Economy

Infrastructure Development Key to Growth—SEC

Published

6 years ago

13/02/2020

Infrastructure development has been described as critical for the achievement of economy prosperity, sustainable growth and development of Nigeria.

Therefore, the need to attract private and domestic capital to fund and support critical infrastructure is paramount.

This, among others, were the resolutions reached at the end of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) yearly budget seminar.

The seminar, which held in Lagos Thursday, had as its theme Leveraging the 2020 Budget and Finance Act for the Growth of the Nigerian Capital Market.

Participants also recommended the provision of conducive business environment and credit enhancements for the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) to thrive, because the SME sub-sector is one of the critical pillars for economic growth and national prosperity.

According to the communique at the end of the seminar, “There is need to create more hedging opportunities in the Nigerian capital market, as this have implication for market liquidity and efficiency.

“The government needs to work towards encouraging the participation of the private sector in the Nigerian business environment. The power and agricultural sectors are key sectors where in-depth reform and partnership with the private sector are important. There should be partnership with the private sector to mobilize domestic resources, create quality jobs and lift people out of poverty.”

Participants also agreed on the need to leverage technology for trade and focus on adding value to the agricultural sector which is currently very low-paying.

This sector, they posited, needs to become more beneficial to those involved and can be done through means such as provision of power for crop preservation, thus eliminating post-harvest losses.

In her opening address, Acting Director General of SEC, Ms Mary Uduk, emphasised the important role that budgets play in an economy, and by extension in the capital market.

This importance, Ms Uduk said, is actually the basis on the seminar is organised to analyse the risks and opportunities presented by the government budget.

She said over the years, the SEC Budget Seminar Series has served as a forum for evaluating the connection between the Nigerian capital market and the annual Federal Government budget, with the aim of identifying how the capital market can contribute to, and benefit from, the budget and its implementation.

“In the course of the seminar, we shall look at the performance of the 2019 budget, the performance of the capital market, the proposed 2020 budget as well as its likely impact on the capital market.

“Also critical are the aspects of the new Finance Act that affect the capital market. These include the provisions on Securities Lending, Real Estate Investment Schemes, minimum tax, increased Value Added Tax, amongst others.

In his remarks, former Chairman of SEC, Mr Suleyman Ndanusa, and Chairman of the occasion, said the annual budget cycle was important particularly in countries like Nigeria where government expenditure has significant impact on the economy.

Mr Ndanusa said the budget sets the tone for the direction of the economy each year which presents opportunities and risks.

According to him, “I personally love the choice of this topic, given the pressing need to grow our capital market and the important role played in our economy by the government through its fiscal and other policies.

“Looking at some broad items of the 2020 budget; the total expenditure amounts to N10.6 trillion, which is a 19 percent increase on that of 2019, but just about 6.5 percent of the nation’s GDP. The budget is split into 79 percent for recurrent expenditure and 21 percent for capital expenditure with a deficit of around N2 trillion.

“How this deficit would be funded is always of interest to the capital market community. Coupled with the implications of the choice of funding. There are the usual questions on whether we are returning to a period of high treasury yields and the consequent crowding out of corporates from the debt markets as well as the trade off between investments in fixed income and equities segments of the capital market” he added.

Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari presented the 2020 budget to the National Assembly on October 8, 2019 which was eventually signed at a record time on December 17, 2019, with an approved budget of N10.6 trillion.

Economy

OTC Securities Market Returns to Green Territory With N30bn Gain

Published

1 hour ago

25/06/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange returned to positive territory after it chalked up 1.18 per cent on Wednesday, June 24.

The NASD Security Index (NSI) was up during the session by 50.02 points to 4,289.36 points from the previous session’s 4,239.34 points, and the market capitalisation got a N30.03 billion boost to settle at N2.574 trillion compared with Tuesday’s closing value of N2.544 trillion.

The growth witnessed yesterday was influenced by two securities, led by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which improved its value by N4.68 to N79.68 per share from N75.00 per share. Food Concepts Plc grew by 25 Kobo to sell at N2.75 per unit versus the preceding day’s N2.51 per unit.

At the close of trading activities, the value of securities bought and sold by market participants went up by 1,387.1 per cent to N82.9 million from the preceding session’s N5.6 million, and the volume of securities soared by 1,162.2 per cent to 2.7 million units from the previous 211,671 units, while the number of deals was halved by 50 per cent to 19 deals from 38 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 sold for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 68.3 million units transacted for N4.7 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 worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units exchanged for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million.

Economy

Naira Depreciates to N1,380/$ in Official Market

Published

2 hours ago

25/06/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The value of the Naira further depreciated by 0.72 per cent or N9.90 against the United States Dollar to N1,380.54/$1 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Wednesday, June 24, in contrast to Tuesday’s exchange rate of N1,370.64/$1.

Equally, the local currency weakened against the Pound Sterling in the same official market yesterday by N4.88 to close at N1,815.63/£1 versus the previous session’s N1,810.75/£1, and lost N2.61 on the Euro to sell at N1,563.63/€1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,561.02/€1.

However, at the GTBank forex counter, the domestic currency maintained stability against the US Dollar during the session at N1,380/$1, and at the parallel market, it closed flat at N1,395/$1.

Rising FX payments and a strong US Dollar have generally put significant pressure on emerging-market currencies, like the Naira.

According to the data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), NFEM interbank FX turnover was relatively steady at $125.588 million across 126 deals, from $125.314 million the previous day.

Interbank FX activity among financial institutions has fluctuated amid a sharp slowdown in forex market interventions by the apex bank, with more than six weeks of no support for the local currency.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s foreign reserves increased further to $51.142 billion, while global oil prices entered the lower $70s.

Meanwhile, in the cryptocurrency market, nearly $1 billion worth of futures positions were liquidated across crypto majors to tokenised versions of stocks such as Micron Technology Inc (MU) and Sandisk (SNDK).

The dip triggered roughly $430 million in long liquidations on Bitcoin-tracked futures, or bets on higher prices that were automatically closed as the price fell.

Thursday’s PCE inflation print, the Fed’s preferred price gauge, is the next data point that could move the market in either direction, with Dogecoin (DOGE) down by 2.4 per cent to $0.0771.

Further, Bitcoin (BTC) fell by 1.9 per cent to $61,584.02, Ethereum (ETH) shed 1.6 per cent to trade at $1,645.50, Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 1.6 per cent to $1.08, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 1.5 per cent to $570.95, Cardano (ADA) crashed by 1.1 per cent to $0.1495, and Solana (SOL) slipped by 1.0 per cent to $69.19.

But TRON (TRX) gained 0.1 per cent to finish at $0.3288, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.

Economy

Brent Crude Slides Below $74 as Hormuz Supply Fears Ease

Published

2 hours ago

25/06/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The price of Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, declined by $3.34 or 4.3 per cent on Wednesday to settle at $73.74 per barrel, its lowest level before the start of the Iran war on February 28, 2026.

Also, the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures lost $2.87 or 3.9 per cent during the session to sell for $70.34 a barrel.

The development came as supply concerns eased with more stranded oil tankers exiting the Strait of ‌Hormuz, which had been blocked since late February.

Market analysts noted that crude oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz are similar to what they were before the start of the Iran war, as tankers exit the key waterway with the help of military escorts. Around 20 million barrels of crude oil have exited the Strait of Hormuz in the last 24 hours.

Before the war began in late February, roughly 125 ships passed through the chokepoint each day, but current traffic remains a fraction of that.

Reuters reported that three stranded tankers carrying 5 million barrels of crude oil exited the strait on Wednesday, with two heading to Asia, shipping data showed, as the interim deal between Iran and the US began to unlock more supply stuck in the Gulf.

As Middle Eastern producers scramble to move crude that has spent months stranded in the Persian Gulf, tanker rates have exploded higher. The cost of hiring a tanker in the Gulf has nearly doubled in just a week, jumping from around $106,000 per day to more than $190,000 per day. For some very large crude carriers (VLCCs) hauling cargoes through Hormuz, daily earnings have surged to nearly $470,000.

The US also authorised Iranian oil sales this week, easing decades-old sanctions as it pushes toward a final peace deal with Iran in return for commitments on nuclear inspections and free transit through the Strait of Hormuz.

Oman said it would keep the strait open to shipping without imposing ⁠tolls and had designated two temporary routes north and south of the existing shipping lane to facilitate the safe passage of vessels leaving the region.

Crude inventories in the US remained tight on strong refining demand ⁠and amid a release of oil from the government’s emergency stash. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) said crude stocks, including commercial and those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, fell by 15.1 million barrels to 743.3 million barrels in the week ended June 19, which was the lowest level since 1984.