Economy
GT Holdings Will Deliver Value Under Demuren, Agbaje—Shareholders
By Dipo Olowookere
Shareholders of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) Plc have expressed confidence on the leadership of Mrs Osaretin Demuren and Mr Segun Agbaje, the Chairman and Managing Director of the bank respectively, to take the new GT Holdings Plc to greater heights.
The investors, who spoke through their representatives last Friday at a Court-Ordered Meeting (COM) in Lagos, said GTBank has performed well under the leadership of the two board members and thus projected that the new brand would perform better if the duo is still in charge.
The shareholders of the tier-one financial institution were in Lagos over the weekend to take a decision on the transfer of the 29,431,179,224 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each in the issued and paid-up share capital of the GTBank held by them to GT Holdings Plc.
After the approval of this proposal, the founder of the Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), Sir Sunny Nwosu, expressed the excitement of shareholders on the arrangement the bank has put in place is devoid of complexities usually known as share reconstruction.
“We are excited about the development because we are going to get value as everything we have would be transferred to the holding company. There will be no manipulation as a result of reconstruction that usually leads to fractional shares,” Mr Nwosu said.
On his part, the President of Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Mr Boniface Okezie, noted that, “GTBank has over the years proven to be a force and leading initiator of revolutionary advancement and technology-based development in the nation’s banking industry and we look forward to the growth and advancement it is sure to bring into the new business areas it will be taking on with the Holdco structure.”
“The arrangement where all existing shares of the bank would be transferred entirely to the Holdco in the name of the beneficial owners is good, while the same number of units and percentage would be held in the new entity, is commendable,” he added.
In his remarks, the Mr Segun Agbaje, explained that in line with Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s regulations, which require the separation of commercial banking business from other financial services businesses, the bank is adopting a Holdco structure.
He Mr Agbaje explained that the overall strategy was to create an operating model that would profitably grow the bank’s presence in the market for commercial banking and non-banking financial services in order to achieve the aspiration to be the dominant financial services group.
“I am delighted over the approval by shareholders for the holding company and I assure the investors of a more rewarding future. The bank will not embark on any share reconstruction as the same number of shares they have with the bank will be maintained.
“Under the new structure, existing shareholders of GTBank would be migrated to Guaranty Trust Holdings via a share-for-share exchange between the shareholders of GTBank and GT Holdings,” he said.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, 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 worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira maintained stability against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Monday, July 13, at N1,379.65/$1.
However, it appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market by N2.44 to exchange at N1,848.18/£1 compared with the previous rate of N1,850.62/£1, and lost 73 Kobo against the Euro to sell at N1,576.39/€1 versus last Friday’s N1,575.66/€1.
At the GTBank fore counter, the Naira declined by N2 to settle at N1,388/$1, in contrast to the previous session’s rate of N1,386/$1, and at the black market, it traded flat at N1,400/$1.
Market analysts expect the Naira to trade within a relatively stable range, supported by sustained FX inflows and a continued market intervention by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), although persistent underlying FX demand is likely to keep depreciation pressures elevated.
According to Monday’s trading data, interbank FX turnover surged by 21.14 per cent to $86.136 million from $71.044 million at the previous trading session on Friday.
However, interbank deal counts declined to 85 from 87 on Monday, reflecting the absence of pressure from US Dollar payments against local units. Last week, total foreign exchange inflows amounted to $0.97 billion, according to a Coronation Merchant Bank research report.
Analysts reported that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) remained the largest source of inflows, contributing 30.29% or $0.29 billion, closely followed by Exporters and Importers at 30.14 per cent.
Non-bank corporates accounted for 26.49 per cent or $0.26 billion, while the CBN contributed 6.93 per cent or $0.07 billion. Other sources made up the remaining 5.4 per cent of total inflows.
In the cryptocurrency market, major coins came under pressure following heightened expectations for a Federal Reserve interest-rate increase as soon as July, just ahead of key US inflation data and congressional testimony from Chairman Kevin Warsh came into focus.
Bitcoin (BTC) fell by 0.2 per cent to $62,627.03, Solana (SOL) dipped by 1.5 per cent to $75.18, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 0.2 per cent to $0.3248, Ripple (XRP) slumped by 0.6 per cent to $1.06, and Cardano (ADA) lost 0.6 per cent to close at $0.1589.
On the flip side, Ethereum (ETH) appreciated by 0.5 per cent to $1,784.26, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.2 per cent to $0.073, and Binance Coin (BNB) jumped by 0.2 per cent to $569.23, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.
