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Economy

CAC Threatens to Sanction Companies With Unissued Shares

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unissued shares

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Companies operating in Nigeria, which failed to cancel or issue all their unissued shares to their shareholders before the deadline of December 31, 2022, would be sanctioned alongside their directors.

Business Post reports that the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020 replaced the authorised share capital in CAMA 1990 with minimum issued share capital.

In the abolished law, organisations were required to issue at least 25 per cent of their authorised share capital, but under the new law, the entire share capital must be fully issued at all times, cancelling the ability of companies to retain unissued shares for future allotments.

This was captured in Section 124 of the law, which said “no company shall have a share capital which is less than its minimum issued share capital and that every company with unissued shares, must not later than six (6) months from the commencement of CAMA 2020, issue shares up to an amount, not below its minimum issued share capital.”

The Corporate and Affairs Commission (CAC), which regulates the registration and running of registered organisations in Nigeria, extended the deadline for the cancellation of all unissued shares of firms to December 31, 2022.

Most companies on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited held their extraordinary general meetings (EGMs) last year to comply with this new law, but a few did not.

According to a circular issued by the CAC, such erring organisations would be severely sanctioned.

“Further to the notice of the commission dated April 16, 2021, on the extension of the period for existing companies to comply with the requirements of issued share capital under the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020 and the Companies Regulations 2021 to December 31, 2022, and in line with the last paragraph of the notice, customers and general public are hereby reminded that any application filed in compliance with the requirements after the extended date (being December 31, 2022) shall attract daily default penalty against the company and each officer of the company for every day during which the shares remained unissued after the extended date and in accordance with Regulations 13(2) of the CR,” the notice emphasised.

Recall that in 2021, President Muhammadu Buhari signed the CAMA into law. Many stakeholders applauded the new law because of the innovative changes it brought into play, including making it possible for an individual to establish a company as a sole director.

Modupe Gbadeyanka is a fast-rising journalist with Business Post Nigeria. Her passion for journalism is amazing. She is willing to learn more with a view to becoming one of the best pen-pushers in Nigeria. Her role models are the duo of CNN's Richard Quest and Christiane Amanpour.

Economy

NASD Market Capitalisation Rises N10bn as Index Soars 0.39%

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NASD securities exchange

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange ended the first trading day of the week on a positive note, with a 0.39 per cent appreciation on Monday, May 25.

The positive vibe raised the market capitalisation of the trading platform by N10.11 billion to N2.571 trillion from last Friday’s N2.561 trillion, and lifted the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 16.89 points to 4,298.17 points from the previous 4,281.28 points.

Business Post reports that the bourse recorded three appreciating securities and one depreciating stock at the close of transactions, with the sole price decliner being 11 Plc, which lost N23.43 to sell at N221.10 per share compared with the preceding session’s N244.53 per share.

Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N3.78 yesterday to trade at N74.85 per unit versus the previous price of N71.07 per unit, NASD Plc improved its price by N2.86 to N37.36 per share from N34.50 per share, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc grew by 33 Kobo to N180.00 per unit from N179.67 per unit.

The volume of trades jumped by 153.1 per cent during the session to 59.2 million units from the preceding session’s 590,339 units, but the value of transactions fell by 37.9 per cent to N59.3 million from the N95.3 million achieved last Friday, and the number of deals contracted by 10 per cent to 27 deals from 30 deals.

Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units traded for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 61.2 million units exchanged for N4.1 billion.

GNI Plc also closed the trading day as the most traded equity by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units exchanged for N415.7 million.

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Economy

Renewed Buying Interest Lifts Local Stock Exchange by 0.57%

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Local Stock Exchange

By Dipo Olowookere

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended in the green territory on Monday after it chalked up 0.57 per cent on the back of renewed buying interest in financial equities.

The local stock exchange witnessed the insurance and the banking counters closing higher by 0.54 per cent and 0.08 per cent, respectively, amid profit-taking in the others. The energy index shed 1.77 per cent and the consumer goods sector depreciated by 0.26 per cent, while the industrial goods industry was flat.

At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 1,412.65 points to 251,125.02 points from 249,712.37 points, and the market capitalisation soared by N906 billion to N160.983 trillion from N160.077 trillion.

Investor sentiment was bullish yesterday after Customs Street ended with 35 price gainers and 30 price losers, indicating a positive market breadth index.

Airtel Africa surged 10.00 per cent to N3,655.70, International Energy Insurance advanced by 9.68 per cent to N3.74, Sovereign Trust Insurance went up by 9.65 per cent to N2.50, Caverton rose by 9.63 per cent to N7.40, and VFD Group gained 9.55 per cent to close at N10.90.

Conversely, McNichols lost 10.00 per cent to finish at N7.20, The Initiates dropped 9.91 per cent to trade at N30.45, Learn Africa slipped by 9.69 per cent to N11.65, Zichis crashed by 7.93 per cent to N30.98, and May and Baker declined by 6.60 per cent to N46.70.

During the trading day, market participants transacted 629.4 million shares worth N40.9 billion in 82,434 deals compared with the 711.9 million shares valued at 29.1 billion traded in 62,386 deals last Friday, implying a decline in the trading volume by 11.59 per cent, and a rise in the trading value and number of deals by 40.55 per cent and 32.14 per cent, respectively.

Access Holdings was the busiest equity for the session with a turnover of 61.3 million units valued at N1.5 billion. Zenith Bank traded 37.9 million units worth N5.0 billion, Fidelity Bank sold 35.8 million units for N851.2 million, Japaul exchanged 24.7 million units valued at N90.9 million, and Tantalizers transacted 22.8 million units worth N103.2 million.

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Economy

Naira Opens Week Stronger at N1,374/1$ in Official Market

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Naira-Dollar exchange rate gap

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira appreciated against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) by 54 Kobo or 0.04 per cent on Monday, May 25, to trade at N1,374.92/$1 compared to last Friday’s value of N1,375.46/$1.

However, it further depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N6.01 to sell for N1,855.73/£1 versus the preceding session’s N1,849.72/£1 and lost N158.02 against the Euro to close at N1,755.06/€1, in contrast to the N1,590.04/€1 it was traded last Friday.

In the same vein, the Nigerian Naira weakened against the United States Dollar at the GTBank FX counter yesterday by N2 to quote at N1,383/$1 versus N1,381/$1, and gained N5 in the parallel market to settle at N1,385/$1 compared with the previous rate of N1,390/$1.

The performance of the domestic currency comes as the external reserves inched higher to $48.72 billion, indicating a complex mix of sustained FX demand pressures and modest reserve accretion.

The movement in the FX market underscores the continued tension between demand-side pressure and policy-driven attempts to stabilise the naira.

While recent monetary tightening measures by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have helped to moderate extreme volatility, market participants are struggling to navigate a landscape shaped by intermittent dollar inflows, import-related demand and shifting investor sentiment.

As for the cryptocurrency market, most tokens were up amid optimism of a near-term US-Iran peace deal, as Iranian negotiators arrived in Doha, Qatar, for talks.

The Strait of Hormuz has been largely blockaded since the US and Israel struck Iran on February 28, though traffic has partially resumed in recent days. The agenda would include the reopening as well as uranium control.

TRON (TRX) rose by 1.8 per cent to $0.3714, Cardano (ADA) added 1.2 per cent to trade at $0.2444, Bitcoin (BTC) improved by 0.9 per cent to $77,283.62, Binance Coin (BNB) jumped 0.8 per cent to $661.30, and Ripple (XRP) increased by 0.8 per cent to $1.35.

Further, Ethereum (ETH) grew by 0.7 per cent to $2,018.82, Solana (SOL) expanded by 0.6 per cent to $85.37, and Dogecoin (DOGE) appreciated by 0.6 per cent to $0.1001, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.

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