Economy
BUA Cement, Seplat Drive NGX 2.87% Growth Amid Drop in Activity Level
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited sustained its upward movement on Friday despite the level of activity waning on the last trading session of the week.
Business Post reports that the trading volume, value and number of deals decreased during the session by 25.95 per cent, 21.76 per cent, and 14.32 per cent apiece.
This was as a result of the 844.5 million shares worth N15.1 billion transacted in 15,255 deals yesterday compared with the 1.1 billion shares worth N19.3 billion traded in 17,804 deals on Thursday.
Investors slowed down their hunger for Nigerian stocks, which have been on steroids for some past trading sessions, stretching from last year.
Transcorp was the busiest equity on Friday as it exchanged 80.3 million units valued at N1.5 billion, Veritas Kapital traded 80.1 million units worth N59.6 million, Fidelity Bank transacted 60.6 million units worth N785.1 million, Jaiz Bank sold 36.3 million units for N131.8 million, and UBA traded 34.9 million units valued at N1.1 billion.
It was observed that the financial services industry remained under pressure due to profit-taking by traders, who are liquidating their holdings in the space.
Data from the bourse indicated that the banking sector went down by 0.46 per cent yesterday, and the insurance counter depreciated by 0.13 per cent.
However, they could not drag the NGX to the bears, as a result of the persistent bargain-hunting in the three other key sectors of the market.
The industrial goods index appreciated by 9.34 per cent, the energy sector improved by 5.30 per cent, and the consumer goods counter gained 0.41 per cent.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) closed higher by 2,641.15 points to 94,538.12 points from 91,896.97 points, and the market capitalisation grew by N1.445 trillion to N51.735 trillion from N50.290 trillion.
It was slim victory for the bulls at the NGX on Friday, as there were 36 appreciating equities and 35 depreciating equities, indicating a positive market breadth index and a relatively strong investor sentiment.
BUA Cement and Seplat gained 10.00 per cent each yesterday to finish at N148.50 and N2,541.00 apiece. May & Baker rose by 9.99 per cent to N8.26, Dangote Cement jumped by 9.98 per cent to N538.80, and Honeywell Flour soared by 9.96 per cent to N5.85.
Conversely, Lasaco Assurance fell by 9.85 per cent to N2.47, C&I Leasing declined by 9.82 per cent to N3.95, Mutual Benefits shed 9.41 per cent to 77 Kobo, NAHCO slumped by 9.38 per cent to N33.80, and PZ Cussons slipped by 9.31 per cent to N35.55.
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.
