Economy
FTN Cocoa Gains 40.91%, Japaul Rises 36% in One Week
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Shareholders of FTN Cocoa Processors Plc, Japaul Gold and Ventures Plc and 51 others had reasons to smile last week at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
In the five-day trading week, the shares of these companies yielded bountiful returns and this gave holders of the securities to smile looking at their portfolios.
For FTN Cocoa, it appreciated by 40.91 per cent to close at 62 kobo per share, while Japaul gained 36.00 per cent to finish at 34 kobo per share.
Airtel Africa improved by 21.00 per cent in the week to end at N774.40 per share, AIICO Insurance gained 19.05 per cent to close at N1.25 per share, while Consolidated Hallmark Insurance appreciated by 15.38 per cent to finish at 30 kobo per share.
At the close of business, the market recorded 53 price gainers compared with the 13 price risers of the preceding week.
However, only 17 equities depreciated in price in the week in contrast to the 46 equities of the earlier week and on top of the chart was Axa Mansard Insurance, which lost 60.00 per cent and Business Post reports that this was as a result of the price adjustment for its bonus share. This made the share price to close at 92 kobo per share as against the previous week’s N2.30 per share.
NEM Insurance depleted by 47.23 per cent as a result of its price adjustment in the week for its bonus share, closing at N1.24 per share in contrast to the previous N2.35 per share.
Omatek Ventures lost 16.67 per cent in the week to finish at 20 kobo per share, International Breweries depreciated by 12.67 per cent to close at N6.27 per share, while Linkage Assurance dropped 10.00 per cent to close at 45 kobo per share.
In the week, the All-Share Index (ASI) and market capitalisation appreciated by 7.46 per cent to close the week at 36,804.75 points and N19.236 trillion respectively. Similarly, all other indices finished higher while the ASeM and NSE Growth indices closed flat.
On the activity chart, 1.9 billion shares worth N17.7 billion were traded in 20,660 deals during the week in contrast to the 2.3 billion shares valued at N21.0 billion traded the previous week in 23,722 deals.
It was gathered that the financial services industry led the activity chart with 1.5 billion shares valued at N8.4 billion traded in 10,834 deals, contributing 78.65 per cent and 47.52 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.
The consumer goods sector followed with 107.0 million shares worth N2.4 billion in 3,447 deals, while the services sector closed with a turnover of 74.8 million shares worth N191.8 million in 448 deals.
Further analysis showed that Jaiz Bank, FBN Holdings and Niger Insurance were the most active with 761.9 million shares worth N1.5 billion in 1,395 deals, contributing 40.25 per cent and 8.32 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) says the rollout of electronic invoicing (e-invoicing) will strengthen tax compliance, curb revenue leakages and improve transparency in tax administration as it moves to fully digitise the country’s tax system.
The Project Lead for the NRS e-Invoicing Project, Mr Mohammed Bawa, stated this at the DigiTax E-Invoicing Compliance Breakfast Session held in Lagos on Wednesday.
The event, organised by DigiTax, an NRS-accredited e-invoicing platform, formed part of efforts to support the agency’s ongoing education and sensitisation campaign on the e-invoicing mandate.
Mr Bawa said the initiative aligns with global trends in tax digitisation and is expected to help improve Nigeria’s tax-to-GDP ratio, which remains one of the lowest in Africa.
According to him, the system will provide the NRS with greater visibility into transactions across sectors, formalise activities within the informal economy and standardise invoice formats nationwide using globally recognised invoice schemas.
He added that e-invoicing would improve operational efficiency for both businesses and tax authorities while supporting the NRS’ transition from manual and electronic tax administration processes to a fully automated system-to-system interaction model.
Mr Bawa noted that the legal framework for implementation is backed by the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, which prescribes penalties for non-compliance.
He disclosed that the NRS has completed onboarding large taxpayers and is preparing to enforce compliance with defaulting entities.
According to him, medium taxpayers are expected to begin compliance in the third quarter of 2026, while onboarding of emerging taxpayers will commence in 2027, with full adoption targeted for all taxpayers by the end of 2028.
Mr Bawa urged taxpayers yet to be onboarded onto the platform to begin the process and work with accredited service providers to ensure compliance.
On his part, Country Director of DigiTax Nigeria, Mr Olumide Akinsola, urged businesses to look beyond their internal systems and assess the compliance status of suppliers and counterparties.
He warned that businesses whose suppliers fail to transmit invoices through the MBS platform risk losing eligibility to claim Value Added Tax (VAT) input credits on such transactions, describing the resulting supply chain exposure as a significant commercial risk that many organisations have yet to quantify.
Mr Akinsola also announced the launch of DigiTax’s white paper, The State of E-Invoicing Readiness in Nigeria, which examines compliance adoption trends and the readiness gap across different taxpayer segments.
He added that DigiTax operates in Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), noting that experience from those markets shows businesses that integrate early are better positioned to avoid disruptions when enforcement begins.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The names of about 100,000 companies registered by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) are about to be deleted for inactivity, especially for failing to file their annual tax returns, Business Post reports.
This information was disclosed by the CAC via a notice signed by its management on Wednesday, July 15, 2026.
The list contains organisations like the Nigeria-Poland Chamber of Trade Invest Ltd, Alariwo of Afrika Ltd, Ovation Sports International, First Union Pension Fund Administrators, Investopedia Limited, Baptist High School Abuja Ltd, and Yobe Aluminium Manufacturing Industries Ltd, amongst others.
In the statement, the commission said its decision to strike off the names of the affected firms from the register aligns with the provisions of Section 692(3) (3) and (4) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), 2020.
However, the affected companies can still salvage the situation by filing all outstanding annual returns and regularising their records within 90 days.
“Please note that companies that fail to comply within the stipulated timeline shall be struck off the register without further notice,” it declared, expressing its continued commitment to providing prompt and efficient registration and regulatory services to the satisfaction of its valued customers.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange gained 1.75 per cent on Wednesday, July 15, pushing the NASD Security Index (NSI) up by 74.20 points to 4,316.51 points from 4,242.31 points, as the market capitalisation added N44.54 billion to finish at N2.590 trillion compared with the preceding session’s N2.546 trillion.
During the session, there was an 11.5 per cent rise in the value of transactions at midweek to N72.7 million from the preceding session’s N65.2 million, as there was a 3.7 per cent growth in the number of deals to 28 deals from the previous session’s 27 deals, while the volume of securities slumped by 64.5 per cent to 4.9 million units from 13.7 million units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc ended as the most active security by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, with the second spot occupied by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc after selling 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and the third position was taken by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which exchanged 74.3 million units for N5.3 billion.
GNI Plc also finished the trading day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with a turnover of 3.4 billion units traded for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million.
Business Post reports that the market breadth index was negative yesterday, as there were two price gainers and three price losers.
11 Plc added N22.36 to its value to close at N250.00 per share versus N227.64 per share, and CSCS Plc improved by N7.95 to N90.35 per unit from N82.40 per unit.
On the flip side, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc lost N1.37 to end at N150.00 per share versus N151.37 per share, UBN Property Plc depreciated by 6 Kobo to N1.75 per unit from N1.81 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc dropped 1 Kobo to close at N2.49 per share versus N2.50 per share.
