Economy
Experts Brainstorm at Stanbic IBTC Business Forum
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Amid Nigeria’s current economic headwinds, a message of relief is coming from Stanbic IBTC Bank and experts on how individuals and businesses can weather the storm and remain on the path of profitability and growth.
This glimpse came at a knowledge sharing economic update session organized by Stanbic IBTC Bank with the theme “committed to solutions that drive your progress” to review the latest trends in the economy and to assist individuals and organizations attain their business objectives. Over 70 participants attended the event, which took place in Lagos on Tuesday, March 14, 2017.
In his welcome address, Executive Director, Personal and Business Banking, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Mr Babatunde Macaulay said apart from providing clients the opportunity to learn new things, the forum was also meant to help them develop appropriate resilience to the economic situation in order to guard against vulnerabilities.
By providing such a platform to glean important information and backing it up with financial solutions, the bank hopes to create long-term win-win relationships with individuals and businesses and the economy at large.
“We are always seeking to understand the needs of the entire spectrum of our clientele and by so doing, strive to connect with every market segment so that we can provide the much needed solutions to their financial needs,” he stated.
Macaulay reiterated that as an African institution, the Standard Bank Group, to which Stanbic IBTC belongs, will continue to demonstrate commitment to the development of Nigeria by supporting critical sectors of the economy and helping to highlight investment opportunities in the country.
Among issues dissected at the forum, headlined by Chief Executive Officer, Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Bismarck Rewane and Co-Founder and Director of Programmes, Co-Creation Hub Nigeria, Femi Longe, were the economic outlook, indicators and forecasts, trends and opportunities around innovation and digital technology for Nigerian businesses.
Diagnosing the current economic trends, Bismarck Rewane noted that the drop in Nigeria’s inflation rate to 17.78 percent in February, the lowest level in 15 months, is uplifting.
However, what should be celebrated is the direction of the inflation, not necessarily the figure, which is still double digit.
The easing of pressures on the local currency, he stated, suggests that the Central Bank of Nigeria is beginning to do the right things, which should be sustained.
Pulling the country out of recession, he emphasized, requires significant spending on capital projects which will trigger a multiplier effect leading to a gradual lessening of recession from the second quarter of 2017.
However, some risks to be considered in the economic dynamic include a stumbling of the oil price rebound, further escalation of militancy in the Niger Delta and proper management of the borrowing programme. He said the meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) slated for Lagos on 20th – 21st March will provide further insight on the economic direction.
Femi Longe, who spoke on ‘Technology and the Nigerian Economy,’ said the benefits of technology and innovations are innumerable for the individual, business and economy. The ability to identify new opportunities and develop appropriate business strategies based on the ingenious application of cutting edge technology will make a huge difference, he said. Rather than wait for foreign investment to drive Nigeria’s development, he said the country should explore home-grown solutions to its economic needs. In pursuing this objective, Longe said partnerships between start-ups and businesses are imperative. The expansion of social and economic enablers such as power, roads, communication, ICT, transport, education and health will trigger exponential economic growth and aid the ease of doing business in the country, he added.
Stanbic IBTC Bank is a subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC, a member of Standard Bank Group, a full service financial services group with a clear focus on three main business pillars – Corporate and Investment Banking, Personal and Business Banking and Wealth Management. Standard Bank Group is the largest African bank by assets and earnings. It is rooted in Africa with strategic representation in 20 countries on the African continent. Standard Bank has been in operation for over 153 years and is focused on building first-class, on-the-ground financial services organisations in chosen countries in Africa and connecting other selected emerging markets to Africa and to each other, applying sector expertise, particularly in natural resources, globally.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Three securities lifted the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.38 per cent on Friday, July 3, with the NASD Security Index (NSI) up by 58.80 points to 4,307.26 points from 4,248.46 points, and the market capitalisation closing higher by N35.30 billion to N2.585 trillion from N2.549 trillion.
The price gainers were led by 11 Plc, which expanded by N20.05 to close at N220.55 per share compared with the previous day’s N200.50 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc increased by N5.36 to N151.82 per unit from N146.46 per unit, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc appreciated by N3.52 to N90.74 per share from N87.22 per share.
Yesterday, the value of transactions surged by 1,431.2 per cent to N160.1 million from the preceding session’s N10.5 million, and the volume of trades rose by 303.7 per cent to 1.8 million units from 440,653 units, while the number of deals decreased by 34.4 per cent to 21 deals from 32 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, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 70.7 million units transacted for N4.9 billion.
GNI Plc was also the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units exchanged for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
The losing streak on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited was halted on Friday after the bourse closed higher by 2.19 per cent at the close of trading activities.
The gains reported by Nigerian stocks were buoyed by renewed bargain-hunting by investors, which resulted in all the key sectors of Customs Street ended in the green territory.
The banking space rose by 2.78 per cent, the insurance counter appreciated by 1.26 per cent, the energy segment expanded by 0.36 per cent, the consumer goods index chalked up 0.06 per cent, and the industrial goods sector grew by 0.05 per cent.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 4,918.37 points to 229,240.34 points from 224,321.97 points, and the market capitalisation increased by N3.156 trillion to N147.103 trillion from N143.947 trillion.
Investor sentiment was bullish after 34 stocks ended on the price gainers’ chart and 18 stocks finished on the losers’ log, representing a positive market breadth index.
The quintet of The Initiates, Universal Insurance, DAAR Communications, Omatek, and Airtel Africa surged by 10.00 per cent to sell for N25.85, 88 Kobo, N1.65, N1.76, and N5,274.00, respectively.
On the flip side, International Energy Insurance lost 9.96 per cent to trade at N4.70, Meyer shed 9.95 per cent to close at N18.55, Veritas Kapital dropped 5.07 per cent to finish at N1.31, Fidelity Bank slipped by 2.17 per cent to N18.00, and Jaiz Bank crashed by 1.84 per cent to N28.12.
During the session, a total of 414.7 million equities worth N25.1 billion exchanged hands in 47,106 deals compared with the 855.4 million equities valued at N28.4 billion transacted in the preceding day in 51,609 deals, implying a contraction in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 51.52 per cent, 11.62 per cent, and 8.73 per cent, respectively.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira closed flat against the United States Dollar at N1,370.19/$1 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, July 3.
However, it appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market segment by N2.29 to settle at N1,829.88/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,832.17/£1, and marginally depreciated against the Euro by 4 Kobo to close at N1,568.32/€1 versus Thursday’s closing price of N1,568.28/€1.
At the parallel market, the Naira also traded flat against the US Dollar at N1,390/$1, and at the GTBank forex desk, it also maintained stability at N1,832/$1.
Market conditions improved shortly after the following minimal intervention by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through modest Dollar sales, which boosted liquidity and supported stronger trading activity.
Easing pressure came after half-year profit-taking tapered down, while continued stronger policy signals from the central bank add to near-term support.
Deals executed at the official market on Friday came in at $70.430 million across 82 interbank deals, from $85.517 million the previous day.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market continued its recovery after June non-farm payrolls printed at 57,000, less than half the 113,000 consensus, sending the implied probability of a September Federal Reserve rate hike from 64 per cent to 54 per cent and dragging AI stocks sharply lower.
Weak labour data reduces inflationary pressure and, by extension, the Federal Reserve’s justification for holding rates elevated. That transmission mechanism is direct: lower rate-hike odds compress the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets like crypto.
Bitcoin regained the $62,000 mark after it rose by 1.3 per cent to $62,475.29.
Cardano (ADA) gained 6.6 per cent to trade at $0.1759, Ripple (XRP) appreciated by 3.5 per cent to $1.14, Ethereum (ETH) expanded by 2.4 per cent to $1,756.82, Dogecoin (DOGE) improved by 2.1 per cent to $0.0768, Solana (SOL) chalked up 1.8 per cent to $82.65, TRON (TRX) increased by 1.5 per cent to $0.3235, and Binance Coin (BNB) soared by 1.4 per cent to $569.12, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.
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