Economy
Exchange Rate Convergence Will Benefit Capital Market—Oyedele
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Fiscal Policy Partner and Africa Tax Leader at consultancy giant, PwC, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, has said the exchange rate convergence in Nigeria would translate to a significant rise in government debt in Naira terms by about N12 trillion to N90 trillion.
In a social media post, the tax expert said with the Naira now exchanging with the US Dollar market-determined rates across the market segments, a significant market distortion has been removed.
He added this would come with both positive and negative implications, noting that the country’s external debt at $42 billion, according to the Debt Management Office (DMO), will increase by the difference between the old and new rates.
He stated that this would also raise the nation’s debt-to-GDP ratio by about 5 per cent, with a corresponding increase in debt service cost with respect to foreign debt service.
Currently, Nigeria services debt with about 96 per cent of its earning, meaning for every N1 it earns, 96 Kobo is used to pay interest to its debtors.
He also noted that this would translate to an increase in government revenue in Naira terms resulting in a higher tax/revenue to GDP ratio.
However, “Corporate tax collection may, however, decline as many businesses crystallize forex losses due to the higher exchange rate,” he warned, adding that the collapse of the multiple rates regime, as instructed by multilateral lenders, could lead to a possible reduction in the budget deficit.
This will occur if the government’s forex revenue exceeds foreign currency obligations. On the flip side, an increase in budget deficit will arise.
For the average Nigerian, petrol prices will rise in the coming days as the pump price of petrol could inch closer to the current pump price of diesel, which is already deregulated.
He advised that there should be some cost savings as government discontinues the various fx interventions —Naira4Dollar and RT200 Rebate Scheme — which cost tens of billions of Naira, stressing that Nigeria must attract fx inflows, especially from portfolio investors, FDI and exporters proceeds.
“Impact on diaspora remittances would be marginal,” he predicted.
He also noted that the capital market would benefit as it is likely to appreciate further as foreign investors take position. The Nigerian stock market had appreciated on Monday and Tuesday but eased multi-year highs on Wednesday.
“There should be negligible impact on the general prices of goods and services as products already factored in parallel market rates to a large extent,” he added.
He tasked that while the move was positive, the Bola Tinubu administration needed to manage the dynamics to restore confidence.
“The backlog of forex demands needs to be addressed, and government should be ready to supply forex to stabilise the exchange rate in the short term.”
He further advised them to relax capital control and administrative bottlenecks, including unbanning the list of items prohibited for fx (and complementing with higher import duties).
He also advised the removal of the need for a certificate of capital importation to prevent the parallel market rate from simply moving further away from the official market rate.
“Stop the demand for certain taxes and levies in foreign currency, it creates unnecessary fx demand without adding to supply.
“The aggregate demand for fx across markets should reduce as a round-tripping incentive is removed, for instance, people who fake foreign travels just to get FX at discounted rates.
“Also, Nigeria’s sovereign credit rating should improve if this is complemented with the right fiscal and monetary policies, thereby attracting more fx inflows and lowering the cost of borrowing,” he added.
By Dipo Olowookere
About 0.04 per cent was recovered on Friday from the loss recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) the previous due to profit-taking.
Yesterday, investors were in the market with renewed vigour, mopping up stocks trading at relatively cheaper prices.
According to data, the insurance counter gained 0.41 per cent, the banking sector appreciated by 0.38 per cent, and the consumer goods index grew by 0.14 per cent.
The gains achieved by these three sectors were enough to lift Customs Street at the close of business despite the 0.26 per cent decline printed by the industrial goods segment and the 0.14 per cent loss suffered by the energy industry. The commodity counter was flat during the session.
A total of 43 equities gained weight on the last trading day of this week, while 26 equities shed weight, indicating a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
Red Star Express increased its share price by 10.00 per cent to N13.20, NCR Nigeria grew by 9.97 per cent to N128.55, SCOA Nigeria inflated by 9.96 per cent to N14.90, Omatek appreciated by 9.94 per cent to N1.77, and Deap Capital expanded by 9.85 per cent to N4.46.
On the flip side, McNichols decreased by 8.81 per cent to N6.00, Legend Internet crumbled by 7.56 per cent to N5.50, Cornerstone Insurance crashed by 6.48 per cent to N6.35, C&I Leasing contracted by 6.29 per cent to N8.20, and Austin Laz slipped by 5.78 per cent to N3.75.
Yesterday, 539.9 million shares valued at N16.7 billion were transacted in 48,023 deals versus the 1.0 billion shares worth N31.6 billion executed in 51,227 deals in the preceding day, implying a shrink in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 46.01 per cent, 47.15 per cent, and 6.26 per cent apiece.
Zenith Bank was the most active for the day with 54.6 million stocks sold for N3.8 billion, Jaiz Bank traded 41.5 million units worth N359.4 million, Secure Electronic Technology transacted 37.7 million units valued at N39.2 million, Access Holdings exchanged 30.5 million units for N699.2 million, and Lasaco Assurance transacted 27.2 million units worth N68.3 million.
When the market closed for the day, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 72.21 points to 166,129.50 points from 166,057.29 points and the market capitalisation gained N31 billion to N106.354 trillion from N106.323 trillion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was a positive ending for the Naira this week after it further appreciated against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, January 16 by N1.33 or 0.09 per cent to sell for N1,417.95/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,419.28/$1.
The domestic currency also gained N2.41 against the Euro in the official market to close at N1,647.51/€1 versus the preceding session’s closing price of N1,649.92/€1, however, it suffered a N7.97 loss against the Pound Sterling in the same market window to trade at N1,901.32/£1, in contrast to Thursday’s closing price of N1,893.35/£1.
In the same vein, the Nigerian Naira depleted against the Dollar at the GTBank FX counter by N2 to quote at N1,427/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,425/$1, but strengthened against the greenback at the black market yesterday by N5 to settle at N1,485/$1 versus the N1,490/$1 it was exchanged a day earlier.
Improved supply conditions helped keep the market within range as exporters’ and importers’ inflows in addition to non-bank corporate supply enhanced liquidity as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) made no visible intervention.
Stronger external inflows from foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) and improving current account dynamics, continue to align with structural support in the wider economy.
Nigeria has seen projections of a stronger economic or gross domestic product (GDP) growth and lower inflation in 2026, with these forecasts citing improved macroeconomic fundamentals and reform impacts.
As for the cryptocurrency market, it was mixed following selloff in precious metals and lower US stocks appeared to be denting crypto sentiment.
Gold and silver, both of which also enjoyed big rallies earlier this week, tumbled 1.2 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively while key US stock indexes — the Nasdaq, S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average — all reversed from early gains to modest losses in Friday trade.
Dogecoin (DOGE) shrank by 2.2 per cent to $0.1370, Ripple (XRP) slipped by 0.8 per cent to $2.05, Ethereum (ETH) went down by 0.7 per cent to $3,228.56, and Bitcoin (BTC) slumped by 0.6 per cent to $95,086.80.
Conversely, Litecoin (LTC) appreciated by 3.2 per cent to $74.48, Solana (SOL) rose by 0.4 per cent to $143.70, Cardano (ADA) jumped by 0.2 per cent to $0.3942, and Binance Coin (BNB) increased by 0.1 per cent to $935.88, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil prices settled higher amid lingering worries about a possible US military strike against Iran, a decision that may still occur over the weekend.
Brent crude settled at $64.13 a barrel after going up by 37 cents or 0.58 per cent and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude finished at $59.44 a barrel after it gained 25 cents or 0.42 per cent.
The US Navy’s aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln was expected to arrive in the Persian Gulf next week after operating in the South China Sea.
Market analysts noted that it doesn’t seem likely anything will happen soon. However, the weekends have become the perfect time for actions so as not offset the markets.
The market had risen after protests flared up in Iran and US President Donald Trump signalled the potential for military strikes, but lost over 4 per cent on Thursday as the American president said Iran’s crackdown on the protesters was easing, allaying concerns of possible military action that could disrupt oil supplies.
Iran produces approximately 3.2 million barrels per day, accounting for roughly 4 per cent of global crude production, so it was not a coincidence that markets rallied sharply through Tuesday and Wednesday as President Trump canceled meetings with Iranian officials and posted that “help is on its way” to Iranian protesters, raising fears of potential US military strikes that sent prices surging toward multi-month highs.
Weighing against those fears are potential supply increases from Venezuela.
The Trump administration is exploring plans to swap heavy Venezuelan crude for US medium sour barrels that can actually go straight into Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) caverns, since not all all oil belongs in the reserve.
According to Reuters, the Department of Energy is considering moving Venezuelan heavy crude into commercial storage at the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, while US producers deliver medium sour crude into the SPR in exchange.
Analysts expect higher supply this year, potentially creating a ceiling for the geopolitical risk premium on prices.
Some investors covered short positions ahead of the three-day Martin Luther King holiday weekend in the US.
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