Economy
NGX Group Tasks FG on More Friendly Market Policies
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Group Plc has tasked the federal government, under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu, to come up with more friendly market policies to attract foreign investment inflows.
At its Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos on Friday, the chairman of the organisation, Mr Umaru Kwairanga, assured that the company would work with the government to achieve this goal.
He lauded the various reforms of this administration that have resulted in the impressive performance of the market.
“The capital market community is excited by the new government and the steps it has so far taken with respect to the economy as reflected in the tremendous growth in our market indicators.
“As a group, we are committed to working with the government to stimulate further growth in the economy, and address higher capital costs, as this will go a long way to enhance Nigeria’s credit profile and create a favourable environment for both domestic and foreign investors,” he said.
But Mr Kwairanga noted that the federal government needs to eke out more friendly market policies that will engender growth as the consistent and faithful implementation of market policies will help businesses to thrive.
He added that the group was hopeful that the planned Initial Public Offer (IPO) of the NNPC Limited would be fast-tracked by the Tinubu-led administration.
Speaking on the performance of the group, Mr Kwairanga noted that the organisation demonstrated resilience in 2022, achieving a 10.3 per cent increase in gross earnings to N7.5 billion, despite a challenging economic environment.
Its total revenue grew primarily due to a 6.8 per cent increase in revenue to N6.2 billion and a 30.1 per cent increase in other income to N1.3 billion.
The growth in its revenue was further bolstered by a 51.2 per cent increase in treasury investment income and a 9.0 per cent increase in transaction fees. However, its total expenses rose by 35.5 per cent to N8.8 billion, primarily due to interest costs on borrowed funds used for strategic acquisitions.
“Achieving an efficient capital mix and broadening our access to capital remain fundamental to our mission.
“The board will continue to assist the Management team in addressing long-term risks, strengthening the global NGX brand, and assessing progress toward our goal of being Africa’s preferred exchange hub,” remarked Mr Kwairanga.
While welcoming the new board members, he commended the contributions of the outgoing board members to the growth and development of the organization.
Commending the group’s performance, the Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr Oscar Onyema, said the performance reflects NGX Group’s commitment towards driving growth in Nigeria and Africa’s capital markets. Onyema further added that the group is proud to have generated multiple income streams that enabled it to overcome economic headwinds.
Speaking on the group’s outlook, he expressed optimism about the opportunities and challenges ahead and emphasized the group’s commitment to leveraging its strengths and expertise to drive growth and value creation in Nigeria and other financial markets in Africa.
“NGX Group will continue supporting its operating subsidiaries, associates, and investee companies to deliver sustainable value creation for its shareholders. We will look to enhance our performance by continuously striving to optimize operations, increase revenue streams and expand our market reach.
“We are confident that these measures will enable us to build on the positive momentum we have achieved in recent years and drive growth in 2023 and beyond,” he said.
Shareholders approved all resolutions on the agenda, including the appointment of six Directors of Nigerian Exchange Group Plc: Mr Nonso Okpala (Non-Executive Director), Mr Sehinde Adenagbe (Non-Executive Director), Mr Ademola Babarinde (Non-Executive Director), Mrs Mosun Belo – Olusoga (Independent Non-Executive Director), Mr Mohammed Garuba (Non-Executive Director) and Mrs Fatima Wali- Abdurraham (Independent Non-Executive Director).
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The federal government, the 36 states of the federation and the 774 local government areas have received N1.727 trillion from the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) for December 2024.
The funds were disbursed to the three tiers of government from the revenue generated by the nation in November 2024.
At the December meeting of FAAC held in Abuja, it was stated that the amount distributed comprised distributable statutory revenue of N455.354 billion, distributable Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue of N585.700 billion, Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) revenue of N15.046 billion and Exchange Difference revenue of N671.392 billion.
According to a statement signed on Friday by the Director of Press and Public Relations for FAAC, Mr Bawa Mokwa, the money generated last month was about N3.143 trillion, with N103.307 billion used for cost of collection and N1.312 trillion for transfers, interventions and refunds.
It was disclosed that gross statutory revenue of N1.827 trillion was received compared with the N1.336 trillion recorded a month earlier.
The statement said gross revenue of N628.972 billion was available from VAT versus N668.291 billion in the preceding month.
The organisation stated that last month, oil and gas royalty and CET levies recorded significant increases, while excise duty, VAT, import duty, Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT), Companies Income Tax (CIT) and EMTL decreased considerably.
As for the sharing, FAAC disclosed that from the N1.727 trillion, the central government got N581.856 billion, the states received N549.792 billion, the councils took N402.553 billion, while the benefiting states got N193.291 billion as 13 per cent derivation revenue.
From the N585.700 billion VAT earnings, the national government got N87.855 billion, the states received N292.850 billion and the local councils were given N204.995 billion.
Also, from the N455.354 billion distributable statutory revenue, the federal government was given N175.690 billion, the states got N89.113 billion, the local governments had N68.702 billion, and the benefiting states received N121.849 billion as 13 per cent derivation revenue.
In addition, from the N15.046 billion EMTL revenue, FAAC shared N2.257 billion to the federal government, disbursed N7.523 billion to the states and transferred N5.266 billion to the local councils.
Further, from the N671.392 billion Exchange Difference earnings, it gave central government N316.054 billion, the states N160.306 billion, the local government areas N123.590 billion, and the oil-producing states N71.442 billion as 13 per cent derivation revenue.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a 0.65 per cent gain on Friday, December 13, boosted by three equities admitted on the trading platform.
On the last trading session of the week, Okitipupa Plc appreciated by N2.70 to settle at N29.74 per share versus Thursday’s closing price of N27.04 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc added N2.49 to end the session at N42.85 per unit compared with the previous day’s N40.36 per unit, and Afriland Properties Plc gained 50 Kobo to close at N16.30 per share, in contrast to the preceding session’s N15.80 per share.
Consequently, the market capitalisation added N6.89 billion to settle at N1.062 trillion compared with the preceding day’s N1.055 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) gained 19.66 points to wrap the session at 3,032.16 points compared with 3,012.50 points recorded in the previous session.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors increased by 171.6 per cent to 1.2 million units from the 447,905 units recorded a day earlier, but the value of shares traded by the market participants declined by 19.3 per cent to N2.4 million from the N3.02 million achieved a day earlier, and the number of deals went down by 14.3 per cent to 18 deals from 21 deals.
At the close of business, Geo-Fluids Plc was the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with a turnover of 1.7 billion units worth N3.9 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with the sale of 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.3 million units sold for N5.3 million.
In the same vein, Aradel Holdings Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 108.7 million units for N89.2 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with a turnover of 297.3 million units worth N5.3 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira appreciated further against the United States Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) by N1.50 or 0.09 per cent to close at N1,533.00/$1 on Friday, December 13 versus the N1,534.50/$1 it was transacted on Thursday.
The local currency has continued to benefit from the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) this month.
The implementation of the forex system comes with diverse implications for all segments of the financial markets that deal with FX, including the rebound in the value of the Naira across markets.
The system instantly reflects data on all FX transactions conducted in the interbank market and approved by the CBN.
Market analysts say the publication of real-time prices and buy-sell orders data from this system has lent support to the Naira in the official market and tackled speculation.
In the official market yesterday, the domestic currency improved its value against the Pound Sterling by N12.58 to wrap the session at N1,942.19/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,954.77/£1 and against the Euro, it gained N2.44 to close at N1,612.85/€1 versus Thursday’s closing price of N1,610.41/€1.
At the black market, the Nigerian Naira appreciated against the greenback on Friday by N30 to sell for N1,650/$1 compared with the preceding session’s value of N1,680/$1.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was largely positive as investors banked on recent signals, including fresh support from US President-elect, Mr Donald Trump, as well as interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank (ECB).
Ripple (XRP) added 7.3 per cent to sell at $2.49, Binance Coin (BNB) rose by 3.5 per cent to $728.28, Cardano (ADA) expanded by 2.4 per cent to trade at $1.11, Litecoin (LTC) increased by 2.3 per cent to $122.56, Bitcoin (BTC) gained 1.9 per cent to settle at $101,766.17, Dogecoin (DOGE) jumped by 1.2 per cent to $0.4064, Solana (SOL) soared by 0.7 per cent to $226.15 and Ethereum (ETH) advanced by 0.6 per cent to $3,925.35, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
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