Economy
Amosun Tasks SEC to Explore Areas to Improve Government Revenue
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Capital Market, Mr Ibikunle Amosun, has appealed to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to think outside the box and come up with ways the federal government can generate more funds and improve the economy.
The current administration under President Muhammadu Buhari has plunged the nation into huge debts, and despite earning from crude oil sales and raising taxes, the country is unable to fund its budget without borrowing.
This has put the economy under pressure as most revenues generated are used to service debts, making many citizens worry about the future of the nation.
But the immediate past Governor of Ogun State believes that the capital market has the capacity to assist Nigeria in achieving its economic goals if given the needed support.
Speaking at the budget defence exercise by SEC in Abuja, the chartered accountant advised the agency to explore other areas that could aid in revamping the economy and improve government revenue, promising that the apex regulatory agency in the Nigerian capital market of the support of the parliament.
“The capital market is very important to the development of any economy. When the economy is stressed, the capital market can help,” he said, noting that the committee is very interested in the activities of the market as it is capable of providing the country with the needed long-term funding to get out of the woods as well as fund the budget.
He stated that the capital market in Nigeria was important to the economy of the nation as it was capable of providing the government with the much-needed revenue for infrastructural development.
“We know that globally, nations have been suffering the effects of COVID-19, and Nigeria is no exception. But we believe that with a vibrant capital market, our growth and development will be faster.
“We now know what the capital market can do to rescue the economy at a time like this. If we have to diversify our economy, the capital market has a role to play, which is why we are here to support you. We will support the capital market for our country to realise these economic goals.
“That is why the Senate is very interested in ensuring that our capital market does well. We are here to encourage you in the work that you do to ensure that we achieve success. We will encourage companies to list so as to further deepen the capital market,” he said.
Mr Amosun, who is not returning to the Senate next year, commended the management of SEC for its efforts to deepen the market.
Earlier in his presentation, the Director-General of SEC, Mr Lamido Yuguda, told the senators that despite the global economic climate the world over, the commission had been able to improve its budget performance.
Mr Yuguda stated that due to a series of interactions with the lawmakers in the past, the organisation has been able to explore various areas in a bid to shore up its finances.
“This improvement in our performance is as a result of some of the fees that we introduced at the beginning of this year.
“When we came to you last year, the commission was facing a very difficult financial situation. We had various interactions with this committee, and we were asked to think outside the box so that we could bring measures to improve our performance.
“It is these measures that we started to introduce that have led to an improvement in our performance. We looked inwards and introduced various measures that drastically cut down our expenditures.
“We had a staff strength that we said was top heavy, and we were able to implement voluntarily early retirement programme in 2021 and concluded in December 2021.
“We also turned our attention to the revenue side and we looked at certain areas like the fixed-income market. The fixed-income market is highly regulated by the commission but was not generating revenues for the SEC, so from January 2022, we started accessing a small fee from the secondary fixed-income market. So, it is the combined effect of this that you see in the revenue performance of the commission,” Mr Yuguda said.
He stated that the agency looked at the Collective Investment Scheme sector and explored avenues of improving its performance in a bid to increase the revenues of the organisation.
“The collective investment scheme is one of the areas that account for our improved performance. It has been with us for a decade, but the Commission has not been taking revenues from that sector.
“We have an investment management department, which is devoted to the regulation of the collective investment schemes; we have other services like the monitoring department, which goes out and monitors.
“In terms of funds on this particular side of the market, we have not been taking in many revenues.
“So, effective January 2022, as we announced last year, the commission started taking less than 0.5 per cent of the funds in collective investments schemes so that it will help the commission give good regulation and oversight,” he stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange extended its stay in the south territory with a decline of 0.56 per cent on Wednesday, April 2.
This brought down the market capitalisation by N13 billion to N2.417 trillion from N2.430 trillion, and downed the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 22.57 points to 4,062.87 points from the previous session’s 4,062.87 points.
It was observed that the NASD exchange ended with three price gainers and three price losers during the trading day.
MRS Oil Plc depreciated by N19.00 to close at N171.00 per unit compared with the previous price of N190.00 per unit, NASD Plc lost N4.14 to trade at N37.36 per share compared with Wednesday’s N41.50 per share, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gave up N2.00 to sell at N78.00 per unit versus N80.00 per unit.
On the flip side, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc appreciated by 19 Kobo to N93.00 per share from N92.81 per share, Food Concepts Plc expanded by 15 Kobo to N2.87 per unit from N2.72 per unit, and Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc improved by 2 Kobo to 52 Kobo per share from 50 Kobo per share.
Yesterday, the volume of securities dipped by 91.8 per cent to 260.2 million units from 3.2 billion units, the value of securities went down by 98.1 per cent to N154.2 million from N8.3 billion, while the number of deals soared by 53.3 per cent to 46 deals from 30 deals.
GNI Plc was the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 56.9 million units valued at N3.9 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.5 million units traded for N1.8 billion.
The most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis was also GNI Plc with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.2 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units exchanged for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units transacted for N1.2 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira dropped N2.09 or 0.15 per cent against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Thursday, April 2, to trade at N1,380.79/$1 compared with Wednesday’s rate of N1,378.70/$1.
However, it appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market by N2.77 to quote at N1,824.86/£1 versus the N1,836.57/£1 it was traded at midweek, and improved its value against the Euro by N10.54 to N1,591.92/€1 from N1,602.46/€1.
Yesterday was the last trading session of the week for the local currency in the spot market, as the market will be closed on Friday and Monday for the Easter Holiday.
At the black market, the Nigerian Naira maintained stability against the greenback yesterday at N1,405/$1, but gained N8 at the GTBank FX counter to settle at N1,388/$1, in contrast to the previous session’s N1,396/$1.
Pressure eased on the domestic currency as strong policy indicators have helped calm the majority of worries within the financial systems. Particularly in the remittance segment, the apex bank has directed all International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) to route remittance transactions through designated Naira settlement accounts in banks, a move aimed at boosting transparency and channelling more foreign exchange into the formal market.
This helps take off pressure from the foreign reserves, which have fallen below the $50 billion mark as they are gradually decreasing rather than falling sharply.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was bullish on Thursday, as macro sentiment shifted against recent optimism after reports that Iran is drafting a protocol with Oman to manage traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, easing concerns about disruptions to a key global oil route.
The remarks came after U.S. President Trump on Wednesday night vowed to hit Iran “extremely hard” in the coming weeks and that the Strait of Hormuz would “open naturally” once the war ends.
Cardano (ADA) chalked up 1.9 per cent to trade at $0.2435, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 1.2 per cent to $0.0912, Ethereum (ETH) appreciated by 0.8 per cent to $2,066.37, Bitcoin (BTC) added 0.5 per cent to sell at $67,080.53, Solana (SOL) increased by 0.5 per cent to $79.91, and Ripple (XRP) jumped 0.2 per cent to $1.31.
Conversely, Binance Coin (BNB) dipped 0.7 per cent to $586.90, and TRON (TRX) depreciated by 0.3 per cent to $0.3147, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
The local stock market was relatively flat on Friday, as the bears and the bulls shared the spoils of war, though investor sentiment turned bullish compared with the preceding session’s bearish posture.
Data from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited showed that the All-Share Index (ASI) was marginally down by 4.66 points as it ended at 201,698.89 points versus Wednesday’s 201,703.55 points, and the market capitalisation slightly contracted by N3 billion to N129.806 trillion from N129.809 trillion.
Customs Street was shut on Friday because of the public holidays declared by the federal government today and next Monday.
Business Post reports that John Holt declined by 9.91 per cent to N15.45, Abbey Mortgage Bank shed 9.60 per cent to trade at N8.95, International Energy Insurance slipped by 6.48 per cent to N3.32, Chams shrank by 5.30 per cent to N3.75, and Tantalizers depreciated by 5.18 per cent to N4.03.
On the flip side, Unilever Nigeria improved by 10.00 per cent to N103.40, Fortis Global Insurance gained 9.82 per cent to trade at N1.23, Multiverse appreciated 9.81 per cent to N20.15, Legend Internet advanced by 9.38 per cent to N6.30, and Zichis grew by 9.02 per cent to N14.14.
The market breadth index was positive during the trading session, as there were 35 appreciating stocks and 24 depreciating stocks.
Yesterday, investors traded 560.0 million equities valued at N19.3 billion in 49,676 deals, in contrast to the 815.5 million equities worth N33.3 billion transacted in 52,641 deals in the preceding day, representing a drop in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 31.33 per cent, 42.04 per cent, and 5.63 per cent, respectively.
Secure Electronic Technology dominated the activity log with 59.7 million shares valued at N61.1 million, Wema Bank exchanged 52.0 million equities worth N1.4 billion, VFD Group transacted 36.0 million stocks for N410.5 million, Access Holdings sold 35.3 million shares valued at N914.8 million, and Chams traded 31.0 million equities worth N115.0 million.
-
Feature/OPED6 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism10 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz3 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking8 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy3 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking3 years agoSort Codes of UBA Branches in Nigeria
-
Banking3 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Sports3 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn