Economy
Investors Sell Stocks in Panic, Shift Focus to Bonds, Others
By Dipo Olowookere
Investors on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited embarked on a selling spree in panic on Monday amid the declines seen in the ecosystem lately.
Yesterday, the panic selling further battered the exchange by 1.97 per cent as stocks like Dangote Cement, GTCO, Lafarge Africa and 28 others closed in the red territory.
Only seven equities appreciated in price during the session as the risk appetite of traders continues to moderate amid stability in the fixed-income space, especially in terms of its interest rates.
On Monday, the Debt Management Office (DMO) sold FGN bonds at the primary market and it was observed that some investors liquidated their shares to purchase the government securities, which cleared at 13.15 per cent.
According to data from the bourse, the volume of equities transacted yesterday rose by 43.04 per cent to 345.0 million units from 241.2 million, the number of trades increased by 0.63 per cent to 5,075 deals from 5,043 deals, while the value of the transactions reduced by 16.15 per cent to N3.1 billion from N3.7 billion.
FCMB, which had an off-market deal of 148.7 million units consummated by CSL Stockbrokers, was the most traded stock after it sold 177.6 million units valued at N669.0 million.
UBA transacted 29.5 million shares worth N221.2 million, Access Holdings exchanged 22.0 million equities worth N206.4 million, FBN Holdings sold 12.6 million stocks for N114.0 million, while Transcorp traded 11.6 million shares for N14.3 million.
Union Bank and Dangote Cement finished the session as the worst-performing stocks as they lost 10.00 per cent each to trade at N5.40 and N249.30 respectively. Livestock Feeds depreciated by 9.77 per cent to N1.20, International Breweries fell by 9.60 per cent to N5.65, while Flour Mills declined by 8.57 per cent to N32.00.
The best-performing stock for the day was Jaiz Bank as its value went up by 5.32 per cent to 99 kobo, Regency Assurance gained 3.70 per cent to 28 kobo, Japaul appreciated by 3.33 per cent to 31 kobo, Zenith Bank rose by 2.80 per cent to N22.00, while NAHCO grew by 2.63 per cent to N7.80.
On the first trading session of the week, despite the sell-offs, the banking sector closed higher by 0.35 per cent and finished as the only gainer as the industrial goods, consumer goods, insurance and energy counters depreciated by 5.27 per cent, 1.16 per cent, 0.94 per cent and 0.23 per cent respectively.
Consequently, the All Share Index (ASI) retreated by 1,021.34 points to 50,756.74 points from 51,778.08 points, while the market capitalisation fell by N550 billion to N27.364 trillion from N27.914 trillion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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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.
