Economy
Naira Crashes to N487/$ at Black Market After Emefiele’s Attack
By Adedapo Adesanya
The black market segment of the foreign exchange (FX) market may have reacted negatively to an attack from the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, on Tuesday.
The apex bank chief had described the parallel market as illegal, adding that it was a place where bribery and corruption thrive, urging genuine forex customer not to patronise traders at the platform because they would be supporting actions aimed to sabotage the economy.
“Parallel market and quote me is a tainted market in Nigeria, where people who desire to deal in illegal foreign exchange transactions including sourcing of FX cash for purposes of offering bribes, corruption, that is where they deal,” Mr Emefiele had said while addressing newsmen at the end of the two-day Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja.
On Wednesday, the value of the Naira against the Dollar at the black market depreciated by N4 apparently due to cautious trading as traders were being careful of the next action the government might want to take against them.
Recall that in 2016 and 2017, the local authorities used securities operatives to disrupt activities of forex traders at the parallel market in an attempt to control the exchange rate of the local currency against the foreign currencies.
Yesterday, according to information scooped by Business Post from some forex traders at the black market in Lagos, caution was the motto of the market and this caused an artificial scarcity, spiking the exchange rate to N487/$1 from N483/$1.
Also, the Naira lost N9 on the British Pound Sterling at the same market window on Wednesday to trade at N629/£1 versus N620/£1 of the preceding session while on the Euro, the Naira lost N5 to close at N575/€1 in contrast to N570/€1.
A similar scenario played out at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment of the FX market yesterday as the domestic currency depreciated by N7.75 or 2.01 per cent against the greenback to quote at N393.25/$1 in contrast to N385.50/$1 it was sold previously.
This was the heaviest lost recorded at the market window in a long time and it came despite the sharp decline in the demand for FX at the market segment at the midweek trading session as transactions worth $52.09 million were carried out in contrast to $163.87 million exchanged at the prior session, indicating a decline of 68.2 per cent or $111.78 million.
However, at the Bureaux De Change (BDCs) window, the Naira closed flat against the US currency at N386/$1, according to data from the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON).
Likewise, at the interbank window, which is the official exchange rate platform of the central bank, the domestic currency traded flat against the greenback at N379/$1.
At the cryptocurrency market yesterday, the value of the Bitcoin (BTC) appreciated by 0.1 per cent to sell at N9,303,003.60. It was the only digital currency that gained during the session.
The value of Ripple (RPX) and Dash (DASH) depreciated by 7.8 per cent to sell at N308.90 and N52,040.01 respectively, Ethereum (ETH) fell by 6.3 per cent to N284,103.27, Litecoin (LTC) lost 7.1 per cent to sell at N40,912.60, the United States Dollar Tether (USDT) went down by 0.3 per cent to N490.72, while Tron (TRX) plunged by 5.6 per cent to trade at N16.92.
By Dipo Olowookere
Transactions on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited rallied on Tuesday by 0.75 per cent after investors intensified their demand for local stocks.
It was a tough battle between the bulls and the bears during the session, but the former overcame by a whisker after the bourse recorded 29 appreciating equities and 28 depreciating equities, indicating a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
The growth posted by Customs Street yesterday could be attributed to the appetite for MTN Nigeria shares, which chalked up 10.00 per cent to settle at N256.30.
SCOA Nigeria appreciated by 9.93 per cent to N2.99, Omatek grew by 9.88 per cent to 89 Kobo, Universal Insurance rose by 8.70 per cent to 75 Kobo, and CAP gained 8.52 per cent to trade at N47.75.
Conversely, Secure Electronic Technology lost 9.88 per cent to quote at 73 Kobo, Abbey Mortgage Bank declined by 9.09 per cent to N3.30, Sunu Assurances tumbled by 8.21 per cent to N6.15, Deap Capital slumped by 7.08 per cent to N1.05, and C&I Leasing depreciated by 6.82 per cent to N4.10.
A total of 440.3 million equities valued at N12.0 billion exchanged hands in 13,087 deals compared with the 1.3 billion equities worth N17.7 billion transacted in 13,891 deals on Monday, representing a decline in the trading volume, value and number of deals by 66.79 per cent, 32.20 per cent and 5.79 per cent, respectively.
Lasaco Assurance ended the session as the most traded stock after it sold 108.1 million units valued at N338.7 million, Access Holdings traded 44.0 million units for N1.1 billion, UBA exchanged 27.9 million units worth N945.7 million, Zenith Bank transacted 26.7 million units for N1.3 billion, and Universal Insurance traded 22.7 million units valued at N16.7 million.
On Tuesday, the insurance, banking and industrial goods sectors jumped by 1.03 per cent, 0.30 per cent, and 0.03 per cent, respectively, and the consumer goods and energy counters lost 0.38 per cent and 0.36 per cent apiece.
The All-Share Index (ASI) went up yesterday by 767.63 points to 103,137.99 points from 102,370.36 points and the market capitalisation increased by N472 billion to N63.333 trillion from N62.861 trillion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria ranked as Africa’s leading destination for upstream oil and gas investment in 2024, new research from market intelligence firm, Wood Mackenzie, has shown, accounting for three out of four Final Investment Decisions (FIDs) announced by global oil and gas majors, totaling $13.5 billion.
The FIDs announced within the Nigerian market included Shell’s $122 million investment in the Iseni Gas Project, TotalEnergies’ $566 million commitment to the Ubeta Gas Project and Shell’s approval of the Bonga North Tranche 1 project valued at around $5 billion.
According to the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Energy, Ms Olu Verheijen, these investments reflected Nigeria’s ongoing efforts to unlock its hydrocarbon potential through investor-friendly policies and strategic global partnerships.
Last year, Nigeria introduced several initiatives to create a conducive environment for oil and gas investors, including new tax incentives aimed at attracting up to $10 billion in natural gas investments.
Nigeria, which is Africa’s largest oil producer, also offered tax relief for gas investors, reducing corporate income tax and extending capital allowance benefits – for deepwater gas projects.
Other policies include the Presidential Directive on Local Content Compliance Requirements 2024 to address the reduction in oil and gas investments caused by high operating costs compared to global markets.
Also, the Presidential Directive on Reduction of Petroleum Sector Contracting Costs and Timelines 2024 reduces the time spent to award contracts for oil and gas projects.
In addition to the directives, Nigeria also launched its 2024 oil and gas licensing round, offering 19 blocks for exploration, demonstrating its commitment to continued collaboration with local, regional and international partners.
Market analysts note that with this momentum, further FIDs are anticipated, including TotalEnergies’ expected $750 million commitment to the Ima Shallow Gas Project in 2025.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a 0.22 per cent decline on Monday, January 20, with the market capitalisation shedding N2.35 billion to close at N1.073 trillion compared with the preceding session’s N1.075 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) going down by 6.79 points to wrap the session at 3,105.12 points compared with 3,111.91 points recorded in the previous session.
It was observed that the loss recorded on the first trading day of the week was triggered by UBN Property Plc, which crashed by 20 Kobo to trade at N2.00 per share versus last Friday’s N2.20 per share.
However, the share price of Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc went up by 4 Kobo to 40 Kobo per unit from 36 Kobo per unit, it could not stop the bourse from going down at the close of transactions.
The activity chart showed that on Monday, the volume of securities traded by investors increased by 57.9 per cent to 767,610 units from the 486,215 units traded in the preceding session, while the value of shares traded yesterday slumped by 17.7 per cent to N2.3 million from the N2.8 million recorded in the preceding trading day, as the number of deals declined by 14.3 per cent to 12 deals from the 14 deals carried out in the previous trading day.
At the close of transactions, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 4.1 million units worth N162.9 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with a turnover of 9.1 million units valued at N44.0 million, and 11 Plc with the sale of 55,358 for N14.5 million.
Also, Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc closed the day as the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 25.3 million units sold for N5.9 million, Geo-Fluids Plc came next with 9.1 million units valued at N44.0 million, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 4.1 million units worth N162.9 million.
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