Economy
NECA Expresses Worries Over Finance Bill 2022 Provisions
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has expressed dissatisfaction over some of the provisions of the finance bill 2022, including the increased Tertiary Education Tax (TET) from 2.5 per cent to 3.0 per cent.
NECA’s Director-General, Mr Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, expressed this worry in a statement on Wednesday in Lagos, explaining that the TET was increased without regard for the current economic situation faced by businesses.
According to him, organised businesses are currently burdened with over 50 different taxes, levies and fees – both legally and illegally.
“These taxes include company income tax; stamp duties; petroleum profit tax; capital gains tax, value added tax; personal income tax; withholding tax; tertiary education tax, among others.
“Increasing the Tertiary Education Tax is another burden too much.
“Also, increasing the CIT rate for a gas-flaring company from the standard 30 per cent to 50 per cent is also worrisome, considering the fact these companies are already covered in the Petroleum Industry Act, this can be a recipe for further divestment.
“Also, the imposition of excise duty at rates to be specified via presidential order on all services, including telecommunication services, is too broad and vague.
“This can be subject to abuse and further strangulation of the business community,“ he said.
He urged President Muhammadu Buhari to request the National Assembly to do the needful by taking into cognisance the concerns of organised businesses and expunging all anti-business provisions in the bill.
Mr Oyerinde said, “It is absurd that the national assembly will consider and pass the finance bill in an unusual manner.
“It was surprising that the national assembly would pass such an important Bill without the input and contributions of critical stakeholders.”
The Senate passed the Finance Bill last week, and part of the provisions was the increase in TET as well as the change in the name of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS).
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange ended the first trading day of the week on a positive note, with a 0.39 per cent appreciation on Monday, May 25.
The positive vibe raised the market capitalisation of the trading platform by N10.11 billion to N2.571 trillion from last Friday’s N2.561 trillion, and lifted the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 16.89 points to 4,298.17 points from the previous 4,281.28 points.
Business Post reports that the bourse recorded three appreciating securities and one depreciating stock at the close of transactions, with the sole price decliner being 11 Plc, which lost N23.43 to sell at N221.10 per share compared with the preceding session’s N244.53 per share.
Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N3.78 yesterday to trade at N74.85 per unit versus the previous price of N71.07 per unit, NASD Plc improved its price by N2.86 to N37.36 per share from N34.50 per share, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc grew by 33 Kobo to N180.00 per unit from N179.67 per unit.
The volume of trades jumped by 153.1 per cent during the session to 59.2 million units from the preceding session’s 590,339 units, but the value of transactions fell by 37.9 per cent to N59.3 million from the N95.3 million achieved last Friday, and the number of deals contracted by 10 per cent to 27 deals from 30 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units traded for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 61.2 million units exchanged for N4.1 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the trading day as the most traded equity by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units exchanged for N415.7 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended in the green territory on Monday after it chalked up 0.57 per cent on the back of renewed buying interest in financial equities.
The local stock exchange witnessed the insurance and the banking counters closing higher by 0.54 per cent and 0.08 per cent, respectively, amid profit-taking in the others. The energy index shed 1.77 per cent and the consumer goods sector depreciated by 0.26 per cent, while the industrial goods industry was flat.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 1,412.65 points to 251,125.02 points from 249,712.37 points, and the market capitalisation soared by N906 billion to N160.983 trillion from N160.077 trillion.
Investor sentiment was bullish yesterday after Customs Street ended with 35 price gainers and 30 price losers, indicating a positive market breadth index.
Airtel Africa surged 10.00 per cent to N3,655.70, International Energy Insurance advanced by 9.68 per cent to N3.74, Sovereign Trust Insurance went up by 9.65 per cent to N2.50, Caverton rose by 9.63 per cent to N7.40, and VFD Group gained 9.55 per cent to close at N10.90.
Conversely, McNichols lost 10.00 per cent to finish at N7.20, The Initiates dropped 9.91 per cent to trade at N30.45, Learn Africa slipped by 9.69 per cent to N11.65, Zichis crashed by 7.93 per cent to N30.98, and May and Baker declined by 6.60 per cent to N46.70.
During the trading day, market participants transacted 629.4 million shares worth N40.9 billion in 82,434 deals compared with the 711.9 million shares valued at 29.1 billion traded in 62,386 deals last Friday, implying a decline in the trading volume by 11.59 per cent, and a rise in the trading value and number of deals by 40.55 per cent and 32.14 per cent, respectively.
Access Holdings was the busiest equity for the session with a turnover of 61.3 million units valued at N1.5 billion. Zenith Bank traded 37.9 million units worth N5.0 billion, Fidelity Bank sold 35.8 million units for N851.2 million, Japaul exchanged 24.7 million units valued at N90.9 million, and Tantalizers transacted 22.8 million units worth N103.2 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira appreciated against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) by 54 Kobo or 0.04 per cent on Monday, May 25, to trade at N1,374.92/$1 compared to last Friday’s value of N1,375.46/$1.
However, it further depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N6.01 to sell for N1,855.73/£1 versus the preceding session’s N1,849.72/£1 and lost N158.02 against the Euro to close at N1,755.06/€1, in contrast to the N1,590.04/€1 it was traded last Friday.
In the same vein, the Nigerian Naira weakened against the United States Dollar at the GTBank FX counter yesterday by N2 to quote at N1,383/$1 versus N1,381/$1, and gained N5 in the parallel market to settle at N1,385/$1 compared with the previous rate of N1,390/$1.
The performance of the domestic currency comes as the external reserves inched higher to $48.72 billion, indicating a complex mix of sustained FX demand pressures and modest reserve accretion.
The movement in the FX market underscores the continued tension between demand-side pressure and policy-driven attempts to stabilise the naira.
While recent monetary tightening measures by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have helped to moderate extreme volatility, market participants are struggling to navigate a landscape shaped by intermittent dollar inflows, import-related demand and shifting investor sentiment.
As for the cryptocurrency market, most tokens were up amid optimism of a near-term US-Iran peace deal, as Iranian negotiators arrived in Doha, Qatar, for talks.
The Strait of Hormuz has been largely blockaded since the US and Israel struck Iran on February 28, though traffic has partially resumed in recent days. The agenda would include the reopening as well as uranium control.
TRON (TRX) rose by 1.8 per cent to $0.3714, Cardano (ADA) added 1.2 per cent to trade at $0.2444, Bitcoin (BTC) improved by 0.9 per cent to $77,283.62, Binance Coin (BNB) jumped 0.8 per cent to $661.30, and Ripple (XRP) increased by 0.8 per cent to $1.35.
Further, Ethereum (ETH) grew by 0.7 per cent to $2,018.82, Solana (SOL) expanded by 0.6 per cent to $85.37, and Dogecoin (DOGE) appreciated by 0.6 per cent to $0.1001, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
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