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MTN Nigeria May List Shares on NSE May 2018

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By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Investors in Nigeria willing to put their money in MTN Nigeria may have to wait till May 2018 or longer than that to achieve this aim.

MTN Nigeria is unarguably the biggest telecommunication company in the country, providing GSM services to millions of subscribers in the Africa’s largest economy.

There had been plans by the firm to list its shares on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) but a huge fine slammed on it by the Nigerian government in 2015 for failing to disconnect unregistered SIMs on its network created a setback to the listing plans.

The fine also resulted in MTN Group recording a loss in 2016.

In an interview with Bloomberg TV on Wednesday, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MTN Group, Mr Rob Shuter, disclosed that the firm was making underground plans for an initial public offering of its Nigerian business and in the next six months, the company should have completed the process.

According to him, “We have a lot of advisers running around getting everything ready, it is a complicated process and there’s a lot of regulation that needs to be arranged. We are moving forward well with the project and anticipate concluding that in the next six months or so.”

Mr Shuter told Bloomberg that he was pleased with MTN’s operations in Nigeria and would definitely fancy listing its stocks on the NSE.

As at the last figure released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), MTN Nigeria controls 39.73 percent of Nigeria’s 152.46 million subscriber base.

In June this year, General Manager of MTN, Mr Nikiwe Tsaagane, assured the Federal Government that the leading telecommunications firm in the country will list its shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

He had told the Minister of Science and Technology, Mr Ogbonnaya Onu, that plans were underway to make shareholders apply for the listing digitally.

“To achieve this, we are working with the Nigeria Stock Exchange to develop an application platform to enable our customers apply online. It would be the first time such is happening in the country,” Mr Tsaagane informed the Minister.

In August 2017, Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr Mounir Gwarzo, told journalists after the second Capital Market Committee (CMC) meeting in Lagos that discussions were ongoing with leading GSM service provider on its planned listing on the NSE.

He had promised that outcome of the talks would be known to the public when finalised.

“Concerning listing of MTN (Nigeria) on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, we have started discussions with them and also given them ideas on how to make it possible.

“We hope very soon, when the discussions are over, the company will announce its listing to investing public.

“I believe it (the listing) will boost our economy and showcase Nigeria as a good place to invest,” the SEC chief told newsmen.

The Nigerian government had said telecommunication firms operating in the country should list on the local bourse, though nothing concrete was yet to be realised.

The South African company, which boasts of over 60 million subscribers in Nigeria, is presently paying a fine to the Nigerian government and agreed to the Lagos IPO as part of the settlement of a $1 billion fine.

Modupe Gbadeyanka is a fast-rising journalist with Business Post Nigeria. Her passion for journalism is amazing. She is willing to learn more with a view to becoming one of the best pen-pushers in Nigeria. Her role models are the duo of CNN's Richard Quest and Christiane Amanpour.

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Economy

Tinubu to Present 2025 Budget of N47.9trn to NASS December 17

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2024 Budget Presentation Speech

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

On Tuesday, December 17, 2024, President Bola Tinubu will present the 2025 budget to a joint session of the National Assembly.

The size of the 2025 Appropriation Bill is about N47.9 trillion and would be presented to the parliament for approval.

Speaking at the plenary on Thursday, December 12, 2024, the President of the Senate, Mr Godswill Akpabio, said the presentation by Mr Tinubu would be at the chamber of the House of Representatives.

However, it is not certain if the lawmakers will pass the budget before December 31 to allow for a recent budget cycle of January to December.

Recall that on December 3, the senate approved the Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP) for 2025 to 2027.

This was after the President presented this the National Assembly on November 19 ahead of the consideration of the 2025 budget proposal.

In the MTEF/FSP, the government said it planned to borrow about N9.22 trillion from local and foreign sources to finance the budget deficit.

It pegged the crude oil benchmark at $75 per barrel and a daily oil production of 2.06 million barrels at an exchange rate of N1,400 to $1, and a targeted gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of 6.4 percent.

At the plenary today, Mr Akpabio informed his colleagues that, “The President has made his intention known to the National Assembly to present the 2025 budget to the joint session of the National Assembly on December 17, 2024.”

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Economy

Nigeria Adds 150,000 b/d Crude Production in November 2024

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crude oil production

By Adedapo Adesanya

Nigeria added 150,000 barrels per day to its crude production in November 2024 as it continues to pursue an ambitious 2 million barrels per day target.

According to the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Nigeria’s oil production rose to 1.48 million barrels per day in November, up from 1.33 million barrels per day the previous month.

In its Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR), OPEC revealed that at 1.48 million barrels per day, it is the continent’s leading oil producer, surpassing Algeria’s 908,000 barrels per day and Congo’s 268,000 barrels per day.

Business Post reports that OPEC doesn’t account for condensates, which Nigeria’s accounts for in its broader 2 million barrels per day target.

Despite the surge in production levels, Nigeria is still under producing its 1.5 million barrels per day output quota under a deal involving OPEC and 10 other producers known as OPEC+.

OPEC said it relied on primary data gotten through direct communication, noting that secondary sources reported 1.417 million barrels per day as Nigeria’s crude production in November — up from 1.4 million barrels per day in October.

The data also shows that OPEC’s total oil production among its 12 members rose by 104,000 barrels per day in the month under review.

According to secondary sources, the total of the 12 OPEC countries’ crude oil production averaged 26.66 million barrels per day in November 2024.

“Crude oil output increased mainly in Libya, Iran, and Nigeria, while production in Iraq, Venezuela, and Kuwait decreased”, OPEC said.

“At the same time, total non-OPEC DoC crude oil production averaged 14.01 mb/d in November 2024, which is 219 tb/d higher, m-o-m. Crude oil output increased mainly in Kazakhstan and Malaysia,” the organisation added.

In a related development, OPEC trimmed its 2024 and 2025 oil demand growth forecasts for the fifth time this year.

Now, the cartel expects the world’s oil demand growth at 1.61 million barrels per day from the previously 1.82 million barrels per day.

For 2025, OPEC says the world oil demand growth forecast is now at 1.45 million barrels per day, a 900,000 barrels per day cut from the previously expected 1.54 million barrels per day.

On the changes, OPEC says that the downgrade for this year owes to more bearish data received in the third quarter of 2024 while the projections for next year relate to the potential impact that will arise from US tariffs.

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Afriland Properties, Geo-Fluids Shrink OTC Securities Exchange by 0.06%

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Geo-Fluids

By Adedapo Adesanya

The duo of Afriland Properties Plc and Geo-Fluids Plc crashed the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by a marginal 0.06 per cent on Wednesday, December 11 due to profit-taking activities.

The OTC securities exchange experienced a downfall at midweek despite UBN Property Plc posting a price appreciation of 17 Kobo to close at N1.96 per share, in contrast to Tuesday’s closing price of N1.79.

Business Post reports that Afriland Properties Plc slid by N1.14 to finish at N15.80 per unit versus the preceding day’s N16.94 per unit, and Geo-Fluids Plc declined by 1 Kobo to trade at N3.92 per share compared with the N3.93 it ended a day earlier.

At the close of transactions, the market capitalisation of the bourse, which measures the total value of securities on the platform, shrank by N650 million to finish at N1.055 trillion compared with the previous day’s N1.056 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) went down by 1.86 points to wrap the session at 3,012.50 points compared with 3,014.36 points recorded in the previous session.

The alternative stock market was busy yesterday as the volume of securities traded by investors soared by 146.9 per cent to 5.9 million units from 2.4 million units, as the value of shares transacted by the market participants jumped by 360.9 per cent to N22.5 million from N4.9 million, and the number of deals increased by 50 per cent to 21 deals from 14 deals.

When the bourse closed for the day, Geo-Fluids Plc remained the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.7 billion units valued at N3.9 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units worth N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc 297.5 million units sold for N5.3 million.

Also, Aradel Holdings Plc, which is now listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited after its exit from NASD, remained the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 108.7 million units sold for N89.2 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.5 million units worth N5.3 billion.

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