Economy
ASEN Will Enable Capital Market Policies, Boost Efficiency—Onyema
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr Oscar Onyema, has described the launch of Nigeria’s first association of domestic securities exchanges as a good development for the nation’s capital market.
According to him, “Coming together provides a wealth of benefits for the ecosystem,” which he said will in turn strengthen the market and be beneficial to investors.
On Wednesday, the Association of Securities Exchange of Nigeria (ASEN) was officially launched at the Nigerian Stock Exchange event centre in Lagos.
The event was attended by Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Capital Markets and Institutions, Mr Yusuf Tajudeen; Acting Director-General of the Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC), Mrs Mary Uduk; Director-General of the Debt Management Office (DMO), Mrs Patience Oniha and the President, National Council of the NSE, Mr Abimbola Ogunbanjo.
ASEN was incorporated in 2017 as a non-profit industry association to support the advancement of the Nigerian capital market and the development of members via knowledge-sharing, collaboration, capacity-building and advocacy.
It was also established to accelerate the development of domestic securities exchanges and support the Nigerian capital market to achieve greater global competitiveness.
The group is made up of five bodies; AFEX Commodities Exchange (AFEX), FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange (FMDQ), NASD OTC Securities Exchange (NASD), Nigeria Commodity Exchange (NCX) and NSE.
Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Onyema, who is also Chairman of ASEN Board of Trustees, disclosed that, “This event is the culmination of deliberate efforts between the various exchanges in the Nigerian capital market to enhance our global competitiveness.”
According to him, “ASEN is not only Nigeria’s premier exchange association–but also the world’s first example of a national exchange association. In coming together we had to ask ourselves tough questions relating to how we, as exchanges and businesses, can collaborate more closely to ensure the competitiveness of our market, and support the growth of individual members along their natural trajectories.”
He said further that, “ASEN is poised to support and partner with market participants by advocating for enabling market policies; amplifying financial outreach and capacity-building efforts of member exchanges; and deploying emerging technologies that can unlock new opportunities and efficiencies in our market.
“Ultimately key stakeholders in the Nigerian capital market -regulators, issuers, investors and operators will be the real beneficiaries of our collaborative efforts. Like exchange associations, such as the WFE and ASEA, we hope that ASEN will provide a sterling example of the progress that can be achieved when forces combine to achieve positive change.”
Also speaking at the event, Mr Bola Ajomale, Member, Board of Trustees, ASEN and CEO, NASD Plc, stated that, “This event is the culmination of deliberate cooperation between the various exchanges in the Nigerian capital market.
“Collaboration between exchanges in this manner will ensure some level of uniformity and consistency in governance whilst allowing each member to continue along its natural trajectory.
“Ultimately key stakeholders in the Nigerian capital market – Regulators, issuers, investors and operators will be the real beneficiaries. We also believe the existence of such an association will significantly support market structure in Nigeria.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
