Economy
NCDMB Boss Tasks Local Firms to be Competitive
By Dipo Olowookere
Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Mr Simbi Wabote, has advised local service companies and manufacturers to strive to be competitive and adjust their business models in line with trends to stay in business.
Mr Wabote gave this charge while speaking on the Requirements for Sustainable Growth of Manufacturing in Nigeria’s Oil & Gas Sector, at the Nigerian International Pipeline Technology and Security Conference organized by the Pipeline Professionals Association of Nigeria in Abuja recently.
According to him, the board will continue to ensure patronage of local businesses in line with the provisions of the Nigerian Content Act and Presidential Executive Order 003, but companies that set their prices above reasonable thresholds will not be supported.
“It must be stated that local content is not at all cost. There is a level of premium that becomes un-economic for patronage and there is little the Board can do in such situations,” he said.
He commended the Federal Government for promoting the Local Content policy through various initiatives, one of which is the Executive Order 003, which mandates all Ministries, Departments and Agencies to give consideration for the procurement of at least 40 percent made-in-Nigeria products and services across all sectors of the economy.
Speaking further, the Executive Secretary listed requirements that would make the nation’s manufacturing sector grow, including the provision of steady power supply and patronage of locally manufactured goods.
He also gave an insight into some achievements recorded by the Board, including an increase of in-country value addition from the paltry five percent level to 26 percent.
Mr Wabote mentioned the existence of two world-class pipe mills, five pipe coating yards, the increase in the number of Nigerian-owed marine vessels to 36 percent, resuscitation of moribund dry-dock facilities and local manufacturing of electrical cables required in the oil and gas industry. He further stated that Nigeria has also grown its fabrication capability to over 60,000 metric tonnes per annum and has capacity to carry out over 80 percent of engineering design in-country.
Other achievements of the Board include the creation of over 30,000 direct jobs, delivery of over six million training man-hours, award of over 90 percent of industry contracts to Nigerian companies, growth of indigenous operating companies and construction of facility for in-country integration of Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading vessels.
In his speech at the event, the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr Maikanti Kacalla Baru, described pipeline vandalism as a great threat to Nigerian economy, both in terms of revenue lost and environmental effects and charged key players in the industry to confront the challenge.
He insisted that pipelines remained the cheapest means of transporting crude oil and natural gas, regretting that the Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP) with a capacity of 150,000 barrels of production per day (Bopd) was breached 39 times in 2016. “Year-to-date 2017, we have recorded 27 breaching incidents on the TNP,” he said.
The GMD added that “for the Trans Forcados Pipeline (TFP) with a capacity of 300,000 Bopd, recorded 17 breaches in 2016 while year-to-date 2017, we have recorded at least 15 breaching incidents on the TFP.”
Mr Baru also lamented that about 700,000 barrels of oil per day was deferred due to pipeline vandalism in 2016 “while power generation in the country dropped significantly as the gas plants had to shut down thereby resulting in shortages in gas supply to power.
“At present, huge amount of money is spent on protecting these pipelines which significantly add to the cost of production,” he added.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Four securities weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.95 per cent on Friday, erasing N41.17 billion from the bourse, which had its market capitalisation at N2.567 trillion compared with the previous session’s N2.618 trillion.
In the same vein, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) decreased at the close of business by 85.28 points to 4,277.07 points from 4,362.32 points.
The price decliners were led by 11 Plc, which gave up N20.50 to sell at N200.50 per share compared with the preceding day’s N221.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc dropped N16.94 to close at N155.20 per unit versus Thursday’s closing price of N172.14 per unit, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by N2.11 to N84.68 per share from N86.79 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc lost 11 Kobo to end at N16.74 per unit, in contrast to the N16.85 per unit it closed a day earlier.
During the trading day, the value of transactions jumped by 172.1 per cent to N29.9 million from the preceding session’s N10.9 million, and the volume of trades soared by 136.5 per cent to 955,096 units from the previous 403,901 units, while the number of deals went down by 11.4 per cent to 31 deals from 35 deals.
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 68.6 million units sold for N4.7 billion.
GNI Plc also ended the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for N8.4 billion, trailed 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.
By Dipo Olowookere
The last trading session of this week on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended on a negative note, with a 0.66 per cent loss on Friday.
This was influenced by sustained selling pressure and cautious trading, which forced investors into profit-taking.
Data obtained by Business Post showed that the energy sector fell by 4.66 per cent, the insurance counter dipped by 2.23 per cent, the consumer goods index depreciated by 0.96 per cent, and the banking segment shed 0.28 per cent, while the industrial goods space remained unchanged.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) of Nigeria’s stock exchange went down by 1,531.81 points to 232,049.02 points from 233,580.83 points, and the market capitalisation dropped N983 billion to settle at N148.905 trillion compared with Thursday’s N149.888 trillion.
Aradel was the worst-performing equity after it lost 10.00 per cent to close at N1,417.50. International Energy Insurance slipped by 9.95 per cent to N5.79, Trans-Nationwide Express depreciated by 9.89 per cent to N3.28, eTranzact crashed by 9.79 per cent to N14.75, and UPDC slumped by 9.72 per cent to N28.12.
The best-performing equity for the day was Universal Insurance, which gained 6.32 per cent to close at N1.01, McNichols grew by 5.52 per cent to N8.60, Linkage Assurance expanded by 4.67 per cent to N1.57, NGX Group appreciated by 4.35 per cent to N120.00, and Transcorp increased by 3.62 per cent to N41.50.
As look at the activity level indicated that investors traded 388.7 million stocks worth N18.4 billion in 44,631 deals compared with the 393.7 million stocks valued at N19.2 billion executed in 45,813 deals a day earlier, representing a decline in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 1.27 per cent, 4.17 per cent, and 2.58 per cent, respectively.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira recorded a loss of 82 Kobo or 0.06 per cent against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, June 26, exchanging at N1,380.93/$1, in contrast to the previous day’s rate of N1,380.11/$1.
Equally, the domestic currency further weakened against the Pound Sterling in the official FX market yesterday by N6.06 to settle at N1,824.90/£1 versus the preceding session’s N1,818.84/£1, and lost N10.74 on the Euro to sell at N1,577 .58/€1 versus N1,566.84/€1.
At the GTBank forex counter, the Naira depreciated against the greenback during the session by N4 to close at N1,387/$1, in contrast to Thursday’s value of N1,383/$1, and at the parallel market, it was unchanged at N1,395/$1.
Interbank FX activity among financial institutions has fluctuated amid a sharp slowdown in forex market interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as it allows demand and supply to move the market.
Also, a stronger greenback has generally put significant pressure on emerging-market currencies.
Nigeria has accessed the first tranche of a proposed $5 billion derivatives financing arrangement with First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC, the largest lender in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The $5 billion facility, approved by the National Assembly earlier this year, is part of the federal government’s plan to diversify external financing sources and reduce borrowing costs. Structured as a Total Return Swap with First Abu Dhabi Bank, proceeds are earmarked for refinancing debt and supporting infrastructure financing.
If the proceeds are brought into the country through the official FX market, the transaction will increase the currency reserves or Dollar liquidity.
At the cryptocurrency market, Solana (SOL) grew by 2.2 per cent to $71.92, Cardano (ADA) gained 1.1 per cent to trade at $0.1474, Ripple (XRP) also appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $1.05, Dogecoin (DOGE) expanded by 0.9 per cent to $0.0755, and Ethereum (ETH) improved by 0.4 per cent to $1,578.84.
On the flip side, TRON (TRX) slid 0.6 per cent to $0.3203, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 0.3 per cent to $564.33, and Bitcoin fell by 0.2 per cent to $60,219.37, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.
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