Economy
Nigeria’s GDP to Mutual Fund Assets Ratio Below 1%—Onyema
By Dipo Olowookere
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr Oscar Onyema, has decried the low mutual fund assets to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio of the nation, attributing this to inadequate knowledge of investment products and the benefits for retail investors.
The NSE chief, while delivering his speech at the fourth NSE Market Data Workshop held in Lagos on Wednesday, said it was because of this gap that the exchange was looking to tap into the financial information market, which is believed to worth $50 billion, according to McKinsey estimates.
Mr Onyema informed participants of the event that, “The ratio of mutual fund assets to Nigeria’s GDP is also very low at less than one percent, despite the growth of mutual funds in the country in recent times.”
He further said despite the evolving needs of consumers demanding for financial information globally, Nigeria still has low inclination towards investments, according to a research by FSDH, which reported the savings ratio in Nigeria as one of the lowest among selected countries including China, India, Kenya, Malaysia, South Africa, United Kingdom, and USA.
According to him, “One major reason for this low retail investment appetite is the inadequate knowledge of investment products and the benefits for retail investors.”
He stressed that, “This underscores the importance of creating product offerings that promote diversity in investment, manage risk and make the information readily available to consumers.
“Exchanges and Data vendors are already responding to this increasing demand using new tools for market data products,” the stock market expert added at the workshop covered by Business Post.
At this year’s edition themed Partnerships, Products and the Customer, various speakers invited x-rayed the need for a more inclusive collaboration among capital market players and analyse information in market data and to inform the debate on the challenges of extracting this information from raw data to deliver a data product that is easily consumed to make an informed investment decisions.
As emphasized by Mr Onyema, “At the Nigerian Stock Exchange, we believe in customer centricity and we continue to foster partnerships with local stakeholders across the market, incorporating new technologies and expertise to drive market data by-products like derivatives and other structured products such as the Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).”
“These structured products, which are based on the accuracy of the underlying stock prices, are being used by a broader set of professional users than those who participate on the stock exchange directly – to advise, monitor and/or validate transactions after they are executed.”
Continuing, he said, “As an organization known for best practices, we are also adding new practices to our culture. We are taking on bold new initiatives to change the Capital Market narrative in partnership with our peers within the wider financial industry, we can say with all certainty – the future is bright!”
Other speakers at the event were Dr Mary Akinyemi, a Lecturer in the Department of Mathematics, University of Lagos; Ifeyinwa Kojo, the Country Sales Lead at Hewlett Packard; Mr Ramon Alayande, the Team Lead/Manager, Asset Management Implementation Support at InfoWARE Limited; Ms Osadare Eniola, the Business Development Manager at InfoWARE Limited; Mr Olufemi, the Head of Market Services at the NSE; amongst others.
Economy
BNB Price Reflects Changing Dynamics in the Digital Asset Market
Economy
NASD Unlisted Security Index Crosses 4,000-point Benchmark Again
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange achieved a milestone on Friday, April 24, 2026, after five securities on the platform helped with a 1.85 per cent growth.
Data showed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) again crossed the 4,000-point benchmark yesterday.
The index chalked up 73.64 points during the trading day to close at 4,052.59 points compared with the preceding session’s 3,978.95 points, while the market capitalisation added N5.38 billion to finish at N2.424 trillion versus Thursday’s closing value of N2.380 trillion.
The price gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc, which grew by N25.00 to sell at N305.00 per share compared with the previous price of N280.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N6.92 to close at N76.26 per unit versus N69.34 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by N1.00 to N17.00 per share from N18.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 55 Kobo to N99.55 per unit from N99.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 5 Kobo to N2.70 per share from N2.65 per share.
However, there was a price loser, MRS Oil, which dipped by N21.75 to N195.75 per unit from N217.50 per unit.
During the final session of the week, the value of securities jumped 75.2 per cent to N41.3 million from N23.6 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 62.9 per cent to 44 deals from 27 deals, while the volume of securities declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to 447,403 units from 451,522 units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
GNI was also the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units transacted for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Economy
Naira Slips to N1,358/$1 as FX Reserves, Policy Uncertainty Concerns
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira in the currency market on Friday, April 24, as its value depreciated against the major foreign currencies at the close of transactions.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), it lost N4.53 or 0.33 per cent against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,358.44/$1, in contrast to the N1,353.91/$1 it was exchanged on Thursday.
Equally, the domestic currency slipped against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.14 to close at N1,834.02/£1, compared with the previous rate of N1,825.88/£1 and dropped N8.01 against the Euro to sell at N1,590.73/€1 versus N1,582.72/€1.
Also, the Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX desk on Friday by N4 to quote at N1,370/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366/$1, and at the parallel market, it depleted by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the preceding day’s N1,375/$1.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that NFEM interbank turnover surged to N43.562 million across 68 deals, up from N28.117 million the previous day.
Despite the CBN’s reassurance that the recent drop in external reserves is not worrisome, the market remains unsettled by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market as gross reserves continue to decline to $48.4 billion.
The outlook for the Dollar appears supported by broader macro risks, including elevated oil prices tied to the tanker traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a continued US-Iran standoff over ceasefire negotiations.
A look at the digital currency market showed that investors are sitting on the edge as the US Dollar rebounded amid geopolitical and inflation risks despite continued inflows into US spot bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Solana (SOL) rose by 1.2 per cent to sell $86.45, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $0.2517, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0989, Ripple (XRP) improved by 0.3 per cent to $1.43, Ethereum (ETH) soared by 0.2 per cent to $2,316.83, and Binance Coin (BNB) chalked up 0.1 per cent to sell for $637.44.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $0.3235, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.2 per cent to close at $77,562.27, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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