Economy

FMDQ Holds Nigerian Debt Capital Markets Sensitisation Session

Published

7 years ago

03/12/2018

By Dipo Olowookere

Providing an enabling environment for businesses and their associated activities to thrive remains a key goal of governments and indeed, a main driver of economic growth. It is for this reason and more that the Ease of Doing Business Reform lends itself a barometer to measure reforms, including but not limited to regulatory framework, government policies, security etc., that seek to make the business climate more conducive for business.

It is in this vein that FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange, having taken on the role of an advocate, providing relevant advice to government and regulators, as well as a catalyst for infrastructure capital through the Nigerian debt capital markets (DCM), hosted the maiden DCM Ease of Doing Business Sensitisation Session, facilitated by the Enabling Business Environment Secretariat (EBES) of the Office of the Vice President of Nigeria.

The FMDQ DCM Sensitisation Session was aimed to provide an avenue for key officials of the EBES to update and educate stakeholders in the Nigerian DCM on specific initiatives emanating from the implementation of the recent National Action Plans (NAP) and the impact on their businesses.

The well-attended session afforded DCM stakeholders an opportunity to provide feedback to the EBES on the challenges currently being experienced on the back of the reforms, as well as to proffer suggestions/key modalities for ensuring that the implementation of the NAP precipitates the optimal enabling environment for conducting business in Nigeria.

Present at the function were key representatives from the government agencies/institutions, including but not limited to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC); and members of the FMDQ Debt Capital Markets Development (DCMD) Project Implementation Committees.

Others were from the Financial Markets Dealers Association (FMDA), Association of Corporate Treasurers of Nigeria (ACTN), Association of Issuing Houses of Nigeria (AIHN), Capital Market Solicitors Association (CMSA), Fund Managers Association of Nigeria (FMAN), Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA), and Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp).

Welcoming guests to the Session, Tumi Sekoni, Associate Executive Director, Capital Markets, FMDQ, highlighted that as an OTC Exchange with the aspirations of becoming fully integrated and diversified, the emergence of government policies/reforms and how these affect our varied stakeholder categories is of crucial importance for the acceleration of market deepening activities, as well as national economic growth and development.

Sekoni said it was in this belief of shared prosperity, therefore, that FMDQ partnered with EBES in support of the OTC Exchange’s strategic mission to empower the financial markets to be innovative and credible, in support of the Nigerian economy.

During her presentation at the programme, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, stated that the “FMDQ DCM Ease of Doing Business Sensitisation Session is a laudable initiative from the private sector that provides the opportunity for the government to share with the DCM community all completed and on-going business environment reforms that have been achieved so far.”

She said, “Since July 2016, the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) of the EBES has continued to closely collaborate with ministries, departments and agencies of government; the legislature and judiciary, as well as state governments, the organised private sector and civil society.”

According to her, “These reforms have enhanced transparency and reduced the time, cost and number of procedures in interacting with government agencies by streamlining and automating previously manual processes in public service delivery.

“The efforts of EBES have been empirically validated by external indices such as the World Bank Doing Business report, where Nigeria moved up an unprecedented 24 points over a three year period.

“Today, we are pleased to receive feedback from our DCM stakeholders on challenges as well as improvements in the Nigerian business environment as we jointly strive to make Nigeria a progressively easier place in which to do business.”

As part of its mandate to make the Nigerian financial markets Globally Competitive, Operationally Excellent, Liquid and Diverse (GOLD), FMDQ, through the Regulation Consolidation Sub-Committee of its DCMD Project, continues to champion initiatives aimed at making it easier for DCM stakeholders to access and raise capital even as this continues to positively impact the broader economy.

Economy

NBA Demands Suspension of Controversial Tax Laws

Published

12 hours ago

24/12/2025

Modupe Gbadeyanka

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The federal government has been asked by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to suspend the implementation of the controversial tax laws.

In a reaction to the tax reform acts, the president of the group, Mr Afam Osigwe (SAN), the suspension of the laws would allow for a proper investigation into allegations of alterations in the gazetted and harmonised copies.

A member of the House of Representatives, Mr Abdussamad Dasuki, alleged that some parts of the laws passed by the parliament were different from the gazetted copy.

To address the issues raised, the NBA said it is “imperative that a comprehensive, open, and transparent investigation be conducted to clarify the circumstances surrounding the enactment of the laws and to restore public confidence in the legislative process.”

“Until these issues are fully examined and resolved, all plans for the implementation of the Tax Reform Acts should be immediately suspended,” the association declared.

It noted that the controversies “raise grave concerns about the integrity, transparency, and credibility of Nigeria’s legislative process.”

“These developments strike at the very heart of constitutional governance and call into question the procedural sanctity that must attend lawmaking in a democratic society,” it noted.

“Legal and policy uncertainty of this magnitude has far-reaching consequences. It unsettles the business environment, erodes investor confidence, and creates unpredictability for individuals, businesses, and institutions required to comply with the law. Such uncertainty is inimical to economic stability and should have no place in a system governed by the rule of law.

“Nigeria’s constitutional democracy demands that laws, especially those with profound economic and social implications, emerge from processes that are transparent, accountable, and beyond reproach. Anything short of this undermines public trust and weakens the foundation upon which lawful governance rests.

“We therefore call on all relevant authorities to act swiftly and responsibly in addressing this controversy, in the overriding interest of constitutional order, economic stability, and the preservation of the rule of law,” the organisation stated.

Economy

MRS Oil, Two Others Raise NASD Bourse Higher by 0.52%

Published

14 hours ago

24/12/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Demand for hot stocks, including MRS Oil Plc, buoyed the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.52 per cent on Tuesday, December 23.

The energy company was one of the three price gainers for the session as it chalked up N19.69 to sell at N216.59 per share versus the previous day’s value of N196.90 per share.

Further, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained N2.95 to close at N56.75 per unit versus N53.80 per unit and Golden Capital Plc appreciated by 84 Kobo to N9.29 per share from Monday’s N8.45 per share.

Consequently, the market capitalisation went up by N10.95 billion to N2.125 trillion from N2.125 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rose by 18.31 points to 3,570.37 points from 3,552.06 points.

Yesterday, the NASD bourse recorded a price loser, the Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS), which gave up 17 Kobo to close at N33.70 per unit against the previous trading value of N33.87 per unit.

The volume of securities traded at the session went down by 97.6 per cent to 297,902 units from the previous day’s 12.6 million units, the value of securities decreased by 98.5 per cent to N10.5 million from N713.6 million, and the number of deals remained flat at 32 deals.

By value, Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc ended as the most actively traded stock on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units exchanged for N16.4 billion. This was followed by Okitipupa Plc, which traded 178.9 million units valued at N9.5 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 36.1 million units worth N4.9 billion.

In terms of volume, also on a year-to-date basis, InfraCredit Plc led the chart with a turnover of 5.8 billion units traded for N16.4 billion. Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc ranked second with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.7 million, while Impresit Bakolori Plc followed with the sale of 536.9 million units valued at N524.9 million.

Economy

NGX All-Share Index Soars to 153,354.13 points

Published

15 hours ago

24/12/2025

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

It was another bullish trading session for the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited as it closed higher by 0.59 per cent on Tuesday.

The market further rallied due to continued interest in large and mid-cap stocks on the exchange by investors rebalancing their portfolios for the year-end.

Yesterday, Aluminium Extrusion sustained its upward trajectory after it further appreciated by 9.96 per cent to N14.90, as Austin Laz gained 9.81 per cent to close at N2.91, Custodian Investment improved by 9.69 per cent to N38.50, and First Holdco soared by 9.35 per cent to N50.30.

Conversely, Royal Exchange declined by 7.22 per cent to N1.80, Champion Breweries shrank by 6.57 per cent to N15.65, NASCON lost 5.36 per cent to trade at N105.05, Sovereign Trust Insurance depreciated by 5.28 per cent to N3.77, and Japaul went down by 4.51 per cent to N2.33.

At the close of business, 29 shares ended on the gainers’ table and 27 shares finished on the losers’ log, representing a positive market breadth index and bullish investor sentiment.

This raised the All-Share Index (ASI) by 895.06 points to 153,354.13 points from 152,459.07 points and lifted the market capitalisation by N579 billion to N97.772 trillion from the previous day’s N97.193 trillion.

VFD Group finished the day as the busiest stock after it recorded a turnover of 192.0 million units worth N2.1 billion, GTCO exchanged 63.5 million units valued at N5.6 billion, Access Holdings traded 49.8 million units for N1.0 billion, First Holdco sold 45.8 million units valued at N2.3 billion, and Secure Electronic Technology transacted 38.3 million units worth N28.4 million.

In all, market participants bought and sold 677.4 million units valued at N20.8 billion in 27,589 deals compared with the 451.5 million units worth N13.0 billion traded in 33,327 deals on Monday, showing an improvement in the trading volume and value by 50.03 per cent and 60.00 per cent apiece, and a shortfall in the number of deals by 17.22 per cent.