Economy

CBN Sells 363bn OMO Bills Thursday, Cuts Stop Rates

Published

6 years ago

01/11/2019

By Dipo Olowookere

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) auctioned its liquidity control tool to investors on Thursday via an Open Market Operations (OMO). The exercise was mainly for foreign portfolio investors.

During the sale of the OMO bills, the apex bank offered for sale the debt instrument worth N330 billion in three different maturities; 96 days, 187 days and 362 days.

Business Post reports that the central bank auctioned N50 billion worth of the 96-day bill, another N50 billion worth of the 187-day tenor and N230 billion worth of the 362-day bill.

However, the bank had subscriptions valued at N447.09 billion across the three tenors, while N363.09 billion was allotted at the close of the exercise, with the stop rates for the mid and long tenors slightly slashed by the apex bank, while the stop rate for the short-dated maturity was left intact.

Results of the OMO sale showed that the central bank received bids worth N16.50 billion for the 96-day instrument. This same amount was allotted to traders at 11.55 percent.

For the 187-day tenor, the bank got subscriptions valued at N11.50 billion, but only N10.50 billion was sold at 11.75 percent, lower than 11.79 percent of the previous OMO auction.

For the 362-day bill, the central bank received offers worth N419.09 billion from subscribers yesterday, but N336.09 billion worth of the instrument was allotted to investors at stop rate of 11.32 percent, lower than the 11.34 percent at the October 24 exercise.

Meanwhile, at the secondary market for treasury bills on Thursday, the market came under a buy pressure, which consequently pushed the average yields lower as a result of the decline posted by the benchmark maturities.

The six-month instrument was the most pressured as its yield went down by 0.50 percent to settle at 11.90 percent against the previous day’s 12.40 percent. The three-month tenor followed as its yield went down by 0.31 percent to 11.72 percent from 12.03 percent. Yield on the one-year bill depreciated by 0.21 percent to 14.72 percent from 12.93 percent, while yield on the three-month instrument fell by 0.03 percent to 11.48 percent from 11.51 percent.

At the close of business, the average yields of the four bills went down by 0.26 percent to finish at 12.46 percent.

Meanwhile, activities at the money market yesterday were upbeat as the average rates increased by 1.75 percent to close at 5.00 percent. This came on the back of the 1.86 percent rise posted by the Open Buy Back (OBB) rate and the 1.64 percent growth recorded by the Overnight (OVN) rate.

At the close of transactions, the OBB rate increased to 4.64 percent from 2.79 percent, while the OVN rate appreciated to 5.36 percent from 3.71 percent.

It was observed that the rates still closed in the single-digit region despite a robust system liquidity in the interbank market, which was at N500 billion positive as the apex bank mopped up N3623 billion from the market via an OMO sale.

Economy

NBA Demands Suspension of Controversial Tax Laws

Published

23 hours ago

24/12/2025

Modupe Gbadeyanka

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The federal government has been asked by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to suspend the implementation of the controversial tax laws.

In a reaction to the tax reform acts, the president of the group, Mr Afam Osigwe (SAN), the suspension of the laws would allow for a proper investigation into allegations of alterations in the gazetted and harmonised copies.

A member of the House of Representatives, Mr Abdussamad Dasuki, alleged that some parts of the laws passed by the parliament were different from the gazetted copy.

To address the issues raised, the NBA said it is “imperative that a comprehensive, open, and transparent investigation be conducted to clarify the circumstances surrounding the enactment of the laws and to restore public confidence in the legislative process.”

“Until these issues are fully examined and resolved, all plans for the implementation of the Tax Reform Acts should be immediately suspended,” the association declared.

It noted that the controversies “raise grave concerns about the integrity, transparency, and credibility of Nigeria’s legislative process.”

“These developments strike at the very heart of constitutional governance and call into question the procedural sanctity that must attend lawmaking in a democratic society,” it noted.

“Legal and policy uncertainty of this magnitude has far-reaching consequences. It unsettles the business environment, erodes investor confidence, and creates unpredictability for individuals, businesses, and institutions required to comply with the law. Such uncertainty is inimical to economic stability and should have no place in a system governed by the rule of law.

“Nigeria’s constitutional democracy demands that laws, especially those with profound economic and social implications, emerge from processes that are transparent, accountable, and beyond reproach. Anything short of this undermines public trust and weakens the foundation upon which lawful governance rests.

“We therefore call on all relevant authorities to act swiftly and responsibly in addressing this controversy, in the overriding interest of constitutional order, economic stability, and the preservation of the rule of law,” the organisation stated.

Economy

MRS Oil, Two Others Raise NASD Bourse Higher by 0.52%

Published

1 day ago

24/12/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Demand for hot stocks, including MRS Oil Plc, buoyed the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.52 per cent on Tuesday, December 23.

The energy company was one of the three price gainers for the session as it chalked up N19.69 to sell at N216.59 per share versus the previous day’s value of N196.90 per share.

Further, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained N2.95 to close at N56.75 per unit versus N53.80 per unit and Golden Capital Plc appreciated by 84 Kobo to N9.29 per share from Monday’s N8.45 per share.

Consequently, the market capitalisation went up by N10.95 billion to N2.125 trillion from N2.125 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rose by 18.31 points to 3,570.37 points from 3,552.06 points.

Yesterday, the NASD bourse recorded a price loser, the Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS), which gave up 17 Kobo to close at N33.70 per unit against the previous trading value of N33.87 per unit.

The volume of securities traded at the session went down by 97.6 per cent to 297,902 units from the previous day’s 12.6 million units, the value of securities decreased by 98.5 per cent to N10.5 million from N713.6 million, and the number of deals remained flat at 32 deals.

By value, Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc ended as the most actively traded stock on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units exchanged for N16.4 billion. This was followed by Okitipupa Plc, which traded 178.9 million units valued at N9.5 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 36.1 million units worth N4.9 billion.

In terms of volume, also on a year-to-date basis, InfraCredit Plc led the chart with a turnover of 5.8 billion units traded for N16.4 billion. Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc ranked second with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.7 million, while Impresit Bakolori Plc followed with the sale of 536.9 million units valued at N524.9 million.

Economy

NGX All-Share Index Soars to 153,354.13 points

Published

1 day ago

24/12/2025

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

It was another bullish trading session for the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited as it closed higher by 0.59 per cent on Tuesday.

The market further rallied due to continued interest in large and mid-cap stocks on the exchange by investors rebalancing their portfolios for the year-end.

Yesterday, Aluminium Extrusion sustained its upward trajectory after it further appreciated by 9.96 per cent to N14.90, as Austin Laz gained 9.81 per cent to close at N2.91, Custodian Investment improved by 9.69 per cent to N38.50, and First Holdco soared by 9.35 per cent to N50.30.

Conversely, Royal Exchange declined by 7.22 per cent to N1.80, Champion Breweries shrank by 6.57 per cent to N15.65, NASCON lost 5.36 per cent to trade at N105.05, Sovereign Trust Insurance depreciated by 5.28 per cent to N3.77, and Japaul went down by 4.51 per cent to N2.33.

At the close of business, 29 shares ended on the gainers’ table and 27 shares finished on the losers’ log, representing a positive market breadth index and bullish investor sentiment.

This raised the All-Share Index (ASI) by 895.06 points to 153,354.13 points from 152,459.07 points and lifted the market capitalisation by N579 billion to N97.772 trillion from the previous day’s N97.193 trillion.

VFD Group finished the day as the busiest stock after it recorded a turnover of 192.0 million units worth N2.1 billion, GTCO exchanged 63.5 million units valued at N5.6 billion, Access Holdings traded 49.8 million units for N1.0 billion, First Holdco sold 45.8 million units valued at N2.3 billion, and Secure Electronic Technology transacted 38.3 million units worth N28.4 million.

In all, market participants bought and sold 677.4 million units valued at N20.8 billion in 27,589 deals compared with the 451.5 million units worth N13.0 billion traded in 33,327 deals on Monday, showing an improvement in the trading volume and value by 50.03 per cent and 60.00 per cent apiece, and a shortfall in the number of deals by 17.22 per cent.