Economy
ASEA Secures Funds from AfDB to Roll Out AELP Phase II by Q3 2023
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved the release of funds to the African Stock Exchange Association (ASEA) for the launch of phase two of the African Exchanges Linkage Project (AELP).
The organisation is looking at the third quarter of 2023 for the launch of the second phase of the scheme, which is designed to enable cross-border trading of securities in Africa.
AELP was created to ensure investors take advantage of the wide array of investment prospects across African capital markets.
Speaking at a meeting with market stakeholders, the president of ASEA and chief executive of the Botswana Stock Exchange, Mr Thapelo Tsheole, provided insights into the benefits and objectives of the AELP, Pan African Payment and Settlement (PAPSS) and other cross-border transaction requirements.
The event, themed Exchange Linkage Project- Facilitating trades across borders, was hosted by Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited and supported by Chapel Hill Denham Securities Limited, Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS), Cordros Securities Limited and Stanbic IBTC Limited.
Applauding the NGX for promoting the AELP initiative, Mr Tsheole noted that although African economies have encountered numerous challenges, the continent’s resilience in the face of adversities underscores its potential for sustained economic resilience and initiatives such as the AELP are very vital for Africa to rely on itself as it presents a momentum of opportunities for investors across Africa and the world by fostering deeper integration and connectivity among Africa’s capital markets.
“Having successfully launched phase one of the project in December 2022, connecting 7 exchanges across Africa, we urge Nigerian brokers in the process now to reach out to their counterparts in other countries and strive for expanded cross-border trading across the continent.
“We are looking at the rolling out Phase 2 of the AELP in Q3 2023 as funding has already been approved by the African Development Bank (AfDB)
“We will expand the number of participating exchanges to about 15 exchanges, and we think this will enable investors in the continent to maximize and take advantage of the wide array of investment prospects across Africa,” he said.
Corroborating Mr Tsheole, the Project Manager, AELP, Lina Tonui, in her presentation, said through the support of the AfDB, it received $980,000 from KOAFEC for the AELP implementation, phase one of the project while adding that the opportunities in the project is huge.
Tonui added that phases 1 and 2 would see linked exchanges with a market capitalization of $1.5 billion, increase visibility to domestic and global investors, give access to diverse investment products, support innovation and facilitate Pan-African capital raising through IPOs.
Also speaking, the Head, Technology and Operations at PAPSS, Ositadimma Ugwu, said the key benefits for every participating exchange are that local currency payment will reduce the pressure on any country’s reserves and the elimination of third-party dependencies will make intra-African trade significantly easier.
Earlier in his opening remark, the chief executive of NGX, Temi Popoola, stated that African stock markets still face challenges despite offering high potential for growth and investment returns. He noted that the AELP would encourage increased participation in investments and further enhance financial inclusion in the country and added that the NGX would continue its collaboration with all market stakeholders for the collective growth and development of the capital market in Africa.
In a goodwill message, the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Lamido Yuguda, said the SEC is committed to providing regulatory support that will further deepen and enhance the transparency of the market and added that the commission is also equally supportive of all initiatives that will impact positively on the development of the capital market.
For his part, the Managing Director, Chapel Hill Denham Securities Limited, Mr Akeem Shadare, said the AELP has the potential to bring significant benefits to participating African countries and their capital markets, helping to promote economic growth and development.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) says the rollout of electronic invoicing (e-invoicing) will strengthen tax compliance, curb revenue leakages and improve transparency in tax administration as it moves to fully digitise the country’s tax system.
The Project Lead for the NRS e-Invoicing Project, Mr Mohammed Bawa, stated this at the DigiTax E-Invoicing Compliance Breakfast Session held in Lagos on Wednesday.
The event, organised by DigiTax, an NRS-accredited e-invoicing platform, formed part of efforts to support the agency’s ongoing education and sensitisation campaign on the e-invoicing mandate.
Mr Bawa said the initiative aligns with global trends in tax digitisation and is expected to help improve Nigeria’s tax-to-GDP ratio, which remains one of the lowest in Africa.
According to him, the system will provide the NRS with greater visibility into transactions across sectors, formalise activities within the informal economy and standardise invoice formats nationwide using globally recognised invoice schemas.
He added that e-invoicing would improve operational efficiency for both businesses and tax authorities while supporting the NRS’ transition from manual and electronic tax administration processes to a fully automated system-to-system interaction model.
Mr Bawa noted that the legal framework for implementation is backed by the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, which prescribes penalties for non-compliance.
He disclosed that the NRS has completed onboarding large taxpayers and is preparing to enforce compliance with defaulting entities.
According to him, medium taxpayers are expected to begin compliance in the third quarter of 2026, while onboarding of emerging taxpayers will commence in 2027, with full adoption targeted for all taxpayers by the end of 2028.
Mr Bawa urged taxpayers yet to be onboarded onto the platform to begin the process and work with accredited service providers to ensure compliance.
On his part, Country Director of DigiTax Nigeria, Mr Olumide Akinsola, urged businesses to look beyond their internal systems and assess the compliance status of suppliers and counterparties.
He warned that businesses whose suppliers fail to transmit invoices through the MBS platform risk losing eligibility to claim Value Added Tax (VAT) input credits on such transactions, describing the resulting supply chain exposure as a significant commercial risk that many organisations have yet to quantify.
Mr Akinsola also announced the launch of DigiTax’s white paper, The State of E-Invoicing Readiness in Nigeria, which examines compliance adoption trends and the readiness gap across different taxpayer segments.
He added that DigiTax operates in Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), noting that experience from those markets shows businesses that integrate early are better positioned to avoid disruptions when enforcement begins.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The names of about 100,000 companies registered by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) are about to be deleted for inactivity, especially for failing to file their annual tax returns, Business Post reports.
This information was disclosed by the CAC via a notice signed by its management on Wednesday, July 15, 2026.
The list contains organisations like the Nigeria-Poland Chamber of Trade Invest Ltd, Alariwo of Afrika Ltd, Ovation Sports International, First Union Pension Fund Administrators, Investopedia Limited, Baptist High School Abuja Ltd, and Yobe Aluminium Manufacturing Industries Ltd, amongst others.
In the statement, the commission said its decision to strike off the names of the affected firms from the register aligns with the provisions of Section 692(3) (3) and (4) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), 2020.
However, the affected companies can still salvage the situation by filing all outstanding annual returns and regularising their records within 90 days.
“Please note that companies that fail to comply within the stipulated timeline shall be struck off the register without further notice,” it declared, expressing its continued commitment to providing prompt and efficient registration and regulatory services to the satisfaction of its valued customers.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange gained 1.75 per cent on Wednesday, July 15, pushing the NASD Security Index (NSI) up by 74.20 points to 4,316.51 points from 4,242.31 points, as the market capitalisation added N44.54 billion to finish at N2.590 trillion compared with the preceding session’s N2.546 trillion.
During the session, there was an 11.5 per cent rise in the value of transactions at midweek to N72.7 million from the preceding session’s N65.2 million, as there was a 3.7 per cent growth in the number of deals to 28 deals from the previous session’s 27 deals, while the volume of securities slumped by 64.5 per cent to 4.9 million units from 13.7 million units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc ended as the most active security by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, with the second spot occupied by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc after selling 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and the third position was taken by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which exchanged 74.3 million units for N5.3 billion.
GNI Plc also finished the trading day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with a turnover of 3.4 billion units traded for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million.
Business Post reports that the market breadth index was negative yesterday, as there were two price gainers and three price losers.
11 Plc added N22.36 to its value to close at N250.00 per share versus N227.64 per share, and CSCS Plc improved by N7.95 to N90.35 per unit from N82.40 per unit.
On the flip side, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc lost N1.37 to end at N150.00 per share versus N151.37 per share, UBN Property Plc depreciated by 6 Kobo to N1.75 per unit from N1.81 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc dropped 1 Kobo to close at N2.49 per share versus N2.50 per share.
