Economy
Dunlop Seeks Core Investor to Produce Tyres in Nigeria
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Managing Director of a leading marketer of automotive tyres, Dunlop Nigeria Tyre & Rubber Plc, Mr Mohammed Jimoh Yinusa, has disclosed that the company was looking for at least a major investor to enable it return to the manufacture of tyres in Nigeria.
In a notice to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) this week, the firm, which shut down its local production in 2008 due to a government policy, said it intends to return in full force to take its place in the market.
To achieve this goal, Dunlop is marketing its 10-year strategic business plan it developed with the hope of getting a potential investor, who will key into the vision of the company.
“We have developed a 10-year strategic business plan for a return to local tyre manufacture, which is currently being marketed to enable us secure a core lead investor for the project as the company currently does not have a single investor with up to 5 percent shareholding to provide the required leadership, after which we would jointly approach our technical partners.
“We are already in serious discussions with a state government that is setting up an Industrial Park with provision for an automobile cluster and a tyre manufacturing plant, among other possible options,” Mr Yinusa stated.
In 2006, the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo reduced the import tariff on tyres to 10 percent from 40 percent.
This significantly affected local manufacturers of the product, leading to the exit of Dunlop and Michelin in 2008 and 2006 respectively.
The two leading local makers of tyres could not cope with the huge infrastructural deficiency, especially electric power and Dunlop, which had been operating in the country since 1963, had to go, but continued dialogue with the various successive governments on the need to raise the tariff on imported tyres to encourage local production.
Prior to the 2006 change in policy, Dunlop had just completed a major $50 million expansion into the truck tyre segment a year earlier in 2005 and when it became obvious that the policy reversal was not forthcoming, the firm had to in 2012 take the interim strategic decision to realise all its manufacturing assets to enable it to repay its indebtedness to financial institutions of over N8 billion, which was achieved by the end of 2014.
According to Mr Yinusa, the believe in the future of local tyre manufacture in view of the huge market in the West and Central African sub Regions, with no single tyre plant currently, made the company strategically retained its investment in natural rubber plantations through its 60 percent shareholding in its subsidiary company, Pamol Nigeria Limited, the key minority shareholders being Cross River State government with 21 percent and Delta State government with 15 percent.
Natural rubber constitutes about 50 percent of tyre raw materials, with Carbon Black at about 25 percent, both of which are significantly locally available.
The company’s CEO said, “We have now recorded significant results with the federal government, through the National Automotive Design and Development Council, with the conclusion of a new Automotive Policy which has taken into consideration the key policy negatives of the 2006 reversals.
“This new policy is in the process of being forwarded to the National Assembly for legislation in order to strengthen the future policy stability in this regard.”
“We wish to use this medium to appreciate the understanding exhibited by our shareholders and other stakeholders during this very difficult phase in the history of our company, while we continue our efforts to return our company to profitable operations in order to continue our over 57 years corporate journey,” Mr Yinusa said.
Economy
NASD Exchange Extends Winning Streak by 1.70%
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rallied by 1.70 per cent on Thursday, June 25, after three price gainers overpowered the two price losers recorded at the close of business.
Consequently, the market capitalisation of the trading platform increased by N43.79 billion to N2.618 trillion from N2.574 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 72.96 points to close at 4,362.32 points, in contrast to Wednesday’s 4,289.36 points.
Yesterday, the price advancers were led by Nipco Plc, which chalked up N31.79 to close at N349.76 per unit versus the preceding day’s N317.97 per unit. Okitipupa Plc gained N18.00 to end at N298.00 per share versus the previous session’s N280.00 per share, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went up by N7.11 to N86.79 per unit from N79.68 per unit.
On the flip side, Nitrox Industrial Gases Plc crumbled by 32 Kobo to close at N21.09 per share compared with the N21.41 per share it closed at midweek, and Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 25 Kobo to N2.51 per unit from N2.76 per unit.
During the session, the value of securities traded by investors went down by 86.7 per cent to N10.9 million from the preceding session’s N82.9 million, and the volume of securities dropped 84.9 per cent to 10.9 million units from the previous 82.9 million, while the number of deals grew by 84.2 per cent to 35 deals from 19 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained 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 valued at N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 68.4 million units exchanged for N4.7 billion.
GNI Plc was also 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 traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
Economy
Bears Plunge NGX All-Share Index by 0.64% to 235,074.54 Points
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited further suffered a 0.64 per cent decline on Thursday as the bears tightened their grip on the bourse.
For the second straight session, all the key sectors of Customs Street pointed south, with the energy counter down by 5.22 per cent. The insurance index slumped by 2.59 per cent, the banking space depreciated by 0.28 per cent, and the consumer goods segment moderated by 0.06 per cent, while the industrial goods sector was flat, though with a marginal fall.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) contracted by 1,493.71 points to 233,580.83 points from 235,074.54 points, and the market capitalisation retreated by N959 billion to N149.888 trillion from N150.847 trillion.
Investor sentiment remained weak after a negative market breadth index, as there were 21 price gainers and 34 price losers.
Aradel and Deap Capital went down by 10.00 per cent each to N1,575.00 and N4.05, respectively. Trans-Nationwide Express fell by 9.90 per cent to N3.64, Regency Alliance slipped by 9.57 per cent to N85 Kobo, and C&I Leasing dipped by 9.48 per cent to N28.12.
Conversely, Red Star Express grew by 9.60 per cent to N24.55, Legend Internet expanded by 9.09 per cent to N6.00, Neimeth appreciated by 7.10 per cent to N8.30, Abbey Mortgage Bank rose by 5.45 per cent to N8.70, and Ellah Lakes improved by 4.65 per cent to N9.00.
Yesterday, market participants traded 393.7 million equities valued at N19.2 billion in 45,813 deals compared with the 488.1 million equities worth N20.9 billion transacted in 46,239 deals recorded a day earlier, implying a shortfall in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 19.34 per cent, 8.13 per cent, and 0.92 per cent, respectively.
The most active stock for the session was Access Holdings with a turnover of 39.1 million units worth N896.2 million, Chams traded 24.5 million units valued at N96.5 million, Fidelity Bank sold 24.1 million units for N436.9 million, Sterling Holdings exchanged 23.8 million units valued at N182.2 million, and Zenith Bank transacted 18.9 million units worth N2.1 billion.
Economy
Naira Gains 0.03% Against Dollar at NAFEX, Bitcoin Drops Below $60,000
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira recorded a marginal gain of 43 Kobo or 0.03 per cent against the United States Dollar on Wednesday, June 25, in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) to sell for N1,380.11/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,380.54/$1.
However, the Nigerian currency lost N3.21 against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session to close at N1,818.84/£1, in contrast to Wednesday’s exchange rate of N1,815.63/£1, and against the Euro, it fell by N3.21 to trade at N1,566.84/€1 versus midweek’s value of N1,563.63/€1.
In the same vein, the Nigerian Naira depreciated against the Dollar at the GTBank FX deck yesterday by N3 to sell for N1,383/$1 compared with the preceding session’s value of N1,380/$1, and at the black market window, it remained unchanged at N1,395/$1.
Interbank FX turnover at the NFEM window surged by about 56 per cent day-on-day to close at $195.371 million from $125.588 million reported on Wednesday, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The Naira continues to feel the impact of rising FX payments and a strong US Dollar amid a sharp slowdown in forex market interventions by the central bank, with more than six weeks of no support for the local currency.
Nigeria’s foreign reserves increased further to $51.142 billion, while oil prices continue to be held in the $70 range by developments in the geopolitical scene.
Meanwhile, in the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin sank below $60,000 as more than $1 billion in crypto positions were liquidated over the past 24 hours, with longs accounting for $842 million of the damage. About 148,500 traders were wiped out. The largest single position was a $38 million bitcoin-dollar bet on Hyperliquid. It led at $489 million in liquidations and dropped 2.8 per cent to sell at $59,862.61.
Ethereum (ETH) crashed by 5.5 per cent to $1,554.57, Ripple (XRP) declined by 4.8 per cent to $1.03, Cardano (ADA) fell by 4.3 per cent to $0.1433, Dogecoin (DOGE) dropped 3.4 per cent to sell at $0.0745, TRON (TRX) slid 2.2 per cent to $0.3215, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 1.8 per cent to $561.34, and Solana (SOL) dipped by 0.3 per cent to $62.94, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) sold flat at $1.00 each.
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