast to the preceding day’s rate of N1,551.10/$1.

However, it closed flat against the Pound Sterling and the Euro during the trading day at N1,904.43/£1 and N1,600.79/€1, respectively.

As for the parallel market, the Naira depreciated against the Dollar yesterday by N20 to settle at N1,6770/$1 compared with the N1,650/$1 it was transacted a day earlier.

As for the cryptocurrency market, there was continued appreciation ahead of the inauguration of the US President-elect, Mr Donald Trump, who favours digital assets.

The biggest gainer remained Litecoin (LTC), which chalked up 16.6 per cent to trade at $140.06 spurred by prospective Litecoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) which could see inflows of up to $580 million if investors adopt them at the same rate as Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs.

The possibility came into focus on Thursday as market participants began sizing up the likelihood that LTC might become the third crypto asset to get its ETF in the US, after BTC and Ethereum (ETH).

Ripple (XRP) jumped by 7.3 per cent during the trading session to close at $3.33, Cardano (ADA) added 6.5 per cent to its value to finish at $1.13, Solana (SOL) rose by 4.9 per cent to quote at $212.67, Dogecoin (DOGE) recorded a value appreciation of 1.6 per cent to sell at $0.3854, BTC grew by 1.6 per cent to settle at $101,346.11, and Binance Coin (BNB) went up by 0.9 per cent to end at $717.23.

On the flip side, ETH depreciated by 0.4 per cent to trade at $3,336.68, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.