Economy
NGX Develops Framework for Certifications in Carbon Credits Trading
By Dipo Olowookere
The chief executive of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, Mr Temi Popoola, has disclosed that the bourse was working on a framework for certifications in carbon credits trading.
Speaking on Wednesday at the NGX 2022 Market Recap and 2023 Outlook in Lagos, he said this is one of the ways the exchange wants to encourage investments in sustainable projects.
According to him, “NGX sees sustainability as not just important but also a profitable frontier of its business and work is ongoing on developing a framework for certifications in carbon credits trading, pending regulatory approval.”
Mr Popoola described 2022 as wonderful for the Nigerian stock market because it witnessed a few landmark listings which shaped the direction of the ecosystem in the year.
“In 2022, the equities market performance was buoyed by the 19.98 per cent increase in the NGX All-Share Index, which rose from 40270.72 points to 51,251.06 points just as the market capitalisation also closed at a high of N27.92 trillion, up from N21.06 trillion the previous year.
“The total turnover of trades in 2022 improved by 27 per cent from N916 billion to N1.16 trillion year-on-year from 2021.
“Market participation was heavily skewed to the domestic investors. The fixed income market saw a slight uptick in turnover to N3.89 billion in 2022 from N3.53 billion recorded in 2021, representing a 10.20 per cent YoY increase.
“The Exchange Traded Funds market capitalisation increased from N7.35 billion in 2021 to N8.42 billion in 2022, representing a 14.56 per cent increase in the market capitalisation.
“Stanbic IBTC ETF 30, which tracks the performance of the NGX 30 index, was the best performing ETF in 2022, having begun the year at N68.5 and closed at N245, reflective of 257.66 per cent returns. ETF transactions fell from N34.22 billion in 2021 to N211.02 million in 2022, representing a 99.38 per cent decline in ETF turnover,” he stated, adding that, “Altogether, this signalled a good year for the Exchange despite global macroeconomic headwinds.”
On the outlook for this year, Mr Popoola said Customs Street would take a flexible approach to strategy execution in 2023, doubling down on its 2022 achievements and expanding on several levers.
“As you know, the NGX Technology Board Listing Rules were approved by the apex regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), in December 2022.
“With this, we aim to drive more technology companies to the Exchange and deepen capital formation in the technology sector.
“Currently, we are in consultations with stakeholders in the sector, and we are confident of securing a few big names within the year.”
“On the capital market’s digital transformation, the Exchange is working on USSD launch in collaboration with Telcos and Banks, unlocking the African Capital markets via payment integration with Afreximbank’s Pan African Payment Settlement System,” he added.
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.
