Economy
How Operators, Companies Plotted to Dupe Investors in 2008—SEC DG
By Dipo Olowookere
Prior to the crash of the global economy in 2008, the Nigerian capital market was the darling of many local investors, attracting many people, with good amount of money made by regulators, investors, stockbrokers and companies. It was a time money was flowing in the country like a river.
But in this, some investors had a very sad tale to tell because they lost huge amount of money during the period, which the country may never experience again.
Companies were listing their shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) at premium rates and some others promised to join the exchange after private placements, which never came.
Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) held a joint conference with the Department of Finance of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) and the acting Director General of the agency, MS Mary Uduk, explained why some investors became victims of private placement ‘fraud’ during the period.
Commenting on the private placement bubble of 2007 and 2008, the head of the apex regulator in the nation’s capital market said this happened with the connivance of many market operators who encouraged issuers to take advantage of loopholes in the relevant investment laws at the time.
She lamented a situation where many private companies took advantage of gaps in Nigerian laws, especially between 2007 and 2008 to defraud many investors, by embarking on private placements, with promises to list the shares for trading on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, when in reality they had no such intention.
Ms Uduk recalled several efforts and appeals to such issuers, to list their shares without success, stressing that “market operators encouraged private placements knowing that the law did not allow the SEC to regulate private companies.”
“Insider trading is what we have to prove. A lot of us are in the market and we have whistle blowing mechanism. It is the operators who will be in a better position to know and report such infractions. For those that have been reported to us, we have been carrying out investigations and once we have evidence, we will invite them and also refer them to the relevant authorities
“With the whistle blowing provision, we have always asked operators in the market to come to our aid if they find any unwholesome activity going on. It is our market and so we all have to do our bit. The market should not be left to us alone; you need to provide information for us to take the necessary actions.
“Anyone that is caught engaging in any activity that is against the laid down rules, be rest assured that such an operator will be made to face the full wrath of the law,” she declared.
She urged operators to cooperate with the commission for the good of the market and the economy, realizing that “it is our market, please let us join hands and revive this market.
“Let us come together and sanitise this market,” she stressed, urging them to bring incidences of market abuse to the attention to the commission and enjoy protection under the law.
Ms Uduk said SEC has been doing its best to ensure that offenders are not left off the hook, hence the Commission is collaborating with EFCC and office of attorney general to be able to do much.
The DG has assured investors that the commission was committed to ensuring that suspicious transactions are not allowed in the capital market.
“We are committed to protecting investors in the work we do. We will keep working on our rules and the possibility of amending them when the need arises, we want more transparency in the market so that investors will feel comfortable and the market can be better,” she added.
The Acting DG said the commission also has the complaints management framework that enables investors to know where to complain to and how long it takes for such complaints to be resolved and for those of the investors that are averse to risks, they are advised to get their financial advisers to tell them where to invest.
“In doing all these, we advise retail investors to invest in Collective Investment Schemes and Mutual Funds because those are managed independently by professionals and they are diversified thereby reducing risks. We also implore investors to take ownership of their investments. They have to be able to monitor their investments, attend annual general meetings as well as read the annual reports sent out to them.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira performed poorly against the United States Dollar in the different segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market on February 27, closing the week without a gain.
In the black market, the domestic currency weakened against the Dollar yesterday by N5 to close at N1,370/$1 compared with Thursday’s closing price of N1,365/$1, and at the GT Bank forex desk, it lost N2 to sell N1,369/$1 versus the N1,367/$1 it was sold a day earlier.
Yesterday, the Nigerian Naira lost N3.75 or 0.26 per cent against the greenback at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) to trade at N1,363.39/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,359.82/$1.
Also, the Naira depreciated against the Euro at the official market during the session by N2.33 to quote at N1,609.22/€1 versus N1,606.89/€1, and appreciated against the Pound Sterling by N6.74 to settle at N1,836.49/£1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,843.23/£1.
The Naira’s latest depreciation occurred as FX demand continued to outpace available supply, intensifying pressure in the market.
In response to the negative momentum, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) intervened by selling Dollars to banks and other authorised dealers in an effort to stabilise the local currency. The move came barely a week after the apex bank had purchased about $190 million from the foreign exchange market to temper the Naira’s rally.
Specifically, the CBN injected $200 million into the official market between Tuesday and Wednesday through an intervention call. However, the liquidity support proved insufficient to reverse the currency’s downward trend.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market declined on Friday, with Solana (SOL) down by 10.4 per cent to $78.60, as Dogecoin (DOGE) decreased by 9.5 per cent to $0.0982.
Further, Cardano (ADA) slumped 8.9 per cent to $0.2647, Ethereum (ETH) slipped by 8.6 per cent to $1,859.10, Ripple (XRP) shrank by 8.2 per cent to $1.30, Litecoin (LTC) lost 1.4 per cent to close at $52.39, Bitcoin (BTC) slid 5.9 per cent to $63,686.39, and Binance Coin (BNB) went down by 4.9 per cent to $596.64, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil prices rose about 2 per cent on Friday, with traders bracing for supply disruptions as nuclear talks between the United States and Iran were without an agreement.
Brent crude futures settled at $72.48 a barrel after chalking up $1.73 or 2.45 per cent, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures finished at $67.02 a barrel, up $1.81 or 2.78 per cent.
The two sides agreed to extend indirect negotiations into next week, but traders grew sceptical that an agreement between US President Donald Trump’s administration and Iran was possible.
The US and Iran held indirect talks in Geneva on Thursday after Mr Trump ordered a military buildup in the region.
Oil prices gained during the talks, on media reports indicating that discussions had stalled over U.S. insistence on zero enrichment of uranium by Iran. However, prices eased after the mediator from Oman said the two sides had made progress.
They plan to resume negotiations with technical-level discussions scheduled next week in Vienna, Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi said on X.
Market analysts noted that geopolitical risk premiums of $8 to $10 a barrel have been built into oil prices on fears that a conflict will disrupt Middle East supply through the Strait of Hormuz, where about 20 per cent of global oil supply passes.
To cushion the impact from a possible strike, one of the world’s largest oil producers, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is set to export more of its flagship Murban crude in April, while Saudi Arabia said it would also increase oil production.
Additionally, Saudi Arabia may raise its April crude price to Asia for the first time in five months due to higher demand from India to replace Russian supplies, potentially raising it by about $1 a barrel.
Meanwhile, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) is likely to consider raising oil output by 137,000 barrels per day for April at its March 1 meeting, after suspending production increases in the first quarter.
The resumption of output increases after a three-month pause would allow Saudi Arabia and the UAE to regain market share at a time when other OPEC+ members, such as Russia and Iran, contend with Western sanctions while Kazakhstan recovers from a series of oil production setbacks.
Eight OPEC+ producers – Saudi Arabia, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Iraq, Algeria and Oman will meet at the meeting on Sunday.
By Dipo Olowookere
The absence of a positive trigger left Nigerian stocks 0.38 per cent deeper in the bears’ territory on Friday, as investors embarked on cautious trading.
Two of the five major sectors tracked by Business Post finished in red on the last trading session of this week, with the industrial goods down by 2.44 per cent, and the energy down by 0.26 per cent due to profit-taking.
However, bargain-hunting raised the insurance sector by 1.52 per cent, the banking index increased by 0.79 per cent, and the consumer goods sector expanded by 0.28 per cent.
When the closing gong was struck yesterday, the All-Share Index (ASI) of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited crashed by 741.04 points to 192,826.77 points from 193,567.81 points, and the market capitalisation lost N476 billion to close at N123.763 trillion compared with the previous day’s N124.239 trillion.
According to data from Customs Street, Mecure gave up 9.97 per cent to trade at N75.85, Meyer depreciated by 9.90 per cent to N18.65, DAAR Communications crumbled by 9.83 per cent to N2.11, Champion Breweries staggered by 6.49 per cent to N18.00, and Dangote Cement crashed by 6.09 per cent to N779.00.
Conversely, Sovereign Trust Insurance gained 9.95 per cent to settle at N2.21, RT Briscoe improved by 9.93 per cent to N12.51, NGX Group expanded by 9.78 per cent to N124.00, Ellah Lakes surged by 9.70 per cent to N13.00, and Omatek chalked up 9.70 per cent to sell for N2.60.
A total of 44 shares finished on the gainers’ chart during the session, while 25 shares ended on the losers’ table, representing a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
The activity chart showed that 823.8 million stocks valued at N34.8 billion exchanged hands in 63,759 deals during the session versus the 868.5 million stocks worth N31.5 billion traded in 69,310 deals on Thursday.
This indicated that the value of transactions increased by 10.48 per cent, the volume of trades declined by 5.15 per cent, and the number of deals dipped by 8.01 per cent.
The busiest equity on Friday was Fortis Global Insurance, which sold 146.6 million units for N137.3 million, Zenith Bank transacted 79.4 million units valued at N7.1 billion, Japaul exchanged 57.2 million units worth N225.1 million, Jaiz Bank traded 49.5 million units valued at N589.3 million, and Access Holdings exchanged 44.8 million units worth N1.2 billion.
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