Economy
Market Gains 0.16% on Buying Interests in Access Bank, Others
By Dipo Olowookere
Buying interests in Access Bank, Presco, MTN Nigeria and 18 others further pushed the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited higher on Thursday by 0.16 per cent.
It was observed that investors picked special interest in stocks with strong fundamentals and this supported the gains posted by the market yesterday despite a decline in the activity level.
The trading volume shrank by 22.23 per cent to 261.6 million stocks from 336.3 million stocks, the trading value decreased by 23.59 per cent to N4.5 billion from N5.9 billion, while the number of deals declined by 10.98 per cent to 4,672 deals from 5,248 deals.
Data showed that Cutix sold the highest number of equities at the exchange yesterday, closing with a turnover of 31.8 million stocks valued at N75.7 million.
Access Bank transacted 15.4 million shares worth N155.5 million, FCMB exchanged 15.1 million stocks for N51.0 million, Fidelity Bank sold 14.9 million equities worth N44.1 million, while Zenith Bank transacted 14.3 million shares valued at N379.8 million.
Apart from the consumer goods sector which lost 0.56 per cent and the industrial goods counter which closed flat, every other sector ended in the green territory on Thursday.
The energy counter appreciated by 1.21 per cent, the insurance index gained 0.88 per cent, while the banking sector improved by 0.37 per cent.
The performances of the trio consequently lifted the All-Share Index (ASI) by 76.89 points to 47,363.98 points from the previous day’s 47,287.09 points and jerked up the market capitalisation by N42 billion to N25.527 trillion from N25.485 trillion.
Business Post reports that the market breadth remained positive yesterday with 21 price gainers and 20 price losers.
RT Briscoe topped the gainers’ table with a price growth of 9.84 per cent to sell for 67 kobo, UAC Nigeria also grew by 9.84 per cent to close at N10.05, Oando appreciated by 8.83 per cent to N5.30, Presco rose by 8.74 per cent to N125.00, while Neimeth appreciated 7.27 per cent to N1.77.
On the flip side, Royal Exchange finished the session as the heaviest price loser, declining by 9.46 per cent to sell for N1.34, followed by ABC Transport, which declined by 8.57 per cent to settle at 32 kobo.
May & Baker lost 6.31 per cent to trade at N4.60, Transcorp went down by 5.22 per cent to close at N1.09, while Courteville depreciated by 4.92 per cent to 58 kobo.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) says the rollout of electronic invoicing (e-invoicing) will strengthen tax compliance, curb revenue leakages and improve transparency in tax administration as it moves to fully digitise the country’s tax system.
The Project Lead for the NRS e-Invoicing Project, Mr Mohammed Bawa, stated this at the DigiTax E-Invoicing Compliance Breakfast Session held in Lagos on Wednesday.
The event, organised by DigiTax, an NRS-accredited e-invoicing platform, formed part of efforts to support the agency’s ongoing education and sensitisation campaign on the e-invoicing mandate.
Mr Bawa said the initiative aligns with global trends in tax digitisation and is expected to help improve Nigeria’s tax-to-GDP ratio, which remains one of the lowest in Africa.
According to him, the system will provide the NRS with greater visibility into transactions across sectors, formalise activities within the informal economy and standardise invoice formats nationwide using globally recognised invoice schemas.
He added that e-invoicing would improve operational efficiency for both businesses and tax authorities while supporting the NRS’ transition from manual and electronic tax administration processes to a fully automated system-to-system interaction model.
Mr Bawa noted that the legal framework for implementation is backed by the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, which prescribes penalties for non-compliance.
He disclosed that the NRS has completed onboarding large taxpayers and is preparing to enforce compliance with defaulting entities.
According to him, medium taxpayers are expected to begin compliance in the third quarter of 2026, while onboarding of emerging taxpayers will commence in 2027, with full adoption targeted for all taxpayers by the end of 2028.
Mr Bawa urged taxpayers yet to be onboarded onto the platform to begin the process and work with accredited service providers to ensure compliance.
On his part, Country Director of DigiTax Nigeria, Mr Olumide Akinsola, urged businesses to look beyond their internal systems and assess the compliance status of suppliers and counterparties.
He warned that businesses whose suppliers fail to transmit invoices through the MBS platform risk losing eligibility to claim Value Added Tax (VAT) input credits on such transactions, describing the resulting supply chain exposure as a significant commercial risk that many organisations have yet to quantify.
Mr Akinsola also announced the launch of DigiTax’s white paper, The State of E-Invoicing Readiness in Nigeria, which examines compliance adoption trends and the readiness gap across different taxpayer segments.
He added that DigiTax operates in Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), noting that experience from those markets shows businesses that integrate early are better positioned to avoid disruptions when enforcement begins.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The names of about 100,000 companies registered by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) are about to be deleted for inactivity, especially for failing to file their annual tax returns, Business Post reports.
This information was disclosed by the CAC via a notice signed by its management on Wednesday, July 15, 2026.
The list contains organisations like the Nigeria-Poland Chamber of Trade Invest Ltd, Alariwo of Afrika Ltd, Ovation Sports International, First Union Pension Fund Administrators, Investopedia Limited, Baptist High School Abuja Ltd, and Yobe Aluminium Manufacturing Industries Ltd, amongst others.
In the statement, the commission said its decision to strike off the names of the affected firms from the register aligns with the provisions of Section 692(3) (3) and (4) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), 2020.
However, the affected companies can still salvage the situation by filing all outstanding annual returns and regularising their records within 90 days.
“Please note that companies that fail to comply within the stipulated timeline shall be struck off the register without further notice,” it declared, expressing its continued commitment to providing prompt and efficient registration and regulatory services to the satisfaction of its valued customers.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange gained 1.75 per cent on Wednesday, July 15, pushing the NASD Security Index (NSI) up by 74.20 points to 4,316.51 points from 4,242.31 points, as the market capitalisation added N44.54 billion to finish at N2.590 trillion compared with the preceding session’s N2.546 trillion.
During the session, there was an 11.5 per cent rise in the value of transactions at midweek to N72.7 million from the preceding session’s N65.2 million, as there was a 3.7 per cent growth in the number of deals to 28 deals from the previous session’s 27 deals, while the volume of securities slumped by 64.5 per cent to 4.9 million units from 13.7 million units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc ended as the most active security by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, with the second spot occupied by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc after selling 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and the third position was taken by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which exchanged 74.3 million units for N5.3 billion.
GNI Plc also finished the trading day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with a turnover of 3.4 billion units traded for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million.
Business Post reports that the market breadth index was negative yesterday, as there were two price gainers and three price losers.
11 Plc added N22.36 to its value to close at N250.00 per share versus N227.64 per share, and CSCS Plc improved by N7.95 to N90.35 per unit from N82.40 per unit.
On the flip side, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc lost N1.37 to end at N150.00 per share versus N151.37 per share, UBN Property Plc depreciated by 6 Kobo to N1.75 per unit from N1.81 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc dropped 1 Kobo to close at N2.49 per share versus N2.50 per share.
