Economy
NASD OTC Exchange Trades Flat as Investors Chew on Reclassification News
By Adedapo Adesanya
Trading activities on the floor of the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed flat on the first trading day of the new week, Monday, November 4, 2019.
The two major gauges of the market remained at the previous levels when market transactions were halted yesterday, with the market capitalisation closing at N502.37 billion and the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI) finishing at at 699.25 points.
However, it was not a good outlook for the remaining parameters as they all fell after the close of transactions on the exchange as investors ponder on the recent reclassification of stocks listed on the platform.
Business Post reported on Monday that the management of the NASD, in line with directive of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), announced the categorization of its securities in three different groups; NASD Blue, NASD Pink and NASD Red.
In the released by NASD last Friday, eight companies were placed in the NASD Blue category and they met all requirements of regulators, while 14 companies with slight shortfall were put under the NASD Pink group, with 13 firms placed in the NASD Red category because they have failed to adhere to listing rules. READ THE STORY HERE
As investors react to this information, the volume of stocks transacted on Monday went down by 97.5 percent or 38,170 units from the 39,170 units quoted last Friday to 1000 units.
Likewise, the total value of trades depreciated yesterday by 95.2 percent or N2.8 million to N140,700 compared with N2.95 million value of transactions recorded at the previous session.
During Monday’s trading day, the market recorded a single deal executed by an investor, lower than the seven deals carried out last Friday, representing a decline by 85.7 percent or six deals.
Like in the previous session, the NASD Exchange did not have a price gainer or loser.
Food Concept Plc retained the top spot on the most traded equities table by volume (YtD) with a total transaction of 1,158,828,284 units valued at N844.0 billion, while UBN Properties followed with 921,841,397 units worth N1.24 billion.
In terms of value (year-to-date), Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc kept the number position with 202,272,698 units of its shares sold for N2.53 billion. On the second position is UBN Properties with 884,529,600 units of its stocks sold for N1.2 billion.
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.
