Economy

Activist Investor Urges Caution on MTN Nigeria Shares

Published

7 years ago

15/02/2019

Modupe Gbadeyanka

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

An activist investor, Mr Gbadebo Olatokunbo, who doubles as the co-founder of Nigeria Shareholders

Solidarity Association (NSSA), has advised investors to be careful in subscribing to the much-anticipated listing of shares of MTN Nigeria on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

Recently, CEO of MTN Group, Mr Rob Shuter, disclosed that shares of the telecommunication firm would be listed on the NSE by introduction by June 2019.

According to Mr Shuter, “We have decided though to pursue the listing by means of a listing by introduction. It is phase one” of the listing.

He said after the listing of MTN Nigeria shares by the first half of the year, Nigerian investors would then have the opportunity to buy into the firm in the second phase of the listing.

But reacting to this announcement by MTN Group, Mr Olatokunbo told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that there was no excitement about the proposed listing of MTN’s shares, pointing out that the alleged constant violation of Nigerian regulatory laws by MTN should be a source of concern for investors.

“MTN is not good in my view in their dealing with the regulatory agencies.

“Each time they will violate our rules and when caught, they will deny it and later apologise, such actions mean a lot in terms of corporate behaviour.

“As an investment entity, it will be a good investment but investors need to ‘shine their eyes,’ when they deal with a company like MTN,” he said.

Mr Olatokunbo blamed the nation’s laws and regulations as well as regulatory agencies for lack of focus and pro-activeness.

He said the rules/regulations guiding the operations of the telecoms industry were long overdue for review, particularly on the number of years a company should operate in the country before being quoted.

According to him, any company that is 10 years in Nigeria with good profit should be mandated to list on the NSE.

However, Mr Moses Igbrude, Publicity Secretary of Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), shares a different view on the listing of MTN’s shares, saying like any new listing, it would excite investors.

Mr Igbrude said it showed that the market was deepening, expanding as well as a sign of acceptance, being a foreign company.

“Let us hope that our assumption that MTN is a viable and profitable company is a reality when they eventually come to the market.

“When most big companies go public, one will be shocked and surprised to see bloated volume of shares with some of them declaring losses.

“I sincerely appeal to the regulators to carry out thorough due diligence before settling for MTN listing price,” Mr Igbrude said.

Similarly, Prof. Uche Uwaleke, Head of Banking and Finance Department, Nasarawa State University Keffi, described the planned listing of MTN’s shares as a welcome development for the Nigerian capital market.

“One of the challenges the stock market is facing is that industry composition is concentrated in a few sectors. The listing of MTN will help dilute this over concentration.

“It will help to deepen the market, enhance its capitalisation and contribution to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product as more Nigerians are given the opportunity to participate in the fortunes of the telecom company,” Mr Uwaleke said.

He added that the listing would give a positive signal to both foreign and local investors who would see it as a sign that the investment climate in Nigeria was improving.

“The success of the listing will encourage other telecommunication companies such as Globacom, Etisalat and other multinational companies to consider approaching the stock exchange.

“This will be positive for the capital market and the economy in general,” the university don said. After it had issues with the Nigerian government, MTN Nigeria reached an agreement to list its shares on the local exchange.

Economy

NASD Exchange Rises 1.22% on Sustained Bargain-Hunting

Published

22 hours ago

28/02/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Strong appetite for unlisted stocks further raised the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.22 per cent on Friday, February 27.

Data revealed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) was up by 49.41 points to 4,083.87 points from 4,034.46 points, and lifted the market capitalisation by N19.56 billion to N2.433 trillion from N2.413 trillion.

The volume of securities bought and sold by investors increased by 243.0 per cent to 4.5 million units from 1.3 million units, and the number of deals grew by 15.8 per cent to 44 deals from 38 deals, while the value of securities went down by 19.7 per cent to N82.5 million from N102.8 million.

Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc ended the session as the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 35.0 million units valued at N2.1 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 6.3 million units worth N1.1 billion, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 122.8 million units transacted for N480.4 million.

Resourcery Plc ended the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 1.05 billion units sold for N408.7 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 122.8 million units valued at N480.4 million, and CSCS Plc with 35.0 million units traded for N2.1 billion.

There were six price gainers yesterday led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which added N9.02 to close at N111.46 per unui compared with the previous day’s N102.44 per unit, Nipco Plc appreciated by N6.00 to N284.00 per share from N278.00 per share, CSCS Plc recouped N1.87 to sell at N70.12 per unit versus Thursday’s value of N68.25 per unit, Geo-Fluids Plc improved by 17 Kobo to close at N3.18 per share versus N3.01 per share, Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc advanced by 5 Kobo to sell at N50 Kobo per unit versus the preceding day’s 45 Kobo per unit, and Acorn Petroleum Plc chalked up 2 Kobo to settle at N1.34 per share, in contrast to the previous day’s N1.32 per share.

Economy

FX Liquidity Crunch Sinks Naira to N1,363/$1 at NAFEX, N1,370/$1 at Black Market

Published

22 hours ago

28/02/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira performed poorly against the United States Dollar in the different segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market on February 27, closing the week without a gain.

In the black market, the domestic currency weakened against the Dollar yesterday by N5 to close at N1,370/$1 compared with Thursday’s closing price of N1,365/$1, and at the GT Bank forex desk, it lost N2 to sell N1,369/$1 versus the N1,367/$1 it was sold a day earlier.

Yesterday, the Nigerian Naira lost N3.75 or 0.26 per cent against the greenback at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) to trade at N1,363.39/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,359.82/$1.

Also, the Naira depreciated against the Euro at the official market during the session by N2.33 to quote at N1,609.22/€1 versus N1,606.89/€1, and appreciated against the Pound Sterling by N6.74 to settle at N1,836.49/£1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,843.23/£1.

The Naira’s latest depreciation occurred as FX demand continued to outpace available supply, intensifying pressure in the market.

In response to the negative momentum, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) intervened by selling Dollars to banks and other authorised dealers in an effort to stabilise the local currency. The move came barely a week after the apex bank had purchased about $190 million from the foreign exchange market to temper the Naira’s rally.

Specifically, the CBN injected $200 million into the official market between Tuesday and Wednesday through an intervention call. However, the liquidity support proved insufficient to reverse the currency’s downward trend.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market declined on Friday, with Solana (SOL) down by 10.4 per cent to $78.60, as Dogecoin (DOGE) decreased by 9.5 per cent to $0.0982.

Further, Cardano (ADA) slumped 8.9 per cent to $0.2647, Ethereum (ETH) slipped by 8.6 per cent to $1,859.10, Ripple (XRP) shrank by 8.2 per cent to $1.30, Litecoin (LTC) lost 1.4 per cent to close at $52.39, Bitcoin (BTC) slid 5.9 per cent to $63,686.39, and Binance Coin (BNB) went down by 4.9 per cent to $596.64, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.

Economy

Oil Prices Climb on Geopolitical Anxiety

Published

22 hours ago

28/02/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Oil prices rose about 2 per cent on Friday, with traders bracing for supply disruptions as nuclear talks between the United States and Iran were without an agreement.

Brent crude futures settled at $72.48 a barrel after chalking up $1.73 or 2.45 per cent, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures finished at $67.02 a barrel, up $1.81 or 2.78 per cent.

The two sides agreed to extend indirect negotiations into next week, but traders grew sceptical that an agreement between US President Donald Trump’s administration and Iran was possible.

The US and Iran held indirect talks in Geneva on Thursday after Mr Trump ordered a military buildup in the region.

Oil prices gained during the talks, on media reports indicating that discussions had stalled over U.S. insistence on zero enrichment of uranium by Iran. However, prices eased after the mediator from Oman said the two sides had made progress.

They plan to resume negotiations with technical-level discussions scheduled next week in Vienna, Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi said on X.

Market analysts noted that geopolitical risk premiums of $8 to $10 a barrel have been built into oil prices on fears that a conflict will disrupt Middle East supply through the Strait of Hormuz, where about 20 per cent of global oil supply passes.

To cushion the impact from a possible strike, one of the world’s largest oil producers, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is set to export more of its flagship Murban crude in April, while Saudi Arabia said it would also increase oil production.

Additionally, Saudi Arabia may raise its April crude price to Asia for the first time in five months due to higher demand from India to replace Russian supplies, potentially raising it by about $1 a barrel.

Meanwhile, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) is likely to consider raising oil output by 137,000 barrels per day for April at its March 1 meeting, after suspending production increases in the first quarter.

The resumption of output increases after a three-month pause would allow Saudi Arabia and the UAE to regain market share at a time when other OPEC+ members, such as Russia and Iran, contend with Western sanctions while Kazakhstan recovers from a series of oil production setbacks.

Eight OPEC+ producers – Saudi Arabia, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Iraq, Algeria and Oman will meet at the meeting on Sunday.