Economy
Nigeria to Raise Output as OPEC+ Okays Increase in Supply
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria, a member of the oil-producing countries under the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, will increase its output for the next three months.
The country, which is Africa’s largest crude producing nation, will join the 23-nation alliance to boost supply by not more than 500,000 barrels per day in May, June and July 2021.
The decision comes amid expectations before the meeting that the bloc would err on the side of caution as fear over the third wave of COVID-19 pandemic spread across Europe.
On Thursday, April 1, members of the group had a meeting to discuss the market and how supply can be monitored.
Under its current agreement, the OPEC+ alliance is enforcing drastic cuts in production, meaning seven million barrels that could be shipped to markets every day are being left in the ground.
Market analysts had widely tipped OPEC+ to roll over the production cuts for another month, especially as more nations are experiencing an upswing in coronavirus cases.
Saudi Arabia and Russia Views
Addressing reporters after the meeting, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdelaziz bin Salman stressed that the decision could still be “tweaked” in the alliance’s monthly meetings.
Before the meeting, Prince Abdelaziz said that “the reality remains that the global picture is far from even, and the recovery is far from complete”.
Prince Salman praised the OPEC+ alliance nations for more than fulfilling their commitments to restrain output.
In addition, Saudi Arabia has volunteered to cut its own output by one million barrels per day to help avoid oversupplying a market suffering from a collapse in demand due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The cuts were aimed at avoiding limited storage capacity and to help support prices that crossed the $60 per barrel mark last month.
Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Alexander Novak was more optimistic in his opening comments.
“The evolution of the vaccination campaign is making progress and allows us to look towards the future with optimism, even if, of course, we shouldn’t forget that there remain many uncertainties ahead.
“We also note that the economy continues to improve,” he added.
However, with Europe returning to lockdown and infections sweeping through India, a country that until the pandemic was an important source of demand growth, experts are now seeing a slower recovery for the crude market.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) reflected this more downbeat outlook in forecasts contained in its last report this month.
It estimated that global demand could take another two years to get back to its pre-crisis levels.
Latest OPEC+ Compliance for February 2021
Overall OPEC+ compliance stood at 113 per cent in February, up from 103 per cent in January, the highest compliance that the group has delivered since the start of the current output restraint agreement in May 2020.
The group’s 10 participating OPEC countries, including Nigeria and excluding Iran, Venezuela, and Libya, were 124 per cent compliant in February, also the highest level since the start of the agreement, up from 108 per cent in January, while the nine Non-OPEC participants were 94 per cent compliant, down from 95 per cent in the previous month.
Non-OPEC members’ collective compliance has hovered just a little below 100 per cent in each month since the start of the agreement. They got closest to full compliance in August when they delivered 99 per cent of their pledged cuts.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The federal government has been asked by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to suspend the implementation of the controversial tax laws.
In a reaction to the tax reform acts, the president of the group, Mr Afam Osigwe (SAN), the suspension of the laws would allow for a proper investigation into allegations of alterations in the gazetted and harmonised copies.
A member of the House of Representatives, Mr Abdussamad Dasuki, alleged that some parts of the laws passed by the parliament were different from the gazetted copy.
To address the issues raised, the NBA said it is “imperative that a comprehensive, open, and transparent investigation be conducted to clarify the circumstances surrounding the enactment of the laws and to restore public confidence in the legislative process.”
“Until these issues are fully examined and resolved, all plans for the implementation of the Tax Reform Acts should be immediately suspended,” the association declared.
It noted that the controversies “raise grave concerns about the integrity, transparency, and credibility of Nigeria’s legislative process.”
“These developments strike at the very heart of constitutional governance and call into question the procedural sanctity that must attend lawmaking in a democratic society,” it noted.
“Legal and policy uncertainty of this magnitude has far-reaching consequences. It unsettles the business environment, erodes investor confidence, and creates unpredictability for individuals, businesses, and institutions required to comply with the law. Such uncertainty is inimical to economic stability and should have no place in a system governed by the rule of law.
“Nigeria’s constitutional democracy demands that laws, especially those with profound economic and social implications, emerge from processes that are transparent, accountable, and beyond reproach. Anything short of this undermines public trust and weakens the foundation upon which lawful governance rests.
“We therefore call on all relevant authorities to act swiftly and responsibly in addressing this controversy, in the overriding interest of constitutional order, economic stability, and the preservation of the rule of law,” the organisation stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Demand for hot stocks, including MRS Oil Plc, buoyed the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.52 per cent on Tuesday, December 23.
The energy company was one of the three price gainers for the session as it chalked up N19.69 to sell at N216.59 per share versus the previous day’s value of N196.90 per share.
Further, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained N2.95 to close at N56.75 per unit versus N53.80 per unit and Golden Capital Plc appreciated by 84 Kobo to N9.29 per share from Monday’s N8.45 per share.
Consequently, the market capitalisation went up by N10.95 billion to N2.125 trillion from N2.125 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rose by 18.31 points to 3,570.37 points from 3,552.06 points.
Yesterday, the NASD bourse recorded a price loser, the Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS), which gave up 17 Kobo to close at N33.70 per unit against the previous trading value of N33.87 per unit.
The volume of securities traded at the session went down by 97.6 per cent to 297,902 units from the previous day’s 12.6 million units, the value of securities decreased by 98.5 per cent to N10.5 million from N713.6 million, and the number of deals remained flat at 32 deals.
By value, Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc ended as the most actively traded stock on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units exchanged for N16.4 billion. This was followed by Okitipupa Plc, which traded 178.9 million units valued at N9.5 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 36.1 million units worth N4.9 billion.
In terms of volume, also on a year-to-date basis, InfraCredit Plc led the chart with a turnover of 5.8 billion units traded for N16.4 billion. Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc ranked second with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.7 million, while Impresit Bakolori Plc followed with the sale of 536.9 million units valued at N524.9 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
It was another bullish trading session for the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited as it closed higher by 0.59 per cent on Tuesday.
The market further rallied due to continued interest in large and mid-cap stocks on the exchange by investors rebalancing their portfolios for the year-end.
Yesterday, Aluminium Extrusion sustained its upward trajectory after it further appreciated by 9.96 per cent to N14.90, as Austin Laz gained 9.81 per cent to close at N2.91, Custodian Investment improved by 9.69 per cent to N38.50, and First Holdco soared by 9.35 per cent to N50.30.
Conversely, Royal Exchange declined by 7.22 per cent to N1.80, Champion Breweries shrank by 6.57 per cent to N15.65, NASCON lost 5.36 per cent to trade at N105.05, Sovereign Trust Insurance depreciated by 5.28 per cent to N3.77, and Japaul went down by 4.51 per cent to N2.33.
At the close of business, 29 shares ended on the gainers’ table and 27 shares finished on the losers’ log, representing a positive market breadth index and bullish investor sentiment.
This raised the All-Share Index (ASI) by 895.06 points to 153,354.13 points from 152,459.07 points and lifted the market capitalisation by N579 billion to N97.772 trillion from the previous day’s N97.193 trillion.
VFD Group finished the day as the busiest stock after it recorded a turnover of 192.0 million units worth N2.1 billion, GTCO exchanged 63.5 million units valued at N5.6 billion, Access Holdings traded 49.8 million units for N1.0 billion, First Holdco sold 45.8 million units valued at N2.3 billion, and Secure Electronic Technology transacted 38.3 million units worth N28.4 million.
In all, market participants bought and sold 677.4 million units valued at N20.8 billion in 27,589 deals compared with the 451.5 million units worth N13.0 billion traded in 33,327 deals on Monday, showing an improvement in the trading volume and value by 50.03 per cent and 60.00 per cent apiece, and a shortfall in the number of deals by 17.22 per cent.
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