Economy
C&I Leasing’s Remarkable Growth Trajectory Attracted us—PMT
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A few days ago, the management of C&I Leasing Plc informed the investing community that Peace Mass Transit (PMT) has acquired about 55.82 per cent of the issued shares of the company.
The deal was done through the conversion of loan stock, about 313,326,316 units of the Neoma Africa Fund (formerly Aureos Africa Fund), transferred to PMT.
C&I Leasing had said this transaction would strengthen its capital base as the possible redemption of the notes, with the company’s cash resources, had been eliminated, giving the firm the opportunity to use such funds to expand the operations of the business.
But for PMT, it agreed to acquire the loan stock of Neoma Africa Fund, an international subsidiary of Actis LLP, a UK-based private equity firm, because it saw the value in C&I Leasing. Neoma Africa agreed to exit the company and PMT was available to take charge.
The Chairman and Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of PMT, Mr Sam Onyishi, in a statement issued on Wednesday by the company’s head of communication, Oluwatoyin Bayagbon, expressed confidence that the transaction will yield the expected return on investment.
“We have seen the value in C&I Leasing as a strong brand, hence, it is a no brainer that we opted to buy out the loan stock from Actis, in a deal which we are confident will yield the expected return on investment,” Mr Onyishi was quoted as saying in the statement.
PMT, which has a mission to provide an affordable and reliable transport system, has grown to be a trusted name in the transportation business in its over two decades of operations.
The firm provides transportation services for intercity/interstate travellers in Nigeria, also offering a unique service to hire a bus to anywhere in Nigeria at a very affordable price.
PMT also provides haulage services for businesses and individuals looking to transport large goods and services or materials within and around Nigerian cities.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The trio of MRS Oil Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, and Afriland Properties Plc lifted the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.21 per cent on Wednesday, July 29.
MRS Oil made a N14.80 gain to close at N162.80 per share versus the previous session’s N148.00 per share, CSCS Plc appreciated by N5.09 to N95.00 per unit from N89.91 per unit, and Afriland Properties Plc improved by 73 Kobo to end at N20.63 per share, in contrast to Tuesday’s closing price of N19.90 per share.
As a result, the NASD Security Index (NSI) added 51.73 points to settle at 4,324.88 points compared with the preceding day’s 4,273.15 points, and the market capitalisation jumped by N31.03 billion to close at N2.595 trillion versus N2.564 trillion.
At the close of transactions, the volume of securities exchanged by the market participants fell by 96.8 per cent to 213,893 units from 6.7 million units, the value of securities declined by 82.7 per cent to N14.8 million from the preceding session’s N85.8 million, and the number of deals slumped by 13.7 per cent to 44 deals from the previous day’s 51 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 75.9 million units transacted for N5.4 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock 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.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira further depreciated against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) for the third straight day on Wednesday, July 29, by N1.18 or 0.09 per cent to quote at N1,366.71/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,365.53/$1.
In the same vein, the Nigerian currency weakened against the Euro in the official FX market at midweek by N2.44 to close at N1,555.32/€1, in contrast to Tuesday’s rate of N1,552.88/€1, but against the Pound Sterling, it appreciated by N2.38 to trade at N1,815.82/£1 versus the previous day’s N1,816.43/£1.
At the black market, the Naira traded flat against the greenback yesterday at N1,400/$1, and also remained unchanged at the GTBank forex counter at N1,370/$1.
Interbank FX turnover closed at $61.034 million, according to data obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), about a 41 per cent day-on-day decline from $102.954 million the previous day.
The data also revealed that the number of deals at the interbank FX window eased to 86 from 121 previously recorded.
With a slowdown in FX inflows from foreign portfolio investors, exporters and non-bank corporates, the CBN is anticipated to step up its market intervention to keep the local currency stable.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market turned red during the session, as the US Federal Reserve left its benchmark fed funds rate range unchanged at 3.50 per cent -3.75 per cent, extending its pause for a sixth consecutive meeting as policymakers continue to grapple with stubborn inflation.
“Inflation remains elevated relative to the committee’s 2 per cent goal, in part reflecting supply shocks that have driven price increases in certain sectors, including energy,” the policy statement read.
Investors will be watching closely for signs that the US central bank’s communication strategy is changing under the leadership of Mr Kevin Warsh, who had been openly critical of the Federal Reserve’s traditional use of forward guidance and the quarterly dot plot, which the bank uses to show officials’ interest rate projections.
Dogecoin (DOGE) dropped 1.3 per cent to sell at $0.0699, Ripple (XRP) crashed by 1.2 per cent to $1.07, Ethereum (ETH) declined by 0.8 per cent to $1,902.73, Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.6 per cent to finish at $63,977.25, Solana (SOL) went down by 0.4 per cent to $73.57, and Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 1.2 per cent to $0.1625.
On the flip side, Binance Coin (BNB) went up by 0.4 per cent to $572.53, and TRON (TRX) soared by 0.3 per cent to $0.3263, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
By Dipo Olowookere
The bears made a comeback to Customs Street on Wednesday, crashing it by 0.41 per cent at the close of business due to selling pressure by investors.
Data from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited showed that the market breadth index was negative at midweek, after recording 43 price losers and 23 price gainers, implying weak investor sentiment.
Cornerstone Insurance lost 10.00 per cent to trade at N5.40, Legend Internet also depreciated by 10.00 per cent to N4.05, The Initiates declined by 9.91 per cent to N30.00, Guinea Insurance slipped by 9.78 per cent to 83 Kobo, and ABC Transport fell by 9.45 per cent to N5.75.
Conversely, Lasaco Assurance improved by 10.00 per cent to N2.42, NEM Insurance jumped by 9.97 per cent to N34.20, SUNU Assurances grew by 9.83 per cent to N3.91, Prestige Assurance went up by 7.14 per cent to N1.50, and CMFC gained 2.64 per cent to close at N3.89.
The activity level was mixed yesterday, as the trading volume increased by 12.11 per cent, the trading value declined by 7.14 per cent, and the number of deals slumped by 0.29 per cent.
The busiest equity for the session was FCMB, which traded 92.4 million units valued at N1.1 billion. First Holdco transacted 71.1 million units worth N8.8 billion, Access Holdings exchanged 43.3 million units for N1.2 billion, Sterling Holdings sold 35.8 million units valued at N285.2 million, and Zenith Bank closed with a turnover of 31.0 million units worth N3.9 billion.
When the market closed for the day, the All-Share Index (ASI) contracted by 1,004.38 points to 246,980.17 points from the preceding day’s 247,984.55 points, and the market capitalisation moderated by N648 billion to N159.345 trillion from Tuesday’s closing value of N159.993 trillion.
