Economy
Buhari Applauds Stock Exchange for Stimulating Economic Growth
By Dipo Olowookere
The nation’s stock exchange, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Group Plc, has been applauded by President Muhammadu Buhari for providing a platform that stimulates economic growth.
The President gave this commendation on Tuesday when he was hosted virtually by the NGX at the unveiling of its campaign called The Stock Africa Is Made Of.
Business Post reports that the event featured several key speeches and goodwill messages from industry veterans across the public and private sectors including the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed; the Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr Adeniyi Adebayo; the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr Lamido Yuguda; the Chairman of Dangote Group, Mr Aliko Dangote; and the Chairman of Zenith Bank Plc, Mr Jim Ovia.
Others were the President of Toronto Raptors, Mr Masai Ujiri; the Chairman of United Bank for Africa (UBA), Mr Tony Elumelu; the CEO of the London Stock Exchange, Mr David Swchimmer; the CEO of Luxembourg Stock Exchange, Ms Julie Becker; the Chairman of Global Reporting Initiative, Mr Eric Hespenheide; and the Deputy British High Commission Lagos, Mr Ben Llewellyn-Jones.
In his speech, President Buhari, prior to sounding the closing gong and bringing the day’s trading to a close, stated that, “It is my pleasure to join you all at this important event organised to amplify the positive narrative about Africa and its great potentials.
“Let me start by congratulating Nigerian Exchange Group Plc on its recently concluded demutualisation, which is the first in the country.
“I recall signing the Demutualisation Bill in August 2018, paving the way for the long-awaited demutualisation of the then Nigerian Stock Exchange.”
“It is also important for me to highlight that the history of NGX Group is tied to that of the nation itself founded 61 years ago at a pivotal time when Nigeria gained her independence.
“The exchange continues to play its part in nation building by stimulating economic growth and providing a platform for businesses and individual to save and raise capital through innovation, diversified products and services, enabling regulatory environment and much more.
“The occasion of the demutualisation of the Nigerian Stock Exchange is yet a proud moment for all of us, and indeed all Nigerians deserve congratulations for this feat as it is the beginning of a new era for the capital market,” Mr Buhari added.
In his remarks, the Chairman of NGX Group Plc, Mr Abimbola Ogunbanjo, said, “The exchange has come a long way, through different leadership regimes – civilian and military – that have overseen multiple booms and bust economic dispensations within the Nigerian economy, to emerge as a leading integrated market infrastructure in Africa and the engine of growth for Africa’s largest economy.
“Our story is one birthed from resilience, collaboration, determination and continued focus on our vision; a true Africa story. With demutualisation, NGX Group is well-positioned to enable strong economic growth and contribute its quota to the development of the Nigerian capital market and the African continent.”
On his part, the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, NGX Group Plc, Mr Oscar Onyema, noted that, “At Nigerian Exchange Group Plc, we have the vision to be the premier exchange hub for Nigerian businesses and for the wider African economy building on the strong reputation and corporate governance the NSE has established over the years.
“As we march bravely into the NGX era, we look forward to impacting creating partnerships that will unlock value for our stakeholders, whilst improving the state of the Nigerian economy. It is a period to reinforce on the global stage, our great African pedigree and the Stock Africa Is Made of.”
The unveiling event culminated in a closing gong ceremony where the CEO of the NGX Limited, Mr Temi Popoola, stated, “I am delighted to have hosted President Muhammadu Buhari.
“Today’s epochal closing gong ceremony could not have been possible without Mr President’s support. The NGX era is indeed very exciting for us and we will continue to champion the growth of the African capital market through trade and investments that will facilitate Africa’s economic recovery and reposition the continent for sustainable economic development.
“Partnerships are a critical element of our strategy and we will continue to engage our stakeholders whose support is essential to the achievement of our aspirations in this NGX era.”
In her closing remarks, the CEO of NGX Regulation Limited, Ms Tinuade Awe, stated, “My deepest gratitude goes to President Buhari for gracing us with his presence and honouring our invitation to close the market on the official launch day of the NGX era. This has truly been an inspiring event and we have our amazing line-up of speakers to thank for that.
“I must also thank our regulators, the entire capital market ecosystem and the management and staff of NGX Group for the hard work and diligence that has set us firmly on the path of success.
“It has been an exciting journey to date, and I am confident that we will all work well together to achieve even greater heights in the NGX era.”
By Dipo Olowookere
On the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited last week, investors transacted 3.648 billion shares worth N220.568 billion in 251,861 deals compared with the 3.821 billion shares valued at N154.393 billion traded in 258,567 deals a week earlier.
Analysis showed that financial stocks led the activity chart with 2.899 billion units sold for N147.360 billion in 106,603 deals, accounting for 79.48 per cent and 66.81 per cent of the total trading volume and value, respectively.
Services equities recorded a turnover of 164.914 million units valued at N3.615 billion in 16,375 deals, and the consumer goods shares exchanged 157.451 million units worth N7.777 billion in 27,950 deals.
First Holdco, Zenith Bank, and Fidelity Bank were the busiest stocks for the five-day trading week, trading 1.745 billion units valued at N121.828 billion in 31,053 deals, contributing 47.85 per cent and 55.23 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively.
Business Post reports that 60 equities appreciated during the week versus 22 equities in the previous week, 28 shares depreciated versus 57 shares of the preceding week, and 58 stocks closed flat versus 67 stocks of the previous week.
International Breweries gained 40.00 per cent to trade at N13.30, RT Briscoe expanded by 32.02 per cent to N13.40, Livestock Feeds improved by 28.47 per cent to N9.25, First Holdco chalked up 25.82 per cent to close at N69.20, and Abbey Bank rose by 23.65 per cent to N9.15.
On the flip side, McNichols lost 28.57 per cent to finish at N5.00, Thomas Wyatt gave up 11.64 per cent to quote at N2.43, Geregu Power declined by 10.00 per cent to N825.70, CAP shed 9.99 per cent to settle at N157.60, and Guinness Nigeria also slipped by 9.99 per cent to N329.00.
Customs Street was under buying pressure last week, making the All-Share Index (ASI) and the market capitalisation close higher by 6.35 per cent to 243,798.76 points and N156.445 trillion, respectively.
In the same vein, all other indices finished higher apart from the growth and sovereign bond indices, which depreciated by 7.43 per cent and 0.02 per cent, respectively.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 2.30 per cent, spurring the NASD Security Index (NSI) to close higher by 96.61 points to 4,296.34 points from 4,199.73 points, and raising the market capitalisation by N57.99 billion to N2.578 trillion from N2.521 trillion.
The market was up yesterday despite a lower activity level, as the volume of securities traded slumped by 94.7 per cent to 1.3 million units from the previous 23.9 million units. The value of securities slipped by 57.2 per cent to N29.2 million from the preceding session’s N68.2 million, while the number of deals executed by market participants increased by 6.7 per cent to 32 deals from the 30 deals carried out on Thursday.
At the close of transactions, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with a turnover of 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion in trades, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 70.8 million units traded for N4.9 billion.
GNI Plc was also 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 exchanged for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
During the trading day, there were three price gainers and two price losers, led by Afriland Properties Plc, which shed N1.48 to sell at N15.17 per share compared with the previous session’s N16.65 per share, and Food Concepts Plc, which slid by 7 Kobo to close at N2.69 per unit versus N2.76 per unit.
Conversely, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved its value by N9.50 to trade at N150.00 per share compared with Thursday’s closing price of N140.50 per share, CSCS Plc went up by N7.95 to N89.65 per unit from N81.70 per unit, and 11 Plc soared by N6.94 to N206.95 per share from N200.01 per share.
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited lost its footing by 0.07 per cent on Friday as a result of renewed profit-taking by investors.
The fall happened after Thomas Wyatt and Guinness Nigeria led other price losers group comprising 27 stocks at the market yesterday due to selling pressure.
Thomas Wyatt Nigeria shed 10.00 per cent to quote at N2.70, Guinness Nigeria drowned by 9.99 per cent to close at N329.00, Ikeja Hotel slipped by 9.96 per cent to N42.50, Zichis shed 9.94 per cent to trade at N26.37, and McNichols depreciated by 9.91 per cent to N5.00.
On the flip side, International Breweries gained 9.92 per cent to finish at N13.30, NEM Insurance appreciated by 9.61 per cent to N27.95, Jaiz Bank grew by 6.36 per cent to N9.20, UPDC expanded by 6.33 per cent to N4.20, and Livestock Feeds increased by 6.32 per cent to N9.25.
Business Post reports that investor sentiment remained bullish despite the loss recorded during the session, as there were 27 price decliners and 30 price advancers, representing a positive market breadth index.
Yesterday, market participants transacted 441.3 million equities for N19.4 billion in 44,938 deals compared with the 1.7 billion equities worth N112.0 billion traded in 44,780 deals a day earlier. This showed that the trading volume contracted by 74.04 per cent, the trading value declined by 82.68 per cent, and an uptick in the number of deals by 0.35 per cent.
Access Holdings led the activity chart on Friday after selling 40.2 million shares valued at N1.0 billion, Sterling Holdco traded 30.3 million stocks worth N228.8 million, Fidelity Bank sold 26.3 million equities for N505.6 million, Zenith Bank transacted 22.3 million shares valued at N2.5 billion, and First Holdco exchanged 19.0 million stocks worth N1.3 billion.
During the last trading session of the week, the consumer goods sector rose by 0.49 per cent, the insurance counter increased by 0.06 per cent, and the industrial goods index closed flat, while the banking and energy indices lost 0.78 per cent and 0.52 per cent, respectively.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) shrank by 159.97 points to 243,798.76 points from 243,958.73 points, and the market capitalisation moderated by N103 billion to N156.445 trillion from N156.548 trillion.
