Economy

Investors Anticipate Huge Rise in Treasury Bills Rates Before Year End

Published

7 years ago

30/08/2018

By Dipo Olowookere

There are high expectations that treasury bills rates would increase before the end of this year till early next year, when the country heads to the polls to elect their new leaders.

The expected hike in rates may likely be one the moves by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to reduce the rate at which investors are pulling their funds out of the country’s economy to where they can get better yields on their investment.

Since the United States, through the Federal Reserve, hiked its benchmark short-term interest rate, investors have been exiting emerging markets, including Nigeria.

This has in one way or another affected the Nigerian economy, especially the stock and the fixed income markets.

As part of efforts to make the Nigerian market still attractive to foreign portfolio investors, the CBN is likely to increase the treasury bills rates.

This was slightly evident in the primary auction conducted by the central bank on Wednesday, where the rates cleared higher than what were obtained two weeks ago, when the CBN sold fresh T-bills to investors.

According to an analysis done by Business Post, at the August 1, 2018 PMA, the 91-day bills cleared at 10 percent, the 182-day bills at 10.40 percent and the 364-day bills at 11.30 percent.

At the next exercise conducted on August 15, 2018, while both the 91-day and 182-day bills remained unchanged, the 364-day bills dropped to 11.22 percent.

However, at the PMA held yesterday, August 29, 2018, the rates for the three papers increased sharply.

Business Post observed that the 91-day bills cleared at 11 percent, the 182-day bills at 12.30 percent and the 364-day bills at 13.05 percent.

Over three weeks ago, Deputy Governor of the CBN, Mr Joseph Nnanna, hinted that the apex bank may tighten and increase its main interest rate if the nation’s inflation rate fails to decline.

According to the National Bureau Statistics (NBS), headline inflation eased to 11.14 percent year-on-year in the month of July 2018 from 11.14 percent from 11.23 percent recorded in June 2018.

Mr Nnanna had explained to Bloomberg that, “These factors would warrant a rate increase to send the right signal to the public, that the central bank will tighten policy to respond to higher inflation.

“There’s a scope to raise rates before the elections in February.

“The central bank is still in the mood for tightening,” he said. “How fast are we going to tighten is what members [of the Monetary Policy Committee] haven’t agreed upon.”

Treasury bills rates started to decline from 2017 when the federal government said it was reducing the rate it was borrowing at the local market.

At a point last year, treasury bills rates were over 18 percent and it became very attractive to investors, who flooded the market.

But since the government reduced its local borrowing, the rates have dropped, making it less attractive to both local and foreign investors.

If the rates skyrocket again as anticipated as the year ends, more investors, especially foreign, would be forced to enter the market again, reducing capital flight.

Economy

Ellah Lakes to Unlock Next Growth Trajectory With N235bn Equity Offer

Published

18 minutes ago

11/11/2025

Aduragbemi Omiyale

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The chief executive of Ellah Lakes Plc, Mr Chuka Mordi, has described the N235 billion equity offer as a pivotal step in the company’s evolution.

“This offer for subscription is about unlocking the next chapter of Ellah Lakes’ growth story.

“At an offer price of N12.50 per share, this raise reflects the intrinsic value of our scaled, integrated platform.

“We are inviting investors to participate in a clear growth trajectory built on over 30,000 hectares of resilient, diversified assets and strong processing capacity.

“The N235 billion equity expansion marks our transition from foundation building to full-scale market expansion, driving sustainable profitability and advancing Nigeria’s food security agenda,” he stated.

Also, the deputy chief executive of the firm, Mr Paul Farrer, said, “Every Naira from this raise has a clear strategic purpose.

“The proceeds will accelerate integration of the newly acquired Agro-Allied Resources and Processing Nigeria Limited (ARPN) assets and upgrade our crude palm oil and cassava processing facilities.

“Our goal is to deliver a step-change in operational efficiency and scale, maximising value for shareholders and contributing to the broader agro-industrial ecosystem.”

Business Post reports that the offer was launched during a Facts Behind the Offer presentation at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.

The chief executive of NGX Limited, Mr Jude Chiemeka, said, “The launch of this N235 billion equity raise underscores the depth and resilience of Nigeria’s capital market as a strategic enabler of corporate growth.

“At NGX, we are particularly pleased to see a leading indigenous agribusiness like Ellah Lakes harness the market to scale its operations and deepen value creation across the agricultural value chain.

“This offer represents not only an opportunity for investors to participate in the country’s agro-industrial expansion but also a strong signal of renewed confidence in the exchange as a gateway for transformative capital formation.”

Ellah Lakes is a pioneering integrated agro-industrial enterprise in Nigeria raising N235 billion through the issuance of 18.8 billion ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N12.50 per share.

The exercise is led by Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) as the lead issuing house. It commenced on Monday, November 10, 2025, and will close on Friday, December 5, 2025.

Economy

Three Securities Crash NASD OTC Exchange by 0.73%

Published

2 hours ago

11/11/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Three stocks weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.73 per cent on Monday, November 10, with 11 Plc dropping N35.30 to close at N360.00 per share compared with the preceding session’s N395.50 per share.

Further, Nipco Plc went down by 90 Kobo to end at N239.10 per unit compared with last Friday’s closing price of N240.00 per unit, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc weakened by 75 Kobo to N39.25 per share from N40.00 per share.

Consequently, the market capitalisation lost N16.10 billion in value to close at N2.174 trillion compared with the preceding trading day’s N2.190 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) decreased by 26.91 points to 3,634.16 points from 3,661.07 points.

Business Post reports that the price of Afriland Properties Plc went up during the session by 40 Kobo to end at N21.13 per unit compared with the preceding day’s N20.73 per unit.

Yesterday, the volume of securities traded rose by 639.6 per cent to 1.5 million units from the 197,833 units achieved in the past trading session, the value of transactions surged by 591.4 per cent to N27.9 million from N4.0 million, and the number of deals increased by 45.8 per cent to 35 deals from 24 deals.

At the close of business, Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc ended as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units valued at N16.4 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 170.3 million units transacted for N8.0 billion, and Air Liquide Plc with 507.4 million units worth N4.2 billion.

InfraCredit Plc was also the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units worth N16.4 billion, trailed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 1.2 billion units traded for N419.7 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc exchanged 536.9 million units for N524.9 million.

Economy

Naira Falls to N1,437/$1 in Official Market on FX Liquidity Pressure

Published

2 hours ago

11/11/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira depreciated against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Monday, November 10, as FX liquidity pressure plummeted the value of the local currency by 71 Kobo or 0.05 per cent to N1,437.39/$1 from the N1,436.58/$1 it traded in the previous session.

Equally, the Naira lost N12 against the Pound Sterling in the spot market to settle at N1,894.78/£1, in contrast to the preceding trading session’s N1,882.35/£1 and declined against the Euro by N5.72 to quote at N1,663.24/€1 versus last Friday’s value of N1,657.52/€1.

However, the domestic currency gained N4 against the greenback at GTBank to close at N1,442/$1 versus N1,446/$1 and depreciated against the US Dollar by N5 to sell for N1,455/$1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,450/$1.

The decline recorded by the Nigerian currency was largely driven by insufficient supply from foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) and local participants to cover for the demand, according to investment firm AIICO Capital Limited.

Naira came under pressures due to weak US dollar liquidity in the official currency market. The slowdown in FX flows forced the CBN into action with $50 million sold to boost liquidity last week.

FX inflows fell last week by about 14 per cent to $899 million, according to Coronation Merchant Bank research subsidiary, from $1.04 billion the previous week.

The market anticipates that the Naira will trade stable as the CBN maintains stance to support the local currency, a move strengthened by growing external reserves.

As for the cryptocurrency market, investors didn’t seem fazed by progress toward ending the US shutdown boosted sentiment, even as traders eyed a short-term liquidity boost from drawing down the Treasury General Account.

Market analysts noted that the shutdown has created a mixed backdrop for crypto.

On the positive side, the end of the shutdown could release $150–200 billion from the Treasury General Account (TGA) into bank reserves, a liquidity jolt that has historically benefited risk assets, including crypto.

Litecoin (LTC) lost 4.4 per cent to sell at $103.69, Binance Coin (BNB) dropped 2.2 per cent to close at $983.19, Ethereum (ETH) slumped by 1.5 per cent to $3,550.15, Dogecoin (DOGE) depreciated by 1.2 per cent to $0.1785, Solana (SOL) fell by 1.0 per cent to $165.56, Bitcoin (BTC) declined by 0.8 per cent to $105,351.58, and Cardano (ADA) slumped by 0.5 per cent to $0.5845.

On the flip side, Ripple (XRP) gained 1.5 per cent to finish at $2.48, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.