Economy
Capital Market Without Participation of Youths Doomed to Fail—SEC
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has called for the strong participation of youths in the capital market, stressing that they play a vital role in the ecosystem.
The Director-General of SEC, Mr Lamido Yuguda, during a meeting with a team led by the British Deputy High Commissioner in Abuja last Friday, said efforts would be made to make the market attractive to the young ones.
According to him, the commission is implementing various initiatives to ensure that products and offerings in the market are accessible to both the young and old.
“When we assumed office, we were shocked to know that the average age of the Central Securities Clearing System account holder was over 50 years. The CSCS is a depository so if you are investing in equities you must have a CSCS account.
“The average age of that account holder was over 50, and that made us realise that the young people were not participating in this market and when young people are not participating in any market, that market is doomed to fail. And young people today prefer to do things on their phones, if you have to fill a stack of forms manually, young people won’t do it. We want to make investing in the capital market a fun experience.
“The capital market experience starts with a bank account and eventually the distribution has to hit a bank account as well. So, we decided to look at the whole process and find out what is turning young people off. We have started the process and seen how the tech companies are providing much-needed relief to the kind of bureaucracy that happens in the capital market,” he said.
Mr Yuguda disclosed that the SEC recently approved an e-offer for MTN and expressed the excitement of the agency that Nigerians especially those of the younger age bracket were able to participate in the offer.
“It was marvellously successful and we are very excited about it. A lot of young people who had never invested in the capital market took the MTN offer. That is one of the first steps in a lot of steps we are going to take to make investing in the capital market a much nicer experience for people both young and old. We know we can move quickly and faster once we strengthen our IT infrastructure to do a lot more,” he said.
“In this market what we have seen is that where people do have ready access to interesting products in the regulated market they then gravitate towards the parallel markets and the Ponzi schemes and really the task of the commission is to as much as possible move money to the regulated market away from the Ponzi schemes,” the SEC DG added.
He stated that with e-offers, a lot of Nigerians would be happy to invest in the capital market and that would dissuade people from patronising illegal schemes thereby leading to the development of the capital market and the Nigerian economy.
Mr Yuguda also stated that the commission, in its drive to attract more people to the market, is focusing on a proper identity management system which would also aid in the reduction of the issue of unclaimed dividends.
“One area we recognised we needed to attend to is the lack of proper identity management system in the market and this is an area the commission has really focused on.
“We have had over the past few decades a lot of unclaimed dividends in the market and we thought that identity management could help solve the problem.
“I believe if we are able to do this to a logical conclusion it could unlock a lot more investors because I think the fact that people have money in the capital market and have not been able to claim them, it is not only bad for the people who have this money but it is also a disincentive for those trying to come in because they do not want their money to be trapped,” he stated.
The DG commended the relationship between the agency and the UK government the commission and Nigeria, which he stated has contributed to the growth and development of the capital market.
In his remarks, the British Deputy High Commissioner, Mr Ben Llewellyn-Jones, canvassed the need for the SEC to create more alternative options for investments for all classes of people as one of the ways of pulling people away from unregulated space.
He said, “The more you can create alternative options the easier it is to pull people away from unregulated space and that is why the Sandbox is so attractive to us and why we encourage it. We come across these fintech players and they are formidably driven in their vision.
“But we get a sense they need to work with regulators to make it work and they recognise that it’s the right way to be attracted to investment and grow the way they want.
“They are formidably talented as well and it is really encouraging. We are very keen to work with you and your approach and that’s very heartening and the appetite for innovation is what has attracted us to that the most.”
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The ban on the export of raw shea nuts from Nigeria has been extended by one year by President Bola Tinubu.
A statement from the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, on Wednesday disclosed that the ban is now till February 25, 2027.
It was emphasised that this decision underscores the administration’s commitment to advancing industrial development, strengthening domestic value addition, and supporting the objectives of the Renewed Hope Agenda.
The ban aims to deepen processing capacity within Nigeria, enhance livelihoods in shea-producing communities, and promote the growth of Nigerian exports anchored on value-added products, the statement noted.
To further these objectives, President Tinubu has authorised the two Ministers of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, and the Presidential Food Security Coordination Unit (PFSCU), to coordinate the implementation of a unified, evidence-based national framework that aligns industrialisation, trade, and investment priorities across the shea nut value chain.
He also approved the adoption of an export framework established by the Nigerian Commodity Exchange (NCX) and the withdrawal of all waivers allowing the direct export of raw shea nuts.
The President directed that any excess supply of raw shea nuts should be exported exclusively through the NCX framework, in accordance with the approved guidelines.
Additionally, he directed the Federal Ministry of Finance to provide access to a dedicated NESS Support Window to enable the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment to pilot a Livelihood Finance Mechanism to strengthen production and processing capacity.
Shea nuts, the oil-rich fruits from the shea tree common in the Savanna belt of Nigeria, are the raw material for shea butter, renowned for its moisturising, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties. The extracted butter is a principal ingredient in cosmetics for skin and hair, as well as in edible cooking oil. The Federal Government encourages processing shea nuts into butter locally, as butter fetches between 10 and 20 times the price of the raw nuts.
The federal government said it remains committed to policies that promote inclusive growth, local manufacturing and position Nigeria as a competitive participant in global agricultural value chains.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange expanded for the first session this week by 1.27 per cent on Wednesday, February 25.
This lifted the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) above 4,000 points, with a 50.45-point addition to close at 4,025.25 points compared with the previous day’s 3,974.80 points, as the market capitalisation added N30.19 billion to close at N2.408 trillion versus Tuesday’s N2.378 trillion.
At the trading session, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc grew by N5.00 to trade at N100.00 per share compared with the previous day’s N95.00 per share, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc improved by N4.18 to sell at N70.00 per unit versus N65.82 per unit, and First Trust Mortgage Bank Plc increased by 14 Kobo to trade at N1.59 per share compared with the previous day’s N1.45 per share.
However, the share price of Geo-Fluids Plc depreciated by 27 Kobo at midweek to close at N3.27 per unit, in contrast to the N3.30 per unit it was transacted a day earlier.
At the midweek session, the volume of securities went down by 25.3 per cent to 8.7 million units from 11.6 million units, the value of securities decreased by 92.5 per cent to N80.7 million from N1.2 billion, and the number of deals slipped by 33.3 per cent to 32 deals from the preceding session’s 48 deals.
At the close of business, CSCS Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 34.1 million units exchanged for N2.0 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 6.3 million units traded for N1.1 billion, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 122.0 million units valued at N478.0 million.
Resourcery Plc ended the trading session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 1.05 billion units valued at N408.7 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 122.0 million units sold for N478.0 million, and CSCS Plc with 34.1 million units worth N2.0 billion.
By Dipo Olowookere
The bears consolidated their dominance on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Wednesday, inflicting an additional 0.09 per cent cut on the market.
At midweek, the market capitalisation of the domestic stock exchange went down by N73 billion to N124.754 trillion from the preceding day’s N124.827 trillion, and the All-Share Index (ASI) slipped by 114.32 points to 194,370.20 points from 194,484.52 points.
A look at the sectoral performance showed that only the consumer goods index closed in green, gaining 1.19 per cent due to buying pressure.
However, sustained profit-taking weakened the insurance space by 3.79 per cent, the banking index slumped by 2.07 per cent, the energy counter went down by 0.24 per cent, and the industrial goods sector shrank by 0.22 per cent.
Business Post reports that 25 equities ended on the gainers’ chart, and 54 equities finished on the losers’ table, representing a negative market breadth index and weak investor sentiment.
RT Briscoe lost 10.00 per cent to sell for N10.35, ABC Transport crashed by 10.00 per cent to N6.75, SAHCO depreciated by 9.98 per cent to N139.35, Haldane McCall gave up 9.93 per cent to trade at N3.99, and Vitafoam Nigeria decreased by 9.93 per cent to N112.50.
Conversely, Jaiz Bank gained 9.95 per cent to settle at N14.03, Okomu Oil appreciated by 9.93 per cent to N1,765.00, Trans-nationwide Express chalked up 9.77 per cent to close at N2.36, Fortis Global Insurance moved up by 9.72 per cent to 79 Kobo, and Champion Breweries rose by 5.39 per cent to N17.60.
Yesterday, 1.4 billion shares worth N46.2 billion were transacted in 70,222 deals compared with the 1.1 billion shares valued at N53.4 billion traded in 72,218 deals a day earlier, implying a rise in the trading volume by 27.27 per cent, and a decline in the trading value and number of deals by 13.48 per cent and 2.76 per cent, respectively.
Fortis Global Insurance ended the session as the busiest stock after trading 193.7 million units for N152.7 million, Zenith Bank transacted 120.7 million units worth N11.1 billion, Japaul exchanged 114.8 million units valued at N407.0 million, Ellah Lakes sold 98.4 million units worth N999.2 million, and Access Holdings traded 63.1 million units valued at N1.7 billion.
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