Economy
CAC Exceeds 2020 Revenue Target by 4.4%
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has disclosed that it exceeded its revenue target for 2020 by 4.4 per cent as it raked in N19 billion as Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) in the period under review.
This was disclosed by the CAC Registrar-General, Mr Garba Abubakar, on Wednesday.
According to him, in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic that affected economic activities, the commission recorded an increase in the registration of businesses and other corporate entities during the year.
“The year 2020 was one of our best years in terms of revenue generation as we recorded a surge in registration above the previous year.
“We had a revenue target of N18.2 billion, but we closed here with over N19 billion.
“For the first time in the last 10 years, we are able to give more money to the federal government in terms of operating surplus.
“We are hoping that we will meet our target for 2021 because where there is increased compliance by customers, there will be an increase in the revenue for the government.
“Transactions are now easily carried out with the electronic system, as you pay through the remittal on our portal, without paper works,” he said.
He expressed hopes that the agency would surpass the N20 billion revenue target this year by leveraging on electronic systems transactions for most of its operations.
Mr Abubakar, who was appointed to head CAC on January 7, 2020, by President Muhammadu Buhari, said the commission has undergone some reforms in the past year.
According to him, the organisation has successfully embedded the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Tax Identification Number (TIN) on the certificate of registration for companies through the existing FIRS stamp duty portal.
He said that the agency has commenced the implementation of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020 (CAMA 2020) with the introduction of a new self-service portal that allowed for end-to-end electronic submission by customers.
He said that the new CAMA provided a robust framework towards reforming identified legal, regulatory and administrative bottlenecks, which had hitherto slowed down the wheel of doing business for over three decades.
The Registrar-General, however, noted that inherited financial liabilities and the COVID-19 pandemic were some of the challenges he faced in steering the affairs of the organization in the past year.
“The challenges we had last year was the inherited liabilities, as I took over with over N6 billion liabilities, and also had challenges of service delivery because of the COVID-19 restrictions.
“Before the COVID-19 pandemic, we were registering company and business names within 24 hours, but the pandemic and the various restrictions to curb the spread of the disease affected our service delivery,” he said.
Mr Abubakar said that part of the commission’s agenda for 2021 was to build stronger collaborations with relevant agencies and intensify the enforcement of the provisions of the new CAMA.
He tasked all registered entities on compliance with the new law in terms of filing their annual returns and other statutory duties to the commission.
According to him, with the new law, it is now easier for companies to file their returns without going through any lawyer, accountant or chartered secretary.
“With the new portal, a company can decide to have its own electronic account that will allow it to make all its fillings directly.
“The new portal also shows at a glance the status of a company, whether it is active, dormant, receivership or liquidation.
“We have given access to most government agencies and foreign missions in Nigeria to confirm the status of companies and we will continue to do that.
“Before they deal with any registered company, they will verify if such company is actually an active company and whether the information provided by such company is consistent with the CAC records,” he said.
Mr Abubakar further said the commission was working out modalities for granting amnesty on annual returns to companies and other registered entities and it would be announced before the end of the first quarter of this year.
By Dipo Olowookere
Transactions on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited rallied on Tuesday by 0.75 per cent after investors intensified their demand for local stocks.
It was a tough battle between the bulls and the bears during the session, but the former overcame by a whisker after the bourse recorded 29 appreciating equities and 28 depreciating equities, indicating a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
The growth posted by Customs Street yesterday could be attributed to the appetite for MTN Nigeria shares, which chalked up 10.00 per cent to settle at N256.30.
SCOA Nigeria appreciated by 9.93 per cent to N2.99, Omatek grew by 9.88 per cent to 89 Kobo, Universal Insurance rose by 8.70 per cent to 75 Kobo, and CAP gained 8.52 per cent to trade at N47.75.
Conversely, Secure Electronic Technology lost 9.88 per cent to quote at 73 Kobo, Abbey Mortgage Bank declined by 9.09 per cent to N3.30, Sunu Assurances tumbled by 8.21 per cent to N6.15, Deap Capital slumped by 7.08 per cent to N1.05, and C&I Leasing depreciated by 6.82 per cent to N4.10.
A total of 440.3 million equities valued at N12.0 billion exchanged hands in 13,087 deals compared with the 1.3 billion equities worth N17.7 billion transacted in 13,891 deals on Monday, representing a decline in the trading volume, value and number of deals by 66.79 per cent, 32.20 per cent and 5.79 per cent, respectively.
Lasaco Assurance ended the session as the most traded stock after it sold 108.1 million units valued at N338.7 million, Access Holdings traded 44.0 million units for N1.1 billion, UBA exchanged 27.9 million units worth N945.7 million, Zenith Bank transacted 26.7 million units for N1.3 billion, and Universal Insurance traded 22.7 million units valued at N16.7 million.
On Tuesday, the insurance, banking and industrial goods sectors jumped by 1.03 per cent, 0.30 per cent, and 0.03 per cent, respectively, and the consumer goods and energy counters lost 0.38 per cent and 0.36 per cent apiece.
The All-Share Index (ASI) went up yesterday by 767.63 points to 103,137.99 points from 102,370.36 points and the market capitalisation increased by N472 billion to N63.333 trillion from N62.861 trillion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria ranked as Africa’s leading destination for upstream oil and gas investment in 2024, new research from market intelligence firm, Wood Mackenzie, has shown, accounting for three out of four Final Investment Decisions (FIDs) announced by global oil and gas majors, totaling $13.5 billion.
The FIDs announced within the Nigerian market included Shell’s $122 million investment in the Iseni Gas Project, TotalEnergies’ $566 million commitment to the Ubeta Gas Project and Shell’s approval of the Bonga North Tranche 1 project valued at around $5 billion.
According to the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Energy, Ms Olu Verheijen, these investments reflected Nigeria’s ongoing efforts to unlock its hydrocarbon potential through investor-friendly policies and strategic global partnerships.
Last year, Nigeria introduced several initiatives to create a conducive environment for oil and gas investors, including new tax incentives aimed at attracting up to $10 billion in natural gas investments.
Nigeria, which is Africa’s largest oil producer, also offered tax relief for gas investors, reducing corporate income tax and extending capital allowance benefits – for deepwater gas projects.
Other policies include the Presidential Directive on Local Content Compliance Requirements 2024 to address the reduction in oil and gas investments caused by high operating costs compared to global markets.
Also, the Presidential Directive on Reduction of Petroleum Sector Contracting Costs and Timelines 2024 reduces the time spent to award contracts for oil and gas projects.
In addition to the directives, Nigeria also launched its 2024 oil and gas licensing round, offering 19 blocks for exploration, demonstrating its commitment to continued collaboration with local, regional and international partners.
Market analysts note that with this momentum, further FIDs are anticipated, including TotalEnergies’ expected $750 million commitment to the Ima Shallow Gas Project in 2025.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a 0.22 per cent decline on Monday, January 20, with the market capitalisation shedding N2.35 billion to close at N1.073 trillion compared with the preceding session’s N1.075 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) going down by 6.79 points to wrap the session at 3,105.12 points compared with 3,111.91 points recorded in the previous session.
It was observed that the loss recorded on the first trading day of the week was triggered by UBN Property Plc, which crashed by 20 Kobo to trade at N2.00 per share versus last Friday’s N2.20 per share.
However, the share price of Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc went up by 4 Kobo to 40 Kobo per unit from 36 Kobo per unit, it could not stop the bourse from going down at the close of transactions.
The activity chart showed that on Monday, the volume of securities traded by investors increased by 57.9 per cent to 767,610 units from the 486,215 units traded in the preceding session, while the value of shares traded yesterday slumped by 17.7 per cent to N2.3 million from the N2.8 million recorded in the preceding trading day, as the number of deals declined by 14.3 per cent to 12 deals from the 14 deals carried out in the previous trading day.
At the close of transactions, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 4.1 million units worth N162.9 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with a turnover of 9.1 million units valued at N44.0 million, and 11 Plc with the sale of 55,358 for N14.5 million.
Also, Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc closed the day as the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 25.3 million units sold for N5.9 million, Geo-Fluids Plc came next with 9.1 million units valued at N44.0 million, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 4.1 million units worth N162.9 million.
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