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.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Debt Management Office (DMO) on Monday allotted bonds worth N929.3 billion to investors from the N1.7 trillion bids it received from subscribers.
The exercise, which took place on Monday, July 20, 2026, was oversubscribed by market participants, reflecting the confidence investors have in the government’s ability to redeem the debt instrument on maturity.
On offer for sale for the July auction was N1.2 trillion worth of the FGN bonds, but the DMO allotted below this, despite receiving bids above the offer.
The papers were offered in 10-year, 15-year, and 20-year tenors, at N400 billion each.
For the decade-old note, investors staked N444.47 billion, but the debt office sold N245.73 billion at an 18.34 per cent coupon rate. For the one and a half-decade-old paper, bids valued at N518.00 billion were received by the DMO, with a non-competitive bid of N50.00 billion, with N302.13 billion allotted to investors at 18.40 per cent, and for the two-decade paper, the DMO got competitive bids of N665.19 billion and N381.46 billion was sold to bondholders at 18.35 per cent.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Yemi Cardoso, disclosed that Nigeria’s external reserves had risen to $52.5 billion, enough to finance about nine months of imports.
He disclosed this on Tuesday at the end of the 306th meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) held in Abuja, where the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) retained the benchmark interest rate at 26.50 per cent as well as the standing facilities corridor at +50/-450 basis points around the MPR.
Similarly, the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) was maintained at 45 per cent for Deposit Money Banks, 16 per cent for Merchant Banks, and 75 per cent for non-Treasury Single Account (TSA) public sector deposits.
Speaking on FX developments, the central banker said at the $52 billion level, the country’s external reserves were significantly above the internationally recommended threshold of three months of import cover.
On the Naira exchange rate, Mr Cardoso said the foreign exchange market had deepened and was now operating on a transparent willing-buyer, willing-seller basis.
He said the apex bank remained committed to maintaining a liquid and functional foreign exchange market, adding that daily market turnover sometimes exceeded $1 billion.
According to him, the long-term stability of the naira would depend on key economic fundamentals, including increased oil exports, foreign direct investment, and improved domestic productivity to reduce dependence on imports.
He also added that the MPC welcomed the federal government’s renewed commitment to stronger policy coordination, particularly collaboration between fiscal and monetary authorities, which he said had helped reduce the impact of the Middle East crisis on the Nigerian economy.
Mr Cardoso said members of the committee also commended efforts to improve crude oil production and urged relevant agencies to intensify reforms in other sectors, including solid minerals, to boost government revenue.
On the regulatory forbearance granted to banks during the COVID-19 period, he reiterated that this had been discontinued because it had served its purpose.
According to him, the policy had “outlived its time” and was no longer necessary in assessing the health of the banking sector.
“Forbearance, we felt, had outlived its time. Many of you will recall this is something that came as a result of COVID. And now we are in 2026; we did not see the reason why that should continue to form part of the analysis of the banking system,” he said.
Mr Cardoso explained that banks had begun recalibrating their portfolios following the end of the policy, leading to a temporary reduction in outstanding risk assets.
He, however, assured that the development was part of a transition towards a stronger and more sustainable credit environment.
“It reflects a transition to a more sustainable and better quality credit environment, which is what we all want. We don’t want unanticipated shocks that come in a boom-and-bust fashion,” he said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange extended its recent positive run by 1.17 per cent on Tuesday, July 21, triggered by appreciation seen in four bellwethers.
Leading the pack was FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which added N12.00 to its value to close at N153.15 per share compared with the previous day’s N141.15 per share. NASD Plc appreciated by N1.90 to N36.00 per unit from N34.10 per unit, Food Concepts Plc improved by 23 Kobo to N2.48 per share from N2.25 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc grew by a marginal 1 Kobo to N15.01 per unit from N15.00 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation of the bourse increased by N30.40 billion to N2.637 trillion from Monday’s N2.606 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) gained 50.70 points to finish at 4,393.97 points, in contrast to the 4,343.27 points it ended a day earlier.
The unlisted securities exchange recorded a price loser yesterday, and it was Geo-Fluids Plc, which shed 1 Kobo to settle at N2.30 per share versus N2.31 per share.
During the trading day, the volume of securities traded by market participants on Tuesday dropped 99.4 per cent to 322,147 units from the previous day’s 52.6 million units, the value of securities dipped by 89.8 per cent to N19.4 million from the preceding session’s N191.2 million, and the number of deals contracted by 3.6 per cent to 27 deals from 28 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc ended the day as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units traded for N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 75.4 million units exchanged for N5.3 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million.
