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 Adedapo Adesanya
Dangote Petroleum Refinery is preparing to raise about $5 billion through an initial public offering (IPO) expected to conclude in October, in what could become the largest stock market listing in Africa’s history.
The company has already submitted an initial application to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), with approval expected in the coming weeks. Once authorised, the refinery is expected to release its prospectus in September ahead of the public offer.
The primary listing will be on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, although investors across Africa are expected to participate through structured investment instruments rather than a dual listing.
The proceeds will be used to expand the capacity of the 700,000-barrels-per-day refinery in Lagos and possibly support plans to replicate the project in Kenya as Dangote seeks to deepen Africa’s energy independence.
The proposed IPO comes after the refinery benefited from increased demand for refined products during the recent Iran conflict, supplying jet fuel across Africa and into Western Europe as global shortages disrupted markets.
As per Reuters, stock exchanges in South Africa, Kenya, Egypt, Ghana and Rwanda have held discussions with advisers to the transaction as interest in the offering continues to build across the continent.
Kenya alone could account for as much as $500 million of the targeted capital raise, driven largely by demand from institutional investors, including pension funds, the publication reported.
While the company is targeting a $5 billion raise, the final amount will depend on the outcome of the SEC’s review. If achieved, the offering would represent more than four per cent of the Nigerian Exchange’s current market capitalisation.
The IPO follows a $2.5 billion private placement completed last month, in which a six per cent stake in the refinery was sold, implying a valuation of about $40 billion.
That valuation, however, would place the refinery well above several listed global refining companies. Turkey’s Tupras, which operates a similar combined refining capacity across four facilities, has a market value of roughly $12 billion, while US-listed HF Sinclair, with a comparable processing capacity, is valued at around $16 billion.
Although the NGX generally requires companies on its main board to maintain a minimum free float of 20 per cent, there have been exceptions. Dangote Cement, for instance, currently has a free float of just over 12 per cent.
The publication also reported that investors outside Nigeria are likely to gain exposure through instruments such as global depositary receipts or exchange-traded products linked to the Nigerian-listed shares, rather than through a cross-listing on other African exchanges.
The founder of the 700,000-barrels-per-day capacity plant, Mr Aliko Dangote, said in April that the refinery aims to increase production capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day.
Mr Dangote is also pursuing plans to build another refinery in Lamu along Kenya’s coast in partnership with other East African governments, although it remains unclear whether part of the IPO proceeds will be allocated to that project valued at an estimated $17 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rallied by 0.89 per cent on Tuesday, August 4 amid renewed buying interest in unlisted stocks.
During the session, the market capitalisation added N24.07 billion to end at N2.739 trillion compared with Tuesday’s N2.715 trillion, while the NASD Security Index (NSI) gained 40.11 points to quote at 4,563.96 points compared with the preceding day’s 4,523.85 points.
The NASD OTC Exchange ended the trading session with two price losers and three gainers, led by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which chalked up N7.80 to close at N119.80 per unit versus the previous session’s N112.00 per unit. Afriland Properties Plc increased its value by N1.27 to N23.95 per share from N22.68 per share, and Nitrox Industrial Gases Plc expanded by N1.15 to N21.15 per unit from N20.00 per unit.
On the flip side, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc slid by N8.64 to sell at N144.00 per share compared with the previous day’s N152.64 per share, and 11 Plc dipped by 1 Kobo to end at N225.00 per unit, in contrast to Monday’s closing price of N225.01 per unit.
Tuesday’s trading data showed that the volume of securities rose by 9.0 per cent to 1.6 million units from 1.5 million units, and the number of deals climbed by 6.5 per cent to 33 deals from 31 deals, while the value of securities dropped by 26.9 per cent to N47.6 million from N65.2 million.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 76.9 million units exchanged for N5.5 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date with 3.4 billion units transacted for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
A 0.38 per cent loss was suffered by Nigerian stocks on Tuesday on the back of continued selling pressure from investors embarking on profit-taking.
Data from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited showed that the contraction was influenced by the 1.78 per cent decline recorded by the insurance sector, the 0.24 per cent slip printed by the consumer goods index, and the 0.09 per cent drop posted by the energy space, offsetting the 0.75 per cent growth achieved by the banking sector and the 0.21 per cent growth recorded by the industrial goods segment.
Investor sentiment was weak during the trading day, as the bourse ended with 13 price gainers and 40 price losers, representing a negative market breadth index.
LivingTrust Mortgage depreciated by 10.00 per cent to N3.42, Multiverse also shed 10.00 per cent to N22.95, McNichols dropped 9.92 per cent to N5.45, Thomas Wyatt dipped by 9.87 per cent to N3.56, and Eterna lost 8.57 per cent to trade at N33.00.
On the flip side, AVA Capital improved by 9.94 per cent to N9.95, Livestock Feeds expanded by 9.71 per cent to N8.65, Neimeth increased by 8.43 per cent to N9.00, AIICO gained 3.47 per cent to settle at N4.18, and Oando grew by 3.30 per cent to N36.00.
A total of 1.6 billion equities valued at N28.7 billion exchanged hands in 54,160 deals yesterday versus the 923.0 million equities worth N37.9 billion traded in 72,544 deals on Monday, indicating a 73.35 per cent surge in the trading volume, a 24.27 per cent decline in the trading value, and a 25.34 per cent slip in the number of deals.
The busiest stock was Japaul, which transacted 904.4 million units for N2.7 billion. Sterling Holdings sold 54.0 million units valued at N431.9 million, FCMB exchanged 49.5 million units worth N545.9 million, Chams traded 44.9 million units for N199.2 million, and Neimeth sold 42.4 million units worth N327.8 million.
Business Post reports that the All-Share Index (ASI) gave up 927.70 points to 244,802.83 points from 245,730.53 points, and the market capitalisation receded by N599 billion to N158.016 trillion from N158.615 trillion.
