Economy
FMDQ Re-Echoes Commitment to Deepen Nigerian Financial Markets
By Dipo Olowookere
Vice President of Capital Markets Directorate at FMDQ, Ms Tumi Sekoni, has reiterated the OTC Exchange’s commitment to support and deepen the Nigerian financial markets by steadfastly availing its platform for the efficient registration, listing, quotation and trading of securities.
Ms Sekoni gave this assurance on Monday at a ceremony held to celebrate the listing of the Stanbic IBTC Dollar, Money Market and Bond Funds (SIAML Funds) on the FMDQ trading platform.
The SIAML Funds, which are open-ended Funds, are set to enable investors achieve competitive returns on their assets while safeguarding capital, by investing in low risk short-term securities, high quality government bonds and dollar denominated securities domiciled in Nigeria.
This is part of FMDQ’s vision of being a debt-capital focused securities exchange, championing and supporting market-driven initiatives aimed at providing liquidity and facilitating growth and development in the Nigerian financial markets.
Speaking further, Ms Sekoni commended the Fund Manager on the strong and consistent performance of the Funds and on taking the prudent and strategic decision to list the Funds on FMDQ’s platform.
In FMDQ’s typically unique and impressive fashion, the ceremony was marked by memorable highlights which included, amongst other activities, the signing of the FMDQ Fund Listing Register by the Fund Manager, sponsor of the Funds on the OTC Exchange and FMDQ; the unveiling of the FMDQ Scrolls in favour of the Fund Manager and sponsor; and the special autograph impression by the Fund Manager.
On her part, Mrs Bunmi Dayo-Olagunju, Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Asset Management Limited, during the Fund Manager’s special address, said, “Considering the volatility in the equities and commodity markets, it is imperative for investors to diversify their portfolios by investing in Mutual Funds and other investment vehicles.”
The attractiveness of Mutual Funds or collective schemes, she said, “is derived from the numerous benefits they offer over other investment vehicles, such as flexibility, liquidity, steady returns, professional management and risk reduction, among others”
Speaking on behalf of the FMDQ Registration Member (Listings) and sponsor of the Funds on FMDQ, Mr Kobby Bentsi-Enchill, during his remarks, noted that Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited had sponsored many listings on FMDQ’s platform. He commented that Stanbic IBTC was excited with the remarkable growth of the fixed income market as this was vital to the creation of liquidity and pledged that the organisation will continue to work with regulators and operators to establish a world-class capital market in Nigeria.
“As a Registration Member (Listings) of FMDQ, Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited is also pleased to have supported the listing of the Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund, Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund and of course, the Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund which is the largest open-ended mutual Fund in Nigeria,” he said.
Mr Bola Onadele, Managing Director/CEO of FMDQ, commenting on the SIAML Funds, applauded the Fund Manager for its impressive performance in the market and stated that FMDQ remained unflinchingly committed to developing the Nigerian financial markets through its highly efficient platform, promoting unrivalled world-class standards to drive transparency, governance and liquidity, among others, in the markets.
He commented that the Funds, among which was the largest open-ended mutual Fund in the nation, having availed on FMDQ’s world-class listing service, would benefit from improved credibility, as continuous disclosure of all relevant information to do with the Funds was made available to a wide range of investors.
The benefits availed the Funds listed on FMDQ, would also, by extension accrue to the Fund Manager.
Also present at the event were Stanbic IBTC Asset Management Limited, represented by its Chief Executive, Mrs Bunmi Dayo-Olagunju; key representatives from Stanbic IBTC Nominees Limited and investors to the Funds – South Atlantic Petroleum Limited, YOA Insurance Brokers, Nigerian Agip Closed PFA Limited, Chevron Closed PFA Limited, amongst others.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria ranked as Africa’s leading destination for upstream oil and gas investment in 2024, new research from market intelligence firm, Wood Mackenzie, has shown, accounting for three out of four Final Investment Decisions (FIDs) announced by global oil and gas majors, totaling $13.5 billion.
The FIDs announced within the Nigerian market included Shell’s $122 million investment in the Iseni Gas Project, TotalEnergies’ $566 million commitment to the Ubeta Gas Project and Shell’s approval of the Bonga North Tranche 1 project valued at around $5 billion.
According to the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Energy, Ms Olu Verheijen, these investments reflected Nigeria’s ongoing efforts to unlock its hydrocarbon potential through investor-friendly policies and strategic global partnerships.
Last year, Nigeria introduced several initiatives to create a conducive environment for oil and gas investors, including new tax incentives aimed at attracting up to $10 billion in natural gas investments.
Nigeria, which is Africa’s largest oil producer, also offered tax relief for gas investors, reducing corporate income tax and extending capital allowance benefits – for deepwater gas projects.
Other policies include the Presidential Directive on Local Content Compliance Requirements 2024 to address the reduction in oil and gas investments caused by high operating costs compared to global markets.
Also, the Presidential Directive on Reduction of Petroleum Sector Contracting Costs and Timelines 2024 reduces the time spent to award contracts for oil and gas projects.
In addition to the directives, Nigeria also launched its 2024 oil and gas licensing round, offering 19 blocks for exploration, demonstrating its commitment to continued collaboration with local, regional and international partners.
Market analysts note that with this momentum, further FIDs are anticipated, including TotalEnergies’ expected $750 million commitment to the Ima Shallow Gas Project in 2025.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a 0.22 per cent decline on Monday, January 20, with the market capitalisation shedding N2.35 billion to close at N1.073 trillion compared with the preceding session’s N1.075 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) going down by 6.79 points to wrap the session at 3,105.12 points compared with 3,111.91 points recorded in the previous session.
It was observed that the loss recorded on the first trading day of the week was triggered by UBN Property Plc, which crashed by 20 Kobo to trade at N2.00 per share versus last Friday’s N2.20 per share.
However, the share price of Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc went up by 4 Kobo to 40 Kobo per unit from 36 Kobo per unit, it could not stop the bourse from going down at the close of transactions.
The activity chart showed that on Monday, the volume of securities traded by investors increased by 57.9 per cent to 767,610 units from the 486,215 units traded in the preceding session, while the value of shares traded yesterday slumped by 17.7 per cent to N2.3 million from the N2.8 million recorded in the preceding trading day, as the number of deals declined by 14.3 per cent to 12 deals from the 14 deals carried out in the previous trading day.
At the close of transactions, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 4.1 million units worth N162.9 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with a turnover of 9.1 million units valued at N44.0 million, and 11 Plc with the sale of 55,358 for N14.5 million.
Also, Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc closed the day as the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 25.3 million units sold for N5.9 million, Geo-Fluids Plc came next with 9.1 million units valued at N44.0 million, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 4.1 million units worth N162.9 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The value of the Naira weakened against the US Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Monday, January 20 amid FX pressures associated with this period.
Most people who came into the country for Christmas and New Year holidays are already going back and are in need of forex, putting pressure on the local currency.
Also, the poor performance of the domestic currency could be attributed to end to the 42-day access granted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to Bureaux de Change (BDC) operators to buy forex at official price.
According to data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange, the Nigerian Naira lost 0.16 per cent or N2.47 on the greeback yesterday to sell at N1,550.05/$1, in contrast to last Friday’s rate of N1,547.58/$1.
Similarly, the Naira slumped against the Pound Sterling in the spot market on Monday by N23.39 to trade at N1,906.98/£1 versus N1,883.59/£1 and depreciated against the Euro by N23.14 to sell for N1,613.48/€1 compared with last Friday’s N1,590.34/€1.
However, in the parallel market, the Nigerian currency improved its value against the Dollar during the session by N5 to quote at N1,665/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,670/$1.
As for the cryptocurrency market, it turned red yesterday as the US President, Mr Donald Trump, didn’t bring up the much-expected subject of crypto in his inauguration speech on Monday afternoon.
Mr Trump had promised a far more friendly crypto policy stance than the previous administration but in the long speech that announced his plans in the coming days, he didn’t make mention of Bitcoin or crypto.
Just over the weekend, the President ignited a speculative frenzy with the Friday evening launch of the Trump meme coin, which was shortly followed by a meme coin associated with his wife, Melania.
Dogecoin (DOGE) crumbled yesterday by 6.3 per cent to $0.3419, Solana (SOL) slumped by 4.7 per cent to $235.32, Cardano (ADA) fell by 3.6 per cent to $0.9777, and Litecoin (LTC) moderated by 1.9 per cent to $114.98.
Further, Ethereum (ETH) went down by 1.7 per cent to $3,241.36, Binance Coin (BNB) retreated by 1.4 per cent to $693.30, Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 1.2 per cent to $3.06, and Bitcoin (BTC) tumbled by 0.8 per cent to $101,746.99, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
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