Economy
NGX Index Maintains Upward Trajectory Despite Mild Profit-Taking
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited sustained its winning streak for the fourth consecutive trading day on Thursday, rising by 0.07 per cent despite mild profit-taking in most sectors of the bourse.
It was observed that the upward trajectory maintained by Customs Street during the session was buoyed by bargain-hunting in the banking space, which marginally improved by 0.21 per cent.
Business Post reports that the insurance sector depreciated by 1.05 per cent, the consumer goods counter fell by 0.06 per cent, and the industrial goods index went down by 0.02 per cent, while the energy sector closed flat.
When the closing gong sounded by 2:30 pm yesterday, signifying the end of trading activities for the session, the All-Share Index (ASI) was slightly up by 46.27 points to 70,819.58 points from 70,773.31 points, and the market capitalisation was up by N26 billion to N38.911 trillion from N38.885 trillion.
Investor sentiment turned bearish on Thursday after the market breadth index was negative due to the exchange closing with 27 price losers and 26 price gainers.
UPDC gained 9.91 per cent to close at N1.22, Mecure rose by 9.85 per cent to N3.57, SCOA Nigeria improved by 9.73 per cent to N1.24, Japaul increased by 9.58 per cent to N1.83, and UAC Nigeria appreciated by 8.47 per cent to N16.00.
Conversely, VFD Group lost 10.00 per cent to quote at N184.50, Multiverse depreciated by 9.37 per cent to N2.90, The Initiates shed 9.35 per cent to settle at 97 Kobo, Regency Alliance went down by 8.57 per cent to 32 Kobo, and DAAR Communications dropped 8.33 per cent to close at 22 Kobo.
Japaul ended the trading session as the busiest stock with a turnover of 113.0 million units valued at N208.6 million, Stanbic IBTC traded 96.9 million units worth N6.8 billion, UBA sold 75.2 million units for N1.6 billion, FBN Holdings exchanged 42.7 million units worth N849.8 million, and Fidelity Bank transacted 34.7 million units valued at N319.1 million.
According to data from the bourse, a total of 569.2 million equities worth N16.8 billion exchanged hands in 6,169 deals yesterday versus the 558.3 million equities worth N9.8 billion transacted in 6,401 deals in the midweek session, showing a decline in the number of deals by 3.62 per cent, a rise in the trading volume by 1.95 per cent, and a surge in the trading value by 71.43 per cent.
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.
