Economy
Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company, Others Weaken NASD by 0.11%
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) failed to sustain the growth for the fourth consecutive session on Friday as it depreciated by 0.11 per cent on the back of poor performance by four companies on the platform.
This weakened the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 0.82 points to wrap the session at 742.70 points compared with 743.52 points recorded at the previous session.
It also dragged the market capitalisation of the exchange downwards by N700 million to N645.54 billion from N646.24 billion of the preceding trading day.
Business Post reports that the four declining stocks of yesterday were FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc, Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC) Plc, Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Group Plc and UBN Property Plc
Friesland lost N5 or 4.2 per cent to settle at N120 per share compared with Thursday’s N125 per share, while NMRC Plc depreciated by 58 kobo or 11.1 per cent to trade at N5.24 per unit versus the previous day’s N5.82 per unit.
In addition, NGX Group Plc went down by 23 kobo or 1.7 per cent to N13.36 per share from N13.59 per share, while UBN Property Plc fell by 9 kobo or 10 per cent to 90 kobo per unit from the previous closing price of 99 kobo per unit.
However, there were two price gainers at the trading session and they were Central Securities Clearing Systems (CSCS) Plc and NASD Plc, which has seen an uptrend lately.
CSCS Plc appreciated by 99 kobo or 5.82 per cent to settle at N17.99 per unit compared with N17.00 per unit it traded at the previous day, while NASD Plc gained 69 kobo or 6.62 per cent to sell for N11.11 per share in contrast to N10.42 per share of the last trading session.
Yesterday, the volume of securities transacted by investors rose by 121.9 per cent to 3.5 million units from the 1.6 million units of the preceding session, while the value of shares traded increased by 88.7 per cent to N53.9 million from N28.6 million, with the number of deals rising by 115.8 per cent to 41 deals from the 19 deals executed at the preceding session.
At the close of transactions, Geo Fluids Plc was the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.0 billion units of its shares traded for N700.1 million, followed by NGX Group Plc with 450.9 million units worth N9.1 billion, and Food Concepts Plc with 297.5 million units valued at N387.8 million.
In terms of value, NGX Group Plc was the most active stock on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 450.9 million units worth N9.1 billion. VFD Group Plc remained in the second spot with 10.4 million units of its securities valued at N3.5 billion, while the third spot was maintained by Friesland for selling 8.5 million units worth N1.1 billion.
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.
