Economy
CNBC Africa Clocks 10 in Grand Style
By Dipo Olowookere
When on June 1, 2007 CNBC Africa launched its first studio in Johannesburg, South Africa, not many thought it would stand the test of time let alone becoming an authority in the financial reporting arm of journalism.
But a decade after, it is all glaring even for the blind to see the success the organisation has made on the continent of Africa since its inception.
Even founder of the ABN Group, the parent body of CNBC Africa, Mr Rakesh Wahi, attested to the fact that the beginning was never rosy when he came up with the idea.
Mr Wahi made his journey to South Africa in 2004, armed with the vision of a Pan-African business and finance network that would be set up in the economic hub of Africa. And so, the vision of CNBC Africa was realised with the inception of the Johannesburg bureau.
“Selling the dream was never easy when you had nothing to show and no comparable project to correlate to,” he explained.
On Thursday, June 1, 2017, the baby of yesterday clocked 10 and this was marked with a special broadcast and markets opening from the JSE in South Africa.
The special anniversary broadcast brought together key stakeholders, supporters, regular analysts, shareholders, senior management and media, to look back on the past decade of bringing the African economic story to a continent-wide and international audience.
CNBC Africa’s success has not been achieved overnight. The network has survived periods of political and financial turbulence, including the recession of 2008, and has continued to prosper despite the volatile environment of the African continent. CNBC Africa operates studios in Lagos, Nairobi, Johannesburg and Kigali, making it the only financial network to of its size to broadcast live to a pan-African audience daily.
The network has played an important role in the changing the perception of Africa’s economies, by attracting investors, showcasing opportunities and cultivating interest in African markets.
“Investors follow information. In the past, economies had been defined by the differences in access to information; in economics we call it information asymmetry. Those who have better information tend to go for opportunities for investment. The channel has given Africans a profile, because we have capital that is not well mobilized in Africa.
“Because we are exposing and talking about the business opportunities and economic opportunities that are provided by the continent, we have seen mobilization of capital with Africans themselves. When we profile a country or a region, the investments prospects are now known to those who are directing capital,” comments founding non-executive director, Mr Sam Bhembe.
Analysts, entrepreneurs and business men and women from across Africa continue to make CNBC Africa their primary source of information as the channel provides 24-hour coverage of the day’s markets trading, from the open of each stock exchange in East, South and West Africa, to the closing of the day’s activities.
“Today, when I see a simultaneous conversation between our anchors in East, West and Southern Africa, I realise that the channel has come so far,” says executive director, Bronwyn Nielsen.
The next ten years will be no less a challenge than the last, but one can be certain that CNBC Africa will continue to grow and thrive on the African continent.
“As CNBC Africa turns 10, we need to understand the direction of the industry. In the past years, the future of TV has been questioned. Television news has changed – consumers are no longer silent viewers, they are informed contributors. Never has it been easier to create expression; social media has made creating, expressing and accessing information so much easier. As a brand we are ready for the challenge, our niche being not just to quantify pan-African content we bring our viewers, but the sheer quality of financial and business news we offer. My faith in the brand we represent, and the people we have, has never been stronger,” says managing director, Roberta Naicker.
“In October we renewed our franchise agreement with CNBC International for another 15 years; our 10th anniversary is but a milestone in greater things to come. We have built meaningful structures of succession and the next phase will see the baton of leadership change to the younger leaders who will be responsible to build the legacy of the Founders until the next milestone – our silver jubilee in 2032,” concludes Mr Wahi.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Four securities weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.95 per cent on Friday, erasing N41.17 billion from the bourse, which had its market capitalisation at N2.567 trillion compared with the previous session’s N2.618 trillion.
In the same vein, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) decreased at the close of business by 85.28 points to 4,277.07 points from 4,362.32 points.
The price decliners were led by 11 Plc, which gave up N20.50 to sell at N200.50 per share compared with the preceding day’s N221.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc dropped N16.94 to close at N155.20 per unit versus Thursday’s closing price of N172.14 per unit, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by N2.11 to N84.68 per share from N86.79 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc lost 11 Kobo to end at N16.74 per unit, in contrast to the N16.85 per unit it closed a day earlier.
During the trading day, the value of transactions jumped by 172.1 per cent to N29.9 million from the preceding session’s N10.9 million, and the volume of trades soared by 136.5 per cent to 955,096 units from the previous 403,901 units, while the number of deals went down by 11.4 per cent to 31 deals from 35 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 68.6 million units sold for N4.7 billion.
GNI Plc also ended the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
The last trading session of this week on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended on a negative note, with a 0.66 per cent loss on Friday.
This was influenced by sustained selling pressure and cautious trading, which forced investors into profit-taking.
Data obtained by Business Post showed that the energy sector fell by 4.66 per cent, the insurance counter dipped by 2.23 per cent, the consumer goods index depreciated by 0.96 per cent, and the banking segment shed 0.28 per cent, while the industrial goods space remained unchanged.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) of Nigeria’s stock exchange went down by 1,531.81 points to 232,049.02 points from 233,580.83 points, and the market capitalisation dropped N983 billion to settle at N148.905 trillion compared with Thursday’s N149.888 trillion.
Aradel was the worst-performing equity after it lost 10.00 per cent to close at N1,417.50. International Energy Insurance slipped by 9.95 per cent to N5.79, Trans-Nationwide Express depreciated by 9.89 per cent to N3.28, eTranzact crashed by 9.79 per cent to N14.75, and UPDC slumped by 9.72 per cent to N28.12.
The best-performing equity for the day was Universal Insurance, which gained 6.32 per cent to close at N1.01, McNichols grew by 5.52 per cent to N8.60, Linkage Assurance expanded by 4.67 per cent to N1.57, NGX Group appreciated by 4.35 per cent to N120.00, and Transcorp increased by 3.62 per cent to N41.50.
As look at the activity level indicated that investors traded 388.7 million stocks worth N18.4 billion in 44,631 deals compared with the 393.7 million stocks valued at N19.2 billion executed in 45,813 deals a day earlier, representing a decline in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 1.27 per cent, 4.17 per cent, and 2.58 per cent, respectively.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira recorded a loss of 82 Kobo or 0.06 per cent against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, June 26, exchanging at N1,380.93/$1, in contrast to the previous day’s rate of N1,380.11/$1.
Equally, the domestic currency further weakened against the Pound Sterling in the official FX market yesterday by N6.06 to settle at N1,824.90/£1 versus the preceding session’s N1,818.84/£1, and lost N10.74 on the Euro to sell at N1,577 .58/€1 versus N1,566.84/€1.
At the GTBank forex counter, the Naira depreciated against the greenback during the session by N4 to close at N1,387/$1, in contrast to Thursday’s value of N1,383/$1, and at the parallel market, it was unchanged at N1,395/$1.
Interbank FX activity among financial institutions has fluctuated amid a sharp slowdown in forex market interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as it allows demand and supply to move the market.
Also, a stronger greenback has generally put significant pressure on emerging-market currencies.
Nigeria has accessed the first tranche of a proposed $5 billion derivatives financing arrangement with First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC, the largest lender in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The $5 billion facility, approved by the National Assembly earlier this year, is part of the federal government’s plan to diversify external financing sources and reduce borrowing costs. Structured as a Total Return Swap with First Abu Dhabi Bank, proceeds are earmarked for refinancing debt and supporting infrastructure financing.
If the proceeds are brought into the country through the official FX market, the transaction will increase the currency reserves or Dollar liquidity.
At the cryptocurrency market, Solana (SOL) grew by 2.2 per cent to $71.92, Cardano (ADA) gained 1.1 per cent to trade at $0.1474, Ripple (XRP) also appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $1.05, Dogecoin (DOGE) expanded by 0.9 per cent to $0.0755, and Ethereum (ETH) improved by 0.4 per cent to $1,578.84.
On the flip side, TRON (TRX) slid 0.6 per cent to $0.3203, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 0.3 per cent to $564.33, and Bitcoin fell by 0.2 per cent to $60,219.37, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.
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