Economy
AfCFTA: Nigeria Will Increase Export Value to Africa—Awolowo
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Next year, the much-anticipated African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) will commence and Nigeria is expected to use the platform to increase the value of its export to the continent.
In 2018, the export value of Nigeria to Africa totalled around $6.99 billion, while to the rest of the world stood at $45.92 billion, the CEO of the Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Mr Segun Awolowo, said.
Speaking at the Ecobank Digital Series virtual Africa Trade Conference 2020, Mr Awolowo stated that Nigeria’s export is majorly crude oil and natural gas which constitute 91 per cent.
But he said with the activation of AfCFTA, the export value of the country, the largest economy in Africa, should rise exponentially.
According to him, efforts would be made to explore the market of 1.2 billion people and combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $3 trillion Africa boasts of.
He said with these figures, there is huge potential for Nigeria to increase its export to Africa, noting that before now, the exports had been informal exports, but with platforms like Ecobank, it is going to be formal and add real value to the economy.
Mr Awolowo informed participants of the event that NEPC has identified areas of untapped potential for Nigeria in Africa such as fertilizer, ginger and sesame, as these are what other African countries are buying.
“Nigeria must, and can, live in a world where it no longer sells oil. Nigeria is working on key game changers in infrastructure in order to achieve this, especially in the area of ease of transportation and also in the area of incentives, export expansion grant like pre-shipment incentives and export development fund, which serve to prepare, facilitate and support exporters to the global market,” he stated.
Another speaker at the event, Mr Tei Konzi, who is the Commissioner, Trade, Customs and Free Movement at ECOWAS, explained that AfCFTA is a comprehensive trade agreement that seeks to create a single market for goods and services and free movement of persons through the progressive liberation of the market for goods and services and also contribute to the movement of capital to facilitate investment.
“We can bring these trades back to Africa and increase activity in the continent in agriculture, mining amongst others.
“We are yet to conclude our tariffs, but at the moment, ECOWAS trade more with outside countries than it does with African countries and this is why we are bent on making sure the AfCFTA succeeds,” Mr Konzi, who was represented by Mr Kolawole Sofola, the Acting Director, Trade ECOWAS, stated.
In his presentation, the CEO of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), the parent firm of Ecobank, Mr Ade Ayeyemi, reiterated that African countries must adopt a continent-wide approach to business and also focus on wealth creation to be relevant in the global value chain.
For AfCFTA to become a reality, Mr Ayeyemi said there must be commitment and readiness for trade facilitation by the individual nations.
He noted that African governments must unequivocally commit to the agreement and their preparedness as individual nations with their implementation strategies, commitment to free movement-signing and ratification of the protocol on the free movement of people and country’s visa openness, readiness for trade facilitation – the quality of trade infrastructure and efficiency of ports/Customs, which is still work in progress in nearly all countries.
Mr Ayeyemi noted that Ecobank is fully committed to Africa as the foremost Pan-African Bank to Unequivocal support for the implementation of AfCFTA, readiness to use its unique pan-African platform to facilitate trade, payment and business and deployment of its strong Africa knowledge to support governments and businesses.
The Ecobank CEO emphasized that “no country is so poor that it has nothing to give and no country is so rich that it has nothing to receive. All of us must come together to become better.”
The Ecobank virtual Nigeria Africa Trade Conference 2020, which is part of the Ecobank Digital Series, is to showcase the bank’s unique intra-Africa trade solutions that enable settlements of international transactions and mitigation of payment risk while providing regional solutions to exporters.
Ecobank trade products and solutions are designed around two broad areas; Trade Finance and Trade Services. Trade Finance enables customers to benefit from adequate and well-mitigated credit facilitation in the area of Import finance, export finance, bill discounting, trade loans, distributor finance, payables and receivables finance, structured trade and commodity finance amongst others while trade services, offer our customers the advantage of speedy turnaround and error-free processing of their import letter of credits, import collections, avalised bills, customs bonds, export collections as well as their local purchase orders and payment invoices, via its electronic trade platforms OMNI e-Trade and OMNI eFSC (electronic financial supply chain.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Customers of AXA Mansard in the Micro Small and Medium Scale Enterprise (MSME) sector of the economy will enjoy free exhibition stands at the Made by Nigerians Fair.
The fair is scheduled to take place on Saturday, December 7 and Sunday, December 8, 2024, at the Landmark Event Centre, Lagos.
To support small business owners, AXA Mansard is paying for stands for selected entrepreneurs to showcase their products at the fair, which attracts thousands of people.
According to the Head of Marketing at AXA Mansard Insurance Plc, Mr Olusesan Ogunyooye, this is another gesture by the company to show that MSMEs can benefit from having insurance.
He described MSMEs as the backbone of any economy, noting that they drive innovation, create jobs, and contribute significantly to national development.
“Our support for these businesses at the MBN Fair reflects the commitment to their growth and sustainability. We are passionate about helping them reach their full potential by connecting them with resources and opportunities that foster success.
“By the very nature of insurance, its benefits are in the future and they are uncertain. That has been a main source of discouragement, particularly to MSMEs. Businesses are geared to making money.
“So, when thinking about insurance, an average MSME would rather invest the money in the growth of his business first.
“The risks that businesses face are also real. There are various types of risks businesses have to contend with today; from burglary to fire, the health of employees, and so on.
“When these risks manifest, they can significantly impact a business negatively. We understand that to get MSMEs to protect themselves and the millions of jobs they create, we must help them strike a balance between growing their businesses and protecting them.
“So, we have come up with different Initiatives to help them grow their businesses. The opportunity to exhibit their products and services to thousands of visitors to the MBN Fair is another in the series of our initiatives.
“We are convinced that for insurance to grow, we need to help people and businesses see it as a strategic lever to grow their businesses, not a cost that takes away from them. If we get this right, it can’t have a massive impact on our economy because, when MSMEs thrive, the economy will prosper.
“We have experimented with this model, and we are particularly excited about the responses from our customers. It is a call for us to do more, and we are committed to Nigerian MSMEs,” Mr Ogunyooye stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a 0.05 per cent gain on Friday, December 6 after the price of Afriland Properties Plc went up by 60 Kobo to settle for the day at N16.60 per share versus Thursday’s closing price of N16.00 per share.
Consequently, the market capitalisation of the bourse increased during the session by N520 billion to settle at N1.056 trillion, the same value it ended a day earlier, as the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) went up by 1.5 points to wrap the session at 3,014.91 points compared with 3,013.41 points recorded in the previous session.
Business Post reports that yesterday, the price of Acorn Petroleum Plc depreciated at the close of business by 15 Kobo to trade at N1.54 per unit compared with the preceding day’s N1.69 per unit.
The volume of securities traded in the session by investors soared by 168.3 per cent on Friday to 199,577 units from 74,381 units, but the value of securities went down by 45.8 per cent to N1.4 million from the N2.7 million recorded a day earlier, and the number of deals grew by 20 per cent to six deals from the five deals executed in the preceding session.
Geo-Fluids Plc remained the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.7 billion units sold for N3.9 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.3 million units worth N5.3 million.
Also, Aradel Holdings Plc remained the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 108.7 million units worth N89.2 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.3 million units sold for N5.3 billion.
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited rebounded by 0.10 per cent on Friday as almost all the key sectors closed in green when trading activities ended for the week.
The banking index appreciated by 0.73 per cent, the insurance sector gained 0.55 per cent, the energy counter improved by 0.17 per cent, and the industrial goods space jumped by 0.04 per cent, while the consumer goods sector depreciated by 0.16 per cent.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) moved up by 96.64 points to 98,210.75 points from 98,114.11 points and the market capitalisation gained N58 billion to quote at N59.534 trillion compared with Thursday’s closing value of N59.476 trillion.
The bourse finished with 27 price advancers and 21 price decliners, representing a positive market breadth index and bullish sentiment.
Golden Guinea Breweries jumped by 9.98 per cent to N5.40, Japaul improved by 9.30 per cent to N2.35, Sunu Assurances expanded by 9.07 per cent to N5.05, Sovereign Trust Insurance rose by 7.69 per cent to 84 Kobo, and Secure Electronic Technology grew by 7.69 per cent to 70 Kobo.
On the flip side, Eterna lost 4.62 per cent to N22.70, Sterling Holdings depreciated by 4.12 per cent to N4.65, Prestige Assurance fell by 3.85 per cent to 75 Kobo, Consolidated Hallmark shrank by 3.85 per cent to N2.50, and Champion Breweries slumped by 3.50 per cent to N3.86.
Yesterday, investors bought and sold 1.0 billion equities worth N17.5 billion in 7,220 deals, in contrast to the 723.0 million equities valued at N12.8 billion transacted in 8,495 deals a day earlier, indicating a decline in the number of deals by 15.01 per cent and a surge in the trading volume and value by 43.98 per cent and 36.72 per cent, respectively.
On top of the activity chart on Friday was Wema Bank with the sale of 472.5 million stocks valued at N4.1 billion, Fidelity Bank traded 251.5 million shares worth N4.0 billion, FCMB transacted 45.0 million equities for N404.9 million, UBA sold 42.3 million shares valued at N1.4 billion, and Japaul traded 20.7 million stocks worth N46.3 million.
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