Economy
Abuja Chamber of Commerce Signs Digital Economy Policy Deal
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) and the Continental Project Affairs Associates Ltd (CPAA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Digital Economy Policy on Thursday in Abuja.
This was disclosed in a press statement signed by the Media Officer of ACCI, Mr Olayemi John-Mensah, who noted that the partnership was built on deepening private sector participation in the making of digital economy policies and programmes to benefit maximally from the booming sector.
Speaking at the occasion, President of ACCI, Mr Al-Mujtaba Abubakar said governmental drive within the ICT sector is “a recognition of the digital shift within the economy as ICT contribution to the GDP is growing every quarter and the potential of the sector as a job creator is well documented.”
“We note the giant strides the ICT sector has taken under the present administration. We particularly commend the Honourable Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Dr Ibrahim Pantanmi on the various initiatives so far introduced. With a troubled oil sector and global drive against fossil fuel, digital economy holds the key especially for a country with a youth dominated demography,” he added.
According to the ACCI chief, “the government’s efforts cannot fully yield the desired effect unless the private sector is effectively integrated into the making and implementation of the digital economy policy.
“Worldwide, the private sector is put on the driver seat to speed up innovation and cost-efficient operations of the ever-widening sector. Designing a digital economy policy without the strong input of the private sector is, therefore, a serious error. To develop the sector effectively, engagement with the private sector is key.
“Policies emerging from such consultation will integrate the aspirations of the operators and assist the regulators to emerge as facilitators. That is why the ACCI as a leading chamber in Nigeria decides to institute a Digital Economy Policy Series.
The series will regularly dwell on ICT Policy issues and produce policy contributions.”
On his part, the Executive Chairman of CPAA, Mr Olusegun Olugbile, said his group wants a viable relationship in which the business sector will be able to coordinate itself and engage the government appropriately in the ongoing task of designing and implementing a robust national digital economy policy, assuring that the strategic plan is designed to harness and articulate private sector perspectives for digital policy dialogue.
“The idea is to first enable policy dialogue between the business community and later within a public-private dialogue framework. This will assist the government in the formulation of regulations and overall national policy.
“We see ACCI as a strong platform to drive this initiative,” Mr Olugbile stated.
The Vice President, ICT Mr Osi Imomoh at the signing of the MoU said ICT is now a critical sub-sector of the national economy, assuring that “ACCI is committed to deploying ICT to drive business, create wealth and support government in the making and implementation of digital economy policy.”
Earlier, the Executive Director of ACCI Policy Centre, Mr Olawale Rasheed explained that the partnership was the beginning of series of similar MOUs designed to institutionalize the policy advocacy process within the chamber and deepen the business side of policy work.
“Through the instrumentality of unpaid policy fellows, we have developed a huge pool of policy volunteers.
“This has put the PAC in strong stead to discharge its mandate in policy work. It also places us on a strong pedestal for our new role as a national policy centre for the national chamber movement in Nigeria,” Mr Rasheed noted.
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited came under pressure on Friday, staggering by 0.21 per cent at the close of trading activities.
Investors embarked on profit-taking yesterday, particularly in the energy and industrial goods sectors, which closed lower by 0.43 per cent and 0.06 per cent, respectively.
The gains reported by the others could not extend the stay of Customs Street in the positive territory yesterday.
Data showed that the insurance counter closed higher by 2.07 per cent, and the banking space improved by 0.55 per cent, while the consumer goods and commodity indices closed flat.
When the closing gong was struck by 2:30 pm, the All-Share Index (ASI) was down by 224.91 points to 104,563.34 points from 104,788.25 points and the market capitalisation contracted by N141 billion to N65.707 trillion from N65.848 trillion.
Deap Capital lost 9.71 per cent to trade at 93 Kobo, Royal Exchange crumbled by 9.09 per cent to 80 Kobo, Sovereign Trust Insurance fell by 7.61 per cent to 85 Kobo, Guinea Insurance depreciated by 7.35 per cent to 63 Kobo, and Oando dwindled by 5.57 per cent to N39.00.
Conversely, Caverton jumped by 9.96 per cent to N2.54, VFD Group surged by 9.90 per cent to N87.70, Abbey Mortgage Bank gained 9.86 per cent to close at N6.13, FTN Cocoa advanced by 9.83 per cent to N1.90, and Regency Alliance rose by 9.43 per cent to 58 Kobo.
On Friday, investors traded 380.0 million equities worth N10.1 billion in 10,791 deals versus the 432.6 million equities valued at N9.7 billion transacted in 12,027 deals in the previous trading session, indicating an uptick in the value of transactions by 4.12 per cent and contractions in the volume of trades and the number of deals by 12.16 per cent and 10.28 per cent apiece.
Access Holdings retained its position as the most active equity with 73.2 million units sold for N1.5 billion, Zenith Bank exchanged 33.4 million units worth N1.7 billion, Cutix transacted 29.7 million units valued at N63.0 million, GTCO traded 25.7 million units worth N1.7 billion, and Fidelity Bank transacted 19.7 million units valued at N374.2 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange went down by 0.31 per cent on Friday, April 10, with the Unlisted Security Index (NSI) depreciating by 1038 points to 3,277.57 points from the previous session’s 3,287.85 points.
Similarly, the market capitalisation of the bourse depleted by N6.02 billion to close at N1.919 trillion from the N1.925 trillion it ended on Thursday.
FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gave away N2.95 to close at N35.55 per unit versus the previous day’s N38.50 per unit and Acorn Petroleum Plc lost 13 Kobo to end at N1.17 per share from the previous closing value of N1.30 per share.
During the session, there was a 750.8 per cent surge in the volume of securities transacted to 152.3 million units from the 18.1 million units transacted in the previous trading day, the value of transactions grew by 2,268.9 per cent to N4.6 billion from N192.9 million, and the number of deals went down by 20 per cent to 16 deals from 20 deals.
Impresit Bakolori Plc remained the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 533.9 million units worth N520.9 million, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 153.6 million units sold for N4.9 billion, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 71.2 million units valued at N24.2 million.
However, Okitipupa Plc became the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 153.6 million valued at N4.9 billion, trailed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 14.6 million units worth N562.7 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 533.9 million units sold for N520.9 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira closed the last trading session of the week in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on a positive note on Friday, April 11 with a gain of 1.2 per cent or N18.86 against the United States Dollar.
During the trading day, it was exchanged at the official forex market at N1,611.08/$1, in contrast to the N1,629.94/1 it was traded a day earlier.
The local currency strengthened yesterday at the currency market after the Dollar weakened in the international scene, making currencies like the Naira have a sigh of relief.
Also supporting this is efforts by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to prop the market with the necessary liquidity.
However, the domestic currency depreciated against the British Pound Sterling at the spot market during the session by N5.57 to settle at N2,090.58/£1 compared with Thursday’s closing price of N2,085.01/£1 and lost N10.18 against the Euro to sell for N1,815.82/€1, in contrast to the preceding day’s N1,805.64/€1.
At the parallel market, the Nigerian Naira traded flat against the greenback on Friday, remaining unchanged at N1,620/$1.
As for the cryptocurrency market, it was bullish after the US Dollar fell to a 3-year low and Producer Price Index (PPI) inflation dropped sharply.
The drop in the greenback made it possible for investors and traders to buy more while the index came in at 2.7 per cent versus the anticipated 3.3 per cent while the core PPI print also surprised to the downside.
Solana (SOL) appreciated by 5.4 per cent to $123.31, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 4.3 per cent to $0.1638, Bitcoin (BTC) increased by 3.2 per cent to $83,697.39, and (XRP) added 2.4 per cent to quote at $2.04, and Binance Coin (BNB) soared by 1.4 per cent to $587.41.
In addition, Ethereum (ETH) improved by 1.2 per cent to $1,573.75, Cardano grew by 0.3 per cent to $0.6234, Litecoin (LTC) also went up by 0.3 per cent to $76.20, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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