Economy
NEM Insurance Seeks Shareholders’ Approval to Raise N2.6bn
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The board of NEM Insurance Plc has said it plans to raise an additional capital aimed to improve operations of the company.
In a statement issued by the firm, it was disclosed that the amounted needed for now is about N2.640 billion, which would be raised through issuing of additional shares of the insurer.
NEM Insurance said it wants to issue new 1.056 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N2.50k per unit by a Special/Private Placement.
However, before this can be done, the board is seeking authorisation of shareholders of the company.
This approval would be sought at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the firm slated for Tuesday, June 25, 2019 at the Federal Palace Hotel, Lagos.
“That on the recommendation of the directors, the shareholders hereby authorise the directors to raise additional capital through the issuance of not more than 1,056,000,000 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each, at N2.50k per share by way of a Special/Private Placement.
“That the shares proposed to be issued pursuant to the above resolution and the rights attaching thereto shall rank at least pari passu with the ordinary shares held by the existing shareholders in the company.
“That the shareholders hereby waive their pre-emptive rights under Article 43 of the Company’s Articles so as to enable the Special/Private Placement to proceed.
“That for the purpose of giving effect to the above, the board be and is hereby authorized to agree, make and accept all such term(s), condition(s) and modification(s) as it may deem fit, including, condition(s) and modification(s) stipulated or required by any relevant authorities and to seek all requisite approvals from the appropriate authorities, appoint consultants and advisers, finalize and execute all agreements or documents and to do all acts, deeds and things in this connection and incidental as the board in its absolute discretion may deem necessary and expedient for the purpose of the Special/Private Placement without being required to seek any further consent or approval of the members or otherwise to the end and intent that they shall be deemed to have given approval thereto expressly by the authority of this resolution,” the board said in a notice.
It was further disclosed during the AGM, shareholders will also be asked to amend the company’s Articles of Association by including a new Article 52, which states that, “The company may give notice of its Annual General Meeting and other statutory notices, its balance sheet (including every document required by law to be annexed thereto for consideration at the company’s General Meetings) in hard print or electronic format to any person entitled to receive such notices, either by sending them by post to the person’s last known registered address or by electronic mail to his/her last known electronic address.”
They will further authorise the changing of Article 52 to 53 and will then contain the clause “The accidental omission to give notice of a meeting or the non-receipt of notice of a meeting by any person entitled to receive notice shall not invalidate the proceedings at any meeting.”
Business Post reports that this amendment followed an issue the insurance company had with one of its shareholders last year.
In June 2018, the insurer held its AGM, but a number of shareholders including Eaton Acquisitions, Premium Green Limited, Starvest Limited, Three Sea Investment Limited and Oluwaseyilola A. Ojo notified the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) of an infraction by NEM Insurance, claiming that the insurance company did not follow the laid down rules by notifying them of the planned AGM.
As a result, the aggrieved shareholders asked the regulators to invalidate the meeting as well as all the resolutions reached at the AGM, including the resolution to raise additional capital through a private placement at a price below the market price of NEM Insurance stock.
This request was granted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and it directed the board of NEM Insurance to reconvene the 48th AGM, with proper notice given to shareholders in line with extant laws.
At the next month’s meeting, the board will present to shareholders the Annual Financial Statements of the company for the year ended December 31, 2017 and Reports of Directors, the Auditors Report thereon and Audit Committee’s Report.
By Dipo Olowookere
It was a good day for the stock market in Nigeria as it appreciated by 0.79 per cent on Friday to bring the year-to-date return to 0.66 per cent.
This was influenced by renewed interest across most of the sectors of the market, though the insurance index declined by 2.15 per cent when trading activities ended for the session.
Business Post reports that the banking counter appreciated by 1.97 per cent, the consumer goods space grew by 0.70 per cent, the industrial goods sector gained 0.09 per cent, and the energy counter closed flat.
Yesterday, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 810.26 points to 103,598.46 points from the preceding day’s 102,788.20 points and the market capitalisation by N497 billion to N63.645 trillion from Thursday’s N63.148 trillion.
Chellaram was the biggest price gainer on Friday after it chalked up 10.00 per cent to trade at N4.07, Guinness Nigeria also appreciated by 10.00 per cent to N77.00, SCOA Nigeria improved by 10.00 per cent to N3.96, Transcorp Power jumped by 7.96 per cent to N349.80, and Lasaco Assurance went up by 7.19 per cent to N3.28.
Conversely, Neimeth was the biggest price loser as it shed 9.88 per cent to N3.10, John Holt declined by 9.78 per cent to N8.30, International Energy Insurance depleted by 9.74 per cent to N1.76, Sovereign Trust Insurance fell by 9.40 per cent to N1.06, and Austin Laz lost 9.00 per cent to close at N1.82.
As for the activity chart, a total of 576.4 million stocks valued at N9.0 billion in 11,546 deals compared with the 394.4 million stocks worth N22.8 billion traded in 12,160 deals in the preceding session, indicating a rise in the trading volume by 46.15 per cent, and a decline in the trading value and number of deals by 60.53 per cent and 5.05 per cent.
Secure Electronic Technology was the busiest equity with 202.2 million units worth N151.8 million, Nigerian Breweries traded 42.1 million units valued at N1.3 billion, Japaul exchanged 34.6 million units for N79.7 million, Access Holdings sold 32.2 million units valued at N807.0 million, and Sovereign Trust Insurance traded 17.0 million units worth N18.3 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a 0.42 per cent gain on Friday, January 24 after three equities ended on the advancers’ chart at the close of business.
Nipco Plc gained N15.01 during the trading day to close at N165.11 per share versus N150.10 per share of the preceding session, Okitipupa Plc added N4.79 to end the session at N52.69 per unit compared with Thursday’s trading value of N47.90 per unit, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc expanded by 80 Kobo to trade at N24.00 per share, in contrast to the N23.30 per share it was sold a day earlier.
The gains recorded by these stocks pushed the value of the bourse higher by NN7.41 billion to N1.775 trillion from the N1.767 trillion recorded in the preceding session and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) grew by 6.93 points to wrap the session at 3,133.20 points compared with 3,120.13 points recorded in the previous session.
Yesterday, the price of FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc went down by 92 Kobo to end the session at N38.58 per share, in contrast to the previous day’s N39.50 per share.
The volume of securities traded in the session decreased on Friday by 95.9 per cent to 16.3 million units from 407.4 million units, the value of shares traded yesterday slumped by 97.4 per cent to N10.2 million from N391.2 million units, and the number of deals declined by 23.3 per cent to 23 deals from 30 deals.
Impresit Bakolori Plc was the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 406.5 million units worth N386.1 million, followed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 4.3 million units valued at N170.4 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 9.1 million units sold for N44.3 million.
Impresit Bakolori Plc was also the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 406.5 million units worth N386.1 million, trailed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 26.3 million units sold for N6.3 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 9.2 million units valued at N44.3 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira extended its recent gaining spree by 1.12 per cent or N17.39 on the US Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Friday, January 24.
Yesterday, the local currency was traded in the official market at N1,531.20/$1 compared with the preceding trading day’s value of N1,548.59/$1.
The recent appreciation aligns with expectations that the Naira will appreciate in the first quarter of the year, backed by continued policy support by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), with the latest being the launch of the FX Code due next week to enhance transparency in the market.
Also, the domestic currency improved its value against the Pound Sterling in the spot market on the last trading day of the week by N8.97 to quote at N1,903.24/£1, in contrast to Thursday’s exchange rate of N1,912.21/£1 and against the Euro, it gained N8.72 to finish at N1,605.17/€1 versus the preceding day’s N1,613.89/€1.
In the same vein, the domestic currency appreciated against the American Dollar in the parallel market yesterday to sell for N1,660/$1 compared with the N1,665/$1 it was traded a day earlier.
In the cryptocurrency market, there was profit-taking following earlier euphoria around US President Donald Trump’s ambitious “Stargate Project” announcement, which is a $500 billion commitment to enhancing the US AI infrastructure.
Crypto commentators believe this signals a shift toward reduced oversight with the pledge unveiled on Tuesday, bringing together tech giants OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank with an initial commitment of $100 billion, scaling to $500 billion over four years.
Solana (SOL) dipped by 4.9 per cent to trade at $247.14, Ethereum (ETH) dropped 2.8 per cent to $3,290.29, Dogecoin (DOGE) fell by 2.4 per cent to $0.3488, and Cardano (ADA) slid by 2.1 per cent to $0.9763.
Further, Ripple (XRP) went down by 1.9 per cent to $3.11, Binance Coin (BNB) shrank by 0.7 per cent to $687.71, and Bitcoin (BTC) declined by 0.6 per cent to $104,369.28, while Litecoin (LTC) appreciated by 3.9 per cent to $121.63, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
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