Economy
NGX Hails Flour Mills, Dangote Cement’s Leadership in Sustainability Reporting
By Dipo Olowookere
The quintet of Lafarge Africa, Dangote Cement, Seplat Energy, Flour Mills of Nigeria and Courteville Business Solutions has been commended by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited for demonstrating leadership in sustainability reporting.
According to the Chief Executive Officer of the exchange, Mr Temi Popoola, the fivesome has made use of the Facts Behind the Sustainability Report platform of the bourse to promote transparency in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) disclosures by showcasing the sustainability performance and reporting.
Speaking on Thursday at the digital closing gong ceremony organised by NGX in celebration of the 2022 World Environment Day themed Only One Earth, Mr Popoola called on businesses to adopt sustainable business practices and report sustainability performance to stakeholders to promote inclusivity in transformational initiatives for the economy and society.
In his opening remarks, he noted that the critical roles required of the private sector in actualising the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement now enjoy some clarity and as such businesses would need to incorporate environmental and social factors into their operations and activities.
He stated that the Facts Behind the Sustainability Report platform was designed to “mainstream the adoption of sustainability reporting amongst listed companies so as to increase the availability of decision-useful ESG data that investors can utilize in making investment decisions.”
The NGX chief said to encourage others, it was necessary to “celebrate companies that have demonstrated leadership in sustainability reporting by leveraging the NGX Facts Behind Sustainability Report platform for good reason.”
“Our commendation goes to the Boards and Executive Management of Courteville Business Solutions Plc, Dangote Cement Plc, Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc, Lafarge Africa Plc and Seplat Energy Plc who have leveraged the Facts Behind the Sustainability Report platform since the platform was launched in 2019”, he added.
Mr Popoola reaffirmed NGX’s commitment to fostering the growth of long-term sustainable finance, toward combatting climate change and environmental concerns across Africa as well as upscaling its platforms to advance sustainable development in new ways that reflect the risks and opportunities presented by climate change and the SDGs.
In his remarks, the Country CEO, Lafarge Africa Plc, Mr Khaled El Dokani, who was represented by Lolu Akinyemi, Chief Finance Officer and Executive Director, highlighted some strategies deployed by Lafarge Africa towards providing sustainable building solutions, creating a zero-waste initiative, implementing sustainable manufacturing, utilizing renewable energy and deploying rail transportation for distribution of products to end-users, thereby reducing carbon emissions.
“We are at the forefront of demonstrating sustainable behaviour at Lafarge Africa Plc,” he said.
On his part, the CEO of Dangote Cement, Mr Michel Puchercos, also represented by Mr Guillaume Moyen, Group Financial Officer, stressed the need for collective efforts in prioritising the environment.
As for the Group Managing Director of Courteville Business Solutions, Dr Adebola Akindele, he discussed initiatives embarked on to align his organisation with the SDG goals, such as setting up a social capital management team that trains stakeholders on sustainable business practices, workplace diversity, and cultural background and language. He further suggested the introduction of active carbon trading equipment for motorists to regulate vehicular carbon emissions.
Additionally, Mr Omoboyede Olusanya, GMD/CEO of Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc, represented by Mr Sadiq Usman, Director, Group Strategy & Stakeholder Relations, identified initiatives embarked on by his company that promote sustainable supply chain management, where operations have been aligned with product sustainability themes.
“Beyond installing capacity banks, sustainability initiatives around recycling to save N250 million in product packaging have been introduced to our operations,” he said.
By Dipo Olowookere
About 0.04 per cent was recovered on Friday from the loss recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) the previous due to profit-taking.
Yesterday, investors were in the market with renewed vigour, mopping up stocks trading at relatively cheaper prices.
According to data, the insurance counter gained 0.41 per cent, the banking sector appreciated by 0.38 per cent, and the consumer goods index grew by 0.14 per cent.
The gains achieved by these three sectors were enough to lift Customs Street at the close of business despite the 0.26 per cent decline printed by the industrial goods segment and the 0.14 per cent loss suffered by the energy industry. The commodity counter was flat during the session.
A total of 43 equities gained weight on the last trading day of this week, while 26 equities shed weight, indicating a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
Red Star Express increased its share price by 10.00 per cent to N13.20, NCR Nigeria grew by 9.97 per cent to N128.55, SCOA Nigeria inflated by 9.96 per cent to N14.90, Omatek appreciated by 9.94 per cent to N1.77, and Deap Capital expanded by 9.85 per cent to N4.46.
On the flip side, McNichols decreased by 8.81 per cent to N6.00, Legend Internet crumbled by 7.56 per cent to N5.50, Cornerstone Insurance crashed by 6.48 per cent to N6.35, C&I Leasing contracted by 6.29 per cent to N8.20, and Austin Laz slipped by 5.78 per cent to N3.75.
Yesterday, 539.9 million shares valued at N16.7 billion were transacted in 48,023 deals versus the 1.0 billion shares worth N31.6 billion executed in 51,227 deals in the preceding day, implying a shrink in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 46.01 per cent, 47.15 per cent, and 6.26 per cent apiece.
Zenith Bank was the most active for the day with 54.6 million stocks sold for N3.8 billion, Jaiz Bank traded 41.5 million units worth N359.4 million, Secure Electronic Technology transacted 37.7 million units valued at N39.2 million, Access Holdings exchanged 30.5 million units for N699.2 million, and Lasaco Assurance transacted 27.2 million units worth N68.3 million.
When the market closed for the day, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 72.21 points to 166,129.50 points from 166,057.29 points and the market capitalisation gained N31 billion to N106.354 trillion from N106.323 trillion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was a positive ending for the Naira this week after it further appreciated against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, January 16 by N1.33 or 0.09 per cent to sell for N1,417.95/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,419.28/$1.
The domestic currency also gained N2.41 against the Euro in the official market to close at N1,647.51/€1 versus the preceding session’s closing price of N1,649.92/€1, however, it suffered a N7.97 loss against the Pound Sterling in the same market window to trade at N1,901.32/£1, in contrast to Thursday’s closing price of N1,893.35/£1.
In the same vein, the Nigerian Naira depleted against the Dollar at the GTBank FX counter by N2 to quote at N1,427/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,425/$1, but strengthened against the greenback at the black market yesterday by N5 to settle at N1,485/$1 versus the N1,490/$1 it was exchanged a day earlier.
Improved supply conditions helped keep the market within range as exporters’ and importers’ inflows in addition to non-bank corporate supply enhanced liquidity as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) made no visible intervention.
Stronger external inflows from foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) and improving current account dynamics, continue to align with structural support in the wider economy.
Nigeria has seen projections of a stronger economic or gross domestic product (GDP) growth and lower inflation in 2026, with these forecasts citing improved macroeconomic fundamentals and reform impacts.
As for the cryptocurrency market, it was mixed following selloff in precious metals and lower US stocks appeared to be denting crypto sentiment.
Gold and silver, both of which also enjoyed big rallies earlier this week, tumbled 1.2 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively while key US stock indexes — the Nasdaq, S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average — all reversed from early gains to modest losses in Friday trade.
Dogecoin (DOGE) shrank by 2.2 per cent to $0.1370, Ripple (XRP) slipped by 0.8 per cent to $2.05, Ethereum (ETH) went down by 0.7 per cent to $3,228.56, and Bitcoin (BTC) slumped by 0.6 per cent to $95,086.80.
Conversely, Litecoin (LTC) appreciated by 3.2 per cent to $74.48, Solana (SOL) rose by 0.4 per cent to $143.70, Cardano (ADA) jumped by 0.2 per cent to $0.3942, and Binance Coin (BNB) increased by 0.1 per cent to $935.88, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil prices settled higher amid lingering worries about a possible US military strike against Iran, a decision that may still occur over the weekend.
Brent crude settled at $64.13 a barrel after going up by 37 cents or 0.58 per cent and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude finished at $59.44 a barrel after it gained 25 cents or 0.42 per cent.
The US Navy’s aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln was expected to arrive in the Persian Gulf next week after operating in the South China Sea.
Market analysts noted that it doesn’t seem likely anything will happen soon. However, the weekends have become the perfect time for actions so as not offset the markets.
The market had risen after protests flared up in Iran and US President Donald Trump signalled the potential for military strikes, but lost over 4 per cent on Thursday as the American president said Iran’s crackdown on the protesters was easing, allaying concerns of possible military action that could disrupt oil supplies.
Iran produces approximately 3.2 million barrels per day, accounting for roughly 4 per cent of global crude production, so it was not a coincidence that markets rallied sharply through Tuesday and Wednesday as President Trump canceled meetings with Iranian officials and posted that “help is on its way” to Iranian protesters, raising fears of potential US military strikes that sent prices surging toward multi-month highs.
Weighing against those fears are potential supply increases from Venezuela.
The Trump administration is exploring plans to swap heavy Venezuelan crude for US medium sour barrels that can actually go straight into Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) caverns, since not all all oil belongs in the reserve.
According to Reuters, the Department of Energy is considering moving Venezuelan heavy crude into commercial storage at the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, while US producers deliver medium sour crude into the SPR in exchange.
Analysts expect higher supply this year, potentially creating a ceiling for the geopolitical risk premium on prices.
Some investors covered short positions ahead of the three-day Martin Luther King holiday weekend in the US.
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