Economy
C&I Leasing Explains Delay in Completing Share Reconstruction
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The board of C&I Leasing Plc has explained why it was yet to complete the reconstruction of its share capital, which started some weeks ago.
In December 2018, the company announced that it had received the received the approval of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) to reduce its share capital by 75 percent.
C&I Leasing had said it was cutting its share capital to about 404.3 million from 1.6 billion on a ratio of four to one.
The firm had explained that this was to allow the company have enough unissued shares to accommodate future plans to raise capital through the equity capital market.
“C&I Leasing is pleased to notify its esteemed shareholders,stakeholders, dealing members and the general public that the company has made an application to the Nigerian Stock Exchange and obtained a ‘No Objection’ to its proposal to reduce the company’s issued and paid-up share capital from N808,505,000 being 1,617,010,000 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each to N202,126,250 being 404,252,500 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each by consolidating every four ordinary shares currently held into one new share in the company,” the statement had said.
As a result of this, the NSE placed a suspension on trading of the shares of the company on Thursday, December 13, 2018 to allow for the consolidation exercise.
But since then, some shareholders were becoming worried that the share price of C&I Leasing on the local stock exchange was yet to reflect the new price.
Business Post reports that as at the close of business last Friday, the share price of C&I Leasing was still stagnant on the NSE at N1.78k per unit as a result of the suspension.
Shareholders of the firm are expecting the share price to go for N7.12k per share as soon as the suspension was lifted by the NSE.
In a statement issued by the company at the weekend, it was explained that the process was yet to be finalised, promising that it would be finalised in the coming days.
Giving reason for the delay, the company said it was “due to the delay in reconciliation of the shareholding.”
“We refer to our press release of December 10, 2018 on the application made to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) for the consolidation of every four ordinary shares currently held into one new share in the company and the placement of the shares of the company on suspension from Thursday, December 13, 2018 to Thursday, December 27, 2018 to allow for the consolidation exercise.
“Unfortunately, due to the delay in reconciliation of the shareholding, the exercise has not been completed. We are now close to completing the exercise and the suspension will be lifted in the coming days,” the statement said.
Recall that last week, it was reported that Abraaj Group was converting its $10 million loan stock to shares of C&I Leasing, which will make the company control about 70 percent state in the Nigerian firm. Chief Executive Officer of C&I Leasing, Mr Andrew Otike-Odibi, was also quoted to have said last week that the firm was planning a rights issue or an initial public offering that may dilute Abraaj’s stake to about 30 percent.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) says the rollout of electronic invoicing (e-invoicing) will strengthen tax compliance, curb revenue leakages and improve transparency in tax administration as it moves to fully digitise the country’s tax system.
The Project Lead for the NRS e-Invoicing Project, Mr Mohammed Bawa, stated this at the DigiTax E-Invoicing Compliance Breakfast Session held in Lagos on Wednesday.
The event, organised by DigiTax, an NRS-accredited e-invoicing platform, formed part of efforts to support the agency’s ongoing education and sensitisation campaign on the e-invoicing mandate.
Mr Bawa said the initiative aligns with global trends in tax digitisation and is expected to help improve Nigeria’s tax-to-GDP ratio, which remains one of the lowest in Africa.
According to him, the system will provide the NRS with greater visibility into transactions across sectors, formalise activities within the informal economy and standardise invoice formats nationwide using globally recognised invoice schemas.
He added that e-invoicing would improve operational efficiency for both businesses and tax authorities while supporting the NRS’ transition from manual and electronic tax administration processes to a fully automated system-to-system interaction model.
Mr Bawa noted that the legal framework for implementation is backed by the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, which prescribes penalties for non-compliance.
He disclosed that the NRS has completed onboarding large taxpayers and is preparing to enforce compliance with defaulting entities.
According to him, medium taxpayers are expected to begin compliance in the third quarter of 2026, while onboarding of emerging taxpayers will commence in 2027, with full adoption targeted for all taxpayers by the end of 2028.
Mr Bawa urged taxpayers yet to be onboarded onto the platform to begin the process and work with accredited service providers to ensure compliance.
On his part, Country Director of DigiTax Nigeria, Mr Olumide Akinsola, urged businesses to look beyond their internal systems and assess the compliance status of suppliers and counterparties.
He warned that businesses whose suppliers fail to transmit invoices through the MBS platform risk losing eligibility to claim Value Added Tax (VAT) input credits on such transactions, describing the resulting supply chain exposure as a significant commercial risk that many organisations have yet to quantify.
Mr Akinsola also announced the launch of DigiTax’s white paper, The State of E-Invoicing Readiness in Nigeria, which examines compliance adoption trends and the readiness gap across different taxpayer segments.
He added that DigiTax operates in Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), noting that experience from those markets shows businesses that integrate early are better positioned to avoid disruptions when enforcement begins.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The names of about 100,000 companies registered by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) are about to be deleted for inactivity, especially for failing to file their annual tax returns, Business Post reports.
This information was disclosed by the CAC via a notice signed by its management on Wednesday, July 15, 2026.
The list contains organisations like the Nigeria-Poland Chamber of Trade Invest Ltd, Alariwo of Afrika Ltd, Ovation Sports International, First Union Pension Fund Administrators, Investopedia Limited, Baptist High School Abuja Ltd, and Yobe Aluminium Manufacturing Industries Ltd, amongst others.
In the statement, the commission said its decision to strike off the names of the affected firms from the register aligns with the provisions of Section 692(3) (3) and (4) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), 2020.
However, the affected companies can still salvage the situation by filing all outstanding annual returns and regularising their records within 90 days.
“Please note that companies that fail to comply within the stipulated timeline shall be struck off the register without further notice,” it declared, expressing its continued commitment to providing prompt and efficient registration and regulatory services to the satisfaction of its valued customers.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange gained 1.75 per cent on Wednesday, July 15, pushing the NASD Security Index (NSI) up by 74.20 points to 4,316.51 points from 4,242.31 points, as the market capitalisation added N44.54 billion to finish at N2.590 trillion compared with the preceding session’s N2.546 trillion.
During the session, there was an 11.5 per cent rise in the value of transactions at midweek to N72.7 million from the preceding session’s N65.2 million, as there was a 3.7 per cent growth in the number of deals to 28 deals from the previous session’s 27 deals, while the volume of securities slumped by 64.5 per cent to 4.9 million units from 13.7 million units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc ended as the most active security by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, with the second spot occupied by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc after selling 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and the third position was taken by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which exchanged 74.3 million units for N5.3 billion.
GNI Plc also finished the trading day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with a turnover of 3.4 billion units traded for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million.
Business Post reports that the market breadth index was negative yesterday, as there were two price gainers and three price losers.
11 Plc added N22.36 to its value to close at N250.00 per share versus N227.64 per share, and CSCS Plc improved by N7.95 to N90.35 per unit from N82.40 per unit.
On the flip side, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc lost N1.37 to end at N150.00 per share versus N151.37 per share, UBN Property Plc depreciated by 6 Kobo to N1.75 per unit from N1.81 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc dropped 1 Kobo to close at N2.49 per share versus N2.50 per share.
