Economy
FMDQ, Stakeholders Laud Nwankwo’s Achievements at DMO
By Dipo Olowookere
Former Director General of the Debt Management Office (DMO), Mr Abraham Nwankwo, was recently honoured by the FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange (FMDQ) for his success at the agency in a period spanning 10 years.
During his time at the debt office, Mr Nwankwo ensured the DMO released credible data to the public especially when some would have thought he would want to dance to the tunes of the sitting governments.
Following a decade of dedicated service, Mr Nwankwo, whose highly successful tenure as the head of DMO, spanning the period July 2007 to June 2017, was honoured by FMDQ and key financial market stakeholders at a memorable ceremony held at the FMDQ offices in Lagos.
This ceremony, which was in acknowledgement of his efforts towards the growth of the Nigerian bond market, and invariably, the economy, brought together key financial market stakeholders, friends and well-wishers, all wishing to celebrate him on his retirement from the agency.
Among those present at the Ceremony were the newly-appointed DG of DMO, Ms Patience Oniha; the DG, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), represented by Mr Stephen Falomo, Head, Lagos Zonal Office, SEC; Chairman of FMDQ, Dr Okwu Joseph Nnanna (Deputy Governor, Financial System Stability, Central Bank of Nigeria), ably represented by Mr Jibril Aku, Vice Chairman of FMDQ; Mr Bolaji Balogun, Founder/Chief Executive Officer of Chapel Hill Advisory Partners represented by Mr Ayo Fashina, Mr Ayo Gbeleyi, former Commissioner for Finance, Lagos State, Mr Frank Aigbogun, Publisher/CEO of BusinessDay, Mr Olufemi Awoyemi, the Founder/Managing Director, Proshare Nigeria, representatives of the Primary Dealer Market Makers (PDMMs) who are also Dealing Member (Banks) of FMDQ, the debt capital-focused OTC Exchange, amongst others.
The rains did not douse the guard of honour-reception the FMDQ staff had planned for Dr Nwankwo. the staff, along with some beautifully erected balloons stands, formed a path on both sides of a blue carpet, for him, his wife and daughter to walk through the entrance, to the humble OTC Exchange building, with FMDQ-branded umbrellas held high by the staff in a spectacle akin to the military pulling out parade! It was indeed a wonderful sight to experience.
From the very eloquently delivered citation to the series of well-articulated and goodwill messages, and even the level of attendance at the Ceremony, it was clear that the positive impact Dr Nwankwo had made in the bond market, and by extension, the economy, over the last decade, was indeed felt and very much appreciated by all. In reliving the decade-long and successful tenure, a one-on-one discourse, anchored by FMDQ’s MD/CEO, Mr Bola Onadele. Koko was held with the outgoing DG, DMO, following which a special symbol depicting Dr Nwankwo’s key achievements, including, the developments which the Nigerian bond market had experienced over the last decade, was presented to and unveiled by the guest of honour, among other mementos.
Described as a “pacesetter” in the goodwill messages which flocked in, Dr Nwankwo set out to redefine the public debt management landscape in Nigeria, bringing on commendable verve and innovativeness to the hitherto conservative area of public finance management. From the development of a comprehensive and accurate national debt database to deepening the domestic bond market via the introduction of regular monthly bond issuances supported with the PDMMs System and the consistent launch of innovative bond products including the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) Savings Bond, Sukuk, and the soon to be finalised FGN Dollar and Green Bonds, the DMO, under Dr Nwankwo’s leadership, progressively pursued the alignment of the Nigerian debt capital markets (DCM) to international standards. In recording landmark achievements, including the first-ever domestic listing of the Federal Government of Nigeria Eurobond, the agency is seen to have set an audacious pace towards effectively developing the domestic bond market.
Dr Nwankwo’s quest for excellence, his consistency, integrity, professionalism and humility, were a few of the words and phrases used to describe the outgoing DG and were attributed to his exceptional performance during his 10-year tenure, under four different administrations.
In consolidation of the strategic and value-adding initiatives undertaken by the DMO in developing the Nigerian DCM, FMDQ, with a deep sense of appreciation as Dr Nwankwo retires, continues to show great commitment to actualising the objectives of the agency vis-a’vis those of the OTC Exchange for the transformation of the markets within its purview. FMDQ looks forward, in excited anticipation, to maintaining this formidable collaboration with the DMO under the new leadership of Ms Oniha, towards the further development of the Nigerian DCM, and by extension, the economy.
By serving as a point of integration between the domestic and international markets, FMDQ has, in its short period of existence, become the ambassador of foreign portfolio capital for Nigeria and lent itself as an efficient and operationally excellent platform for fixed income and currency.
This is well in line with its mission to empower the financial markets to be innovative and credible, in support of the Nigerian economy. In promoting and supporting economic development therefore, the active collaboration of all stakeholders is required to erect the necessary market infrastructures, transform and position the Nigerian financial markets towards maximising its potential, and its partnership with the DMO remains a steady and right path towards actualising the shared objectives and desires of the markets.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Okitipupa Plc was the sole price gainer at the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Friday, August 7, lifting the trading platform by 0.44 per cent at the close of transactions.
The share price of the palm oil producer appreciated during the trading session by N25.00 or 9.0 per cent to N277.00 per unit compared with the previous day’s N252.00 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation gained N12.29 billion to close at N2,807 trillion, in contrast to the previous session’s N2.795 trillion, while the NASD Security Index (NSI) added 93.63 points to finish at 4,678.08 points compared with Thursday’s 4,657.59 points.
The bourse recorded a price loser yesterday, and this was Mass Telecoms Innovation Plc, which crashed by 3 Kobo or 9.4 per cent to settle at 32 Kobo per share versus the previous day’s 35 Kobo per share.
The volume of securities traded by investors plunged by 81.5 per cent to 535,7560 units from 2.9 million units, the value of securities slumped by 93.9 per cent to N6.0 million from N99.2 million, and the number of deals decreased by 41.9 per cent to 36 deals from 62 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 77.0 million units exchanged for N5.5 billion.
GNI Plc also ended the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
A 0.15 per cent growth was achieved by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, driven by continued buying interest in banking stocks such as First Holdco and others.
The banking index was up by 1.53 per cent during the session, offsetting the losses recorded by the others. The industrial goods segment fell by 0.37 per cent, the insurance counter shrank by 0.21 per cent, and the energy sector contracted by 0.04 per cent, while the consumer goods space closed flat.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) moved up by 364.26 points to 245,573.60 points from 245,209.34 points, and the market capitalisation increased by N235 billion to N158.513 trillion from N158.278 trillion.
Despite the gains printed by Customs Street during the trading day, investor sentiment was weak, as there were 22 price gainers and 24 price losers, indicating a negative market breadth index.
UPDC surged by 9.23 per cent to N3.55, CWG soared by 6.56 per cent to N19.50, AXA Mansard appreciated by 4.80 per cent to N13.10, Neimeth advanced by 4.24 per cent to N8.60, and Cutix improved by 4.00 per cent to N2.60.
Conversely, Red Star Express lost 10.00 per cent to trade at N18.00, CAP declined by 9.98 per cent to N115.45, John Holt shrank by 9.82 per cent to N10.10, ABC Transport depreciated by 9.57 per cent to N5.20, and Legend Internet crashed by 8.70 per cent to N4.20.
A total of 1.5 billion equities worth N26.7 billion exchanged hands in 42,580 deals on Friday versus the 531.8 million equities valued at N20.5 billion traded in 44,826 deals on Thursday, representing a spike in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 182.06 per cent, 30.24 per cent, and 5.01 per cent, respectively.
The busiest stock during the session was Fortis Global Insurance, with a turnover of 824.5 million units valued at N2.1 billion, FCMB traded 217.9 million units worth N2.8 billion, Access Holdings exchanged 176.2 million units for N4.7 billion, Chams sold 32.5 million units worth N132.1 million, and First Holdco transacted 25.0 million units valued at N3.7 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira further closed south against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, August 7, by 81 Kobo or 0.06 per cent to N1,365.69/$1 from N1,364.88/$1.
It was a similar situation for the Nigerian Naira in the official market during the session as against the Pound Sterling; it lost N1.08 to quote at N1,839.17 versus the previous day’s N1,838.09/£1, and against the Euro, it slipped by N1.23 to close at N1,575.73/€1, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1,574.80/€1.
Further, at the GTBank forex counter, the Nigerian currency weakened against the Dollar yesterday by N2 to settle at N1,371/$1 compared with Thursday’s N1,369/$1, and at the black market, it traded flat at N1,400/$1.
The country’s legal tender came under FX demand pressure on Friday, with turnover rising by 304.3 per cent to $399.5 million from $98.8 million the previous day, with the number of deals slightly up to 107 from 106.
Next week, traders expect the Naira to hold steady, buoyed by dollar sales by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), whose presence in the market could help ease demand pressure.
As for the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin (BTC) neared the $65,000-mark after it gained 0.8 per cent to trade at $64,968.05, as investors took advantage of recent drops to shore up their holdings.
Previously, the decision by the US Senate to delay a vote on the Crypto Clarity Act until at least September weakened the outlook. The bill, which would set out which US regulator oversees which digital assets, needs 60 votes to pass and it is unclear whether it currently has 50.
Solana (SOL) grew by 2.5 per cent to $74.81, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 1.3 per cent to $0.0702, Binance Coin (BNB) jumped by 1.1 per cent to $593.80, Ethereum (ETH) expanded by 0.5 per cent to $1,916.08, Ripple (XRP) also soared by 0.5 per cent to $1.03, and TRON (TRX) appreciated by 0.2 per cent to $0.3275.
However, Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 1.0 per cent to $0.1997, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
