Economy
Nigeria’s Excess Crude Account Remains Static, FAAC Revenue Rises 9.8%
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The balance in Nigeria’s excess crude account (ECA), as of January 17, 2023, stood at $473,754.57, the same amount in the purse as of December 15, 2022, according to an analysis by Business Post.
This was confirmed in a statement issued by the director of information and press at the Ministry of Finance, Mr Phil Abiamuwe-Mowete.
The ECA is an account created to save the extra funds made anytime the country sells crude oil higher than the approved benchmark in the budget. For example, if the crude oil benchmark is $70 per barrel and the commodity sells for $75 per barrel, the excess $5 is saved for rainy days.
In the 2022 budget, the benchmark was $70 per barrel, and in the 2023 appropriation bill, it was raised by the National Assembly to $75 per barrel. Yesterday, the price of Brent crude, which Nigeria’s crude is graded, was sold at $82.84 per barrel in the international market, indicating that Nigeria made an extra $7.84 per barrel.
In the statement, it was disclosed that the distributed revenue generated by the country in December 2022 increased by 9.8 per cent to N990.2 billion from the N902.1 billion recorded in November 2022.
The increase was buoyed by an improvement in revenues from Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT), Companies’ Income Tax (CIT) and VAT, offsetting the decline in import duty.
The N990.2 billion shared last month comprised statutory revenue of N707.756 billion, VAT of N233.277 billion, Exchange Gain of N24.841 billion, and N24.315 billion Electronic Money Transfer Levies (EMTL).
This was disclosed at the meeting of the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) in Abuja, attended by the Commissioners of Finance of the states of the federation.
The money, which was shared by the three tiers of government, was inclusive of Gross Statutory Revenue, Value Added Tax (VAT), Exchange Gain and Electronic Money Transfer Levies (EMTL).
From the amount, the federal government received N375.306 billion, the states received N299.557 billion, the local government councils got N221.807 billion, and the oil-producing states received N93.519 billion as 13 per cent derivation of mineral revenue.
According to a communiqué issued after the gathering, the gross revenue available from VAT was N250.512 billion, which was an increase distributed in the preceding month, with N7.215 billion allocated to the NEDC project, N10.020 billion given the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) as cost of collection, and the balance of N233.277 billion given to the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).
From the VAT earnings, the central government received N34.992 billion, the states received N116.639 billion, and the councils got N81.647 billion.
In the month, the country earned N1.1 trillion as Gross Statutory Revenue, with N31.531 billion removed as cost of collection and N396.896 billion to transfers, savings and refunds, and the balance of N707.756 billion distributed among the tiers of the government.
The federal government took N325.105 billion, states went with N165.897 billion, LGCs got N127.129 billion, and oil-producing states received N90.625 billion.
Also, the sum of N24.315 billion from EMTL was distributed last month, with the national government taking N3.648 billion, states receiving N12.157 billion, and the local councils getting N8.510 billion.
The communiqué further disclosed that N24.841 billion from Exchange Gain was shared, with the federal government receiving N11.562 billion. The states got N5.864 billion, local government councils received N4.521 billion, and oil-producing states had N2.894 billion.
Economy
NGX Seeks Suspension of New Capital Gains Tax
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited is seeking review of the controversial Capital Gains Tax increase, fearing it will chase away foreign investors from the country’s capital market.
Nigeria’s new tax regime, which takes effect from January 1, 2026, represents one of the most significant changes to Nigeria’s tax system in recent years.
Under the new rules, the flat 10 per cent Capital Gains Tax rate has been replaced by progressive income tax rates ranging from zero to 30 per cent, depending on an investor’s overall income or profit level while large corporate investors will see the top rate reduced to 25 per cent as part of a wider corporate tax reform.
The chief executive of NGX, Mr Jude Chiemeka, said in a Bloomberg interview in Kigali, Rwanda that there should be a “removal of the capital gains tax completely, or perhaps deferring it for five years.”
According to him, Nigeria, having a higher Capital Gains Tax, will make investors redirect asset allocation to frontier markets and “countries that have less tax.”
“From a capital flow perspective, we should be concerned because all these international portfolio managers that invest across frontier markets will certainly go to where the cost of investing is not so burdensome,” the CEO said, as per Bloomberg. “That is really the angle one will look at it from.”
Meanwhile, the policy has been defended by the chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, who noted that the new tax will make investing in the capital market more attractive by reducing risks, promoting fairness, and simplifying compliance.
He noted that the framework allows investors to deduct legitimate costs such as brokerage fees, regulatory charges, realised capital losses, margin interest, and foreign exchange losses directly tied to investments, thereby ensuring that they are not taxed when operating at a loss.
Mr Oyedele also said the reforms introduced a more inclusive approach to taxation by exempting several categories of investors and transactions.
Economy
Food Concepts Return NASD OTC Exchange to Danger Zone
By Adedapo Adesanya
Food Concepts Plc neutralized the gains recorded by three securities, returning the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange into the negative territory with a 0.27 per cent loss on Thursday, December 4.
Yesterday, the share price of the parent company of Chicken Republic and PieXpress declined by 34 Kobo to sell at N3.15 per unit compared with the previous day’s N3.49 per unit.
This shrank the market capitalisation of the OTC bourse by N5.72 billion to N2.136 billion from N2.142 trillion and weakened the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 9.57 points to 3,571.53 points from 3,581.10 points.
Business Post reports that Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by 50 Kobo to N38.50 per share from N38.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained 29 Kobo to sell at N55.79 per unit versus N55.50 per unit, and Geo-Fluids Plc added 5 Kobo to close at N4.60 per share compared with Wednesday’s closing price of N4.55 per share.
Trading data indicated that the volume of securities recorded at the session surged by 6,885.3 per cent to 4.3 million units from the 61,570 units posted a day earlier, the value of securities increased by 10,301.7 per cent to N947.2 million from N3.3 million, and the number of deals went up by 146.7 per cent to 37 deals from the 15 deals achieved in the previous trading session.
At the close of business, Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 5.8 billion units for N16.4 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 170.4 million units worth N8.0 billion, and Air Liquide Plc with 507.5 million units valued at N4.2 billion.
InfraCredit Plc also finished the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units transacted for N16.4 billion, followed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.2 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 536.9 million units traded for N524.9 million.
Economy
Investors Gain N97bn from Local Equity Market
By Dipo Olowookere
The upward trend witnessed at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited in recent sessions continued on Thursday as it further improved by 0.10 per cent.
This was despite investor sentiment turning bearish after the local equity market ended with 23 price gainers and 28 price gainers, indicating a negative market breadth index.
UAC Nigeria gained 10.00 per cent to finish at N88.00, Morison Industries appreciated by 9.94 per cent to N3.54, Ecobank rose by 8.53 per cent to N36.90, and Coronation Insurance grew by 8.47 per cent to N2.56.
On the flip side, Ellah Lakes depreciated by 10.00 per cent to N13.14, Eunisell Nigeria also shed 10.00 per cent to finish at N72.90, Transcorp Hotels slipped by 9.95 per cent to N157.50, Omatek shrank by 9.23 per cent to N1.18, and Guinea Insurance dipped by 8.46 per cent to N1.19.
Yesterday, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 152.28 points to 145,476.15 points from 145,323.87 points and the market capitalisation chalked up N97 billion to finish at N92.726 trillion compared with the previous day’s N92.629 trillion.
Customs Street was bubbling with activities on Thursday, though the trading volume and value slightly went down, according to data.
A total of 1.9 billion stocks worth N19.2 billion exchanged hands in 23,369 deals during the session versus the N2.3 billion valued at N21.0 billion traded in 21,513 deals a day earlier.
This showed that the number of deals increased by 8.63 per cent, the volume of transactions depleted by 17.39 per cent, and the value of trades decreased by 8.57 per cent.
For another trading day, eTranzact led the activity chart with 1.6 billion units sold for N6.4 billion, Fidelity Bank traded 31.0 million units worth N589.3 million, GTCO exchanged 28.3 million units valued at N2.5 billion, Zenith Bank transacted 27.1 million units for N1.6 billion, and Ecobank traded 21.9 million units worth N744.3 million.
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