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Capital Market Ready to Spur Investment in Infrastructure—Yuguda

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investment in infrastructure

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr Lamido Yuguda, has assured the federal government that the capital market would ensure it attracts investment in infrastructure to stimulate the economy.

In an interview on Thursday, Mr Yuguda said the administration of President Bola Tinubu had shown the desire to jump-start the economy with his policy direction.

He said the Nigerian capital market could be a viable tool to achieve infrastructure development, as it is an organised and specialised financial market that drives capital mobilisation through domestic savings and foreign capital inflows.

According to him, the benefits of adequate infrastructure in any economy cannot be overemphasised as they help to speed up development and create wealth.

“If we can get well thought out infrastructure in this country, it will do many things. It will raise the level of economic activities in the country as a whole, and these activities will need people to be employed so they can carry out those activities.

“That means the youths and our people will get more employment, and as you get more employment, people get more disposable income and need to find outlets to spend that income. That means people can set up small.

“Industries and be able to live decent lives. Also, people will be buying the essentials of life, and the people who are in the business of producing or selling them will be in business. So, you find out that there is a chain effect,” the DG stated.

The SEC chief recalled that in the past, most famous industries were sited close to rail lines to aid the transportation of heavy machinery, raw materials, and finished products to consumers.

“You can have several carriages in the train carrying various products. Today we do not have the rail lines, and we need to revive this infrastructure,” he said.

The SEC DG expressed the hope that the nation’s economy will bounce back and thrive with the aid of the capital market.

“I have a lot of hope in our economy. Right now, if you do the GDP ranking, Nigeria is about number 30. Still, I am very confident that if we get our infrastructure right, our ranking will improve tremendously,” he said, adding that Nigeria has the population and the market right now, which means that investment in infrastructure can pay back itself in Nigeria faster than other parts of Africa because the nation has more people that can use the infrastructure.

He, therefore, urged the government at all levels to look towards the capital market for financing such investments, which he said would aid the much-needed economic development, assuring that once the infrastructure is right, the number of users will grow, boosting economic activities.

Mr Yuguda said this would all be aided by the capital market as it is an unbiased price determination machinery for the economy.

“Once we have the right infrastructure, people will travel by road. We did in the past, and I think once we have the right structures in place, we can enjoy good roads again,” he added.

The SEC DG assured that the commission was committed to protecting investors and creating an enabling in the market, emphasising the SEC’s unwavering resolve to build a robust capital market that is instrumental to driving economic progress in the country.

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Economy

Unlisted Securities Exchange Suffers 0.20% Loss at Midweek

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unlisted securities exchange

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a 0.20 per cent decline on Wednesday, February 5, with the market capitalisation going down by N3.50 billion to N1.779 trillion from the N1.782 trillion it ended a day earlier, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) losing 6.19 points to settle at 3,140.55 points, in contrast to the previous day’s 3,146.74 points.

The loss suffered by the unlisted securities exchange was caused by a fall in the price of Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) by N1.83 as its value ended at N22.00 per share versus Tuesday’s closing price of N23.83 per share.

It upturned the gains recorded by four other stocks on the trading platform.

Business Post reports that Food Concepts Plc appreciated by 14 Kobo to N1.56 per unit from N1.42 per unit, Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc gained 2 Kobo to quote at 40 Kobo per share versus 38 Kobo per share, Mixta Real Estate Plc improved by 13 Kobo to N2.96 per unit from N2.83 per unit, and  Afriland Properties Plc rose by 27 Kobo to N16.52 per share from N16.25 per share.

Yesterday, the volume of transactions went up by 19.3 per cent to 10.1 million units from 8.5 million units, the value of trades depreciated by 0.6 per cent to N13.5 million from N13.6 million, and the number of deals decreased by 41.4 per cent to 17 deals from 29 deals.

At the close of business, Impresit Bakolori Plc was the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 519.5 million units worth N504.3 million, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc was in the second position with 6.2 million units valued at N245.0 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc was in third with 9.3 million units sold for N44.8 million.

Similarly, Impresit Bakolori Plc was also the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 519.5 million units worth N504.3 million, trailed by IGI Plc with 42.4 million units sold for N12.9 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 9.3 million units valued at N44.8 million.

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Naira Trades N1,499/$1 at Official Market, N1,590/$1 at Black Market

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more wealth for investors Naira

By Adedapo Adesanya

The value of the Naira continued to tumble against against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) amid the decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to extend the window of allowing Bureau De Change (BDC) operators to buy FX from the official market until the end of May.

This policy allows BDCs to purchase $25,000 worth of forex per week and should not resell to their customers at a profit margin above one per cent.

The intention of this scheme is to quell huge forex demand in the black amrket, speculative activity, and ensure proper oversight.

At the spot market on Wednesday, February 5, the Nigerian currency weakened against the greenback by 0.05 per cent or 81 Kobo to N1,499.76/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,498.95/$1.

It was the third time the local currency was depreciating in value this week.

In the same official market, the domestic currency traded flat against the British Pound Sterling and the Euro at N1,868.17/£1 and N1,553.41/€1, respectively.

In the black market, the Nigerian Naira, however, appreciated against the US Dollar at midweek by N15 to sell for N1,590/$1, in contrast to Tuesday’s exchange rate of N1,605/$1.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was bullish yesterday after Mr Eric Trump, son of US President Donald Trump, encouraged the family backed crypto platform to invest in Bitcoin (BTC).

Early this week, President Trump’s AI and crypto czar, Mr David Sacks, said the Trump administration is evaluating the feasibility of a strategic bitcoin reserve, disappointing crypto investors anticipating a swift action on the issue.

Litecoin (LTC) gained 6.3 per cent to sell at $108.22, Ethereum (ETH) appreciated by 3.7 per cent to $2,844.58, Cardano (ADA) jumped by 2.6 per cent to $0.7632, Binance Coin (BNB) went up by 1.2 per cent to $581.16, BTC rose by 0.6 per cent to $98,325.95, and Dogecoin (DOGE) increased by 0.2 per cent to $0.2651.

On the flip side, Ripple (XRP) dropped 1.6 per cent to close at $2.46, and Solana (SOL) recorded a 0.8 per cent depreciation to settle at $203.60, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.

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Economy

Brent Crude Slides Below $75 Per Barrel as US Stockpiles Rise

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brent crude oil

By Adedapo Adesanya

Brent crude fell below $75 per barrel on Wednesday, shedding $1.59 or 2.09 per cent to trade at $74.61 per barrel as a large build in US crude stockpiles signalled weaker demand.

Also, the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down $1.67 or 2.3 per cent to quote at $71.03 per barrel as the US Energy Information Administration said yesterday that crude oil inventories rose sharply last week in the world’s largest producer as refiners facing soft gasoline (petrol) demand did maintenance work.

Inventories in the US saw a colossal build of 8.7 million barrels during the week ending January 31 after the American Petroleum Industry (API) issued its latest estimates on crude oil and crude oil products inventories showing that crude oil inventories had risen by a whopping 5.025 million barrels for the week on Tuesday.

For total motor gasoline (petrol), the EIA estimated that inventories rose by 2.2 million barrels for the week to January 31, with production averaging 9.2 million barrels daily. This compares with an inventory rise of 3.0 million barrels for the previous week and an average daily production of 9.2 million barrels daily.

For middle distillates, the EIA estimated an inventory fall of 5.5 million barrels for last week, with production averaging 4.6 million barrels daily. This compares to an inventory loss of 5 million barrels for the week prior when production stood at an average of 4.7 million barrels daily.

Meanwhile, worries about a new China-US trade war fueled fears of softer economic growth.

On Tuesday, China announced tariffs on imports of U.S. oil, liquefied natural gas and coal in retaliation for US levies on Chinese exports.

Market analysts noted that China putting a tariff on US imports will reduce the demand for those commodities, which need to be redirected into another market.

Iran has also urged its fellow members in the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to unite against possible US sanctions after President Trump said he would restore the maximum pressure campaign on Iran that he enacted in his first term.

If this happens, the resulting supply squeeze could sustain the upward momentum in oil prices, particularly amid slower than expected supply adjustments from OPEC+ producers.

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