Economy
Buy Pressure on NGX Extends to Third Day as FCMB Attracts Attention
By Dipo Olowookere
For the third straight day, the local stock market closed bullish on Friday with a 0.16 per cent appreciation influenced by buying pressure on large and mid-cap equities.
Business Post reports that financial equities were among the toasts of investors on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited yesterday, with the banking index rising by 0.34 per cent and the insurance sector appreciating by 0.28 per cent.
However, the energy counter depreciated by 0.35 per cent, while the duo of consumer goods and industrial goods sectors closed flat.
But the All-Share Index (ASI) increased at the close of transactions by 73.50 points to 47,437.48 points from 47,363.98 points, while the market capitalisation went up by N39 billion to N25.566 trillion from N25.527 trillion.
It was observed that FCMB attracted the attention of investors at the exchange on Friday with a cross trade of about 879 million at N3.75 and at the close of trades, it sold a total of 932.9 million units worth N3.5 billion.
Zenith Bank traded 30.0 million shares valued at N805.7 million, Access Bank exchanged 22.5 million equities worth N227.8 million, Fidelity Bank sold 19.3 million stocks for N55.2 million, while United Capital transacted 16.9 million shares valued at N208.5 million.
At the close of business, a total of 1.2 billion stocks worth N7.0 billion were bought and sold in 3,928 deals compared with the 261.6 million stocks worth N4.5 billion transacted in 4,672 deals on Thursday, implying an increase in the trading volume by 341.02 per cent, a rise in the trading value by 56.97 per cent and a decline in the number of deals by 15.92 per cent.
On the price movement chart, Niger Insurance topped the gainers’ chart with a price appreciation of 10.00 per cent to settle at 22 kobo.
RT Briscoe grew by 8.96 per cent to 73 kobo, UPDC rose by 7.61 per cent to 99 kobo, UAC Nigeria improved by 5.97 per cent to N10.65, while Cornerstone Insurance gained 5.71 per cent to trade at 74 kobo.
On the reverse side, Royal Exchange topped the losers’ table after its value went down by 9.70 per cent to N1.21, followed by Ellah Lakes with a price depreciation of 9.57 per cent to N3.12.
Pharma-Deko fell by 8.00 per cent to sell for N1.84, Linkage Assurance declined by 7.14 per cent to 52 kobo, while Unilever Nigeria lost 5.71 per cent to sell for N13.20.
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.
