Economy
NSE Eyes 2020 for Demutualization, Writes SEC for No Objection
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has reiterated its commitment to becoming a demutualized exchange very soon. This disclosure was made by the National Council President of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Otunba Abimbola Ogunbanjo, in an exclusive chat with Business Post on Monday, September 30, 2019.
Mr Ogunbanjo expressed his desire to ensure that the exchange was listed on its trading platform, allowing many Nigerians to be part of the organisation, which is said would be a good development.
In his chat with us, he said with the progress being made, this long-awaited demutualisation should happen in 2020, noting that the process was in an advanced stage.
He said, “By this time next year, we will be a demutualized exchange and we will be making good money for the people of Nigeria.”
He, however, noted that this was subject to the approval of members at a meeting, hinting that this could hold anytime soon.
“Hopefully, in the next coming weeks we will take another meeting to get our members to approve the new entity called Nigerian Stock Exchange Limited,” he said.
He expressed hopes that the exchange could make it pass the hurdle that has been holding the exchange from listing its shares.
Also, on Monday, at the 58th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of NSE in Lagos, CEO of the exchange, Mr Oscar Onyema, noted that the exchange had made significant progress as regard its demutualization.
“We have gone ahead, completed and submitted the documentation to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the no-objection.
“When we get approval for the no-objection, we will have a meeting with members to get their final vote and when we get their final vote, we then resubmit a formal application to the SEC to complete the demutualization process.
He also said the exchange will be registered appropriately with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
Business Post reports that in late 2018, President Muhammadu Buhari signed into law the bill to demutualise the stock exchange.
The demutualisation of the nation’s bourse allows it to be publicly quoted, opening up the capital market and as well make it conform to global best practices and more attractive to investors.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) has introduced a 1.5 per cent stamp duty on eligible virtual asset transactions, with the tax deducted directly from the cryptocurrency purchased before it is credited to the buyer’s wallet.
According to the new guidelines issued on Monday, anyone buying Bitcoin (BTC), USDT or other cryptocurrencies in Nigeria will receive fewer digital assets due to the deduction.
This requires registered crypto exchanges and other Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) to withhold the levy in the digital asset being traded and remit it to the government, marking Nigeria’s most comprehensive move yet to bring cryptocurrency transactions into the country’s tax net.
Unlike traditional taxes deducted from a customer’s bank account, the 1.5 per cent charge will be taken from the cryptocurrency itself, meaning buyers will receive less Bitcoin, USDT or other tokens than they paid for.
The tax body stated that “income tax deducted at source and stamp duty shall be remitted to the service in the originating token of the transaction.”
Besides the new stamp duty, the guidelines also clarify how income tax, Value Added Tax (VAT) and other tax obligations will apply to virtual asset activities such as trading, staking, mining and other crypto-related transactions.
To illustrate the new rule, the tax authority said a buyer who pays N1 million for one Bitcoin will receive only 0.985 BTC after 0.015 BTC is deducted as stamp duty and remitted to the government. When that Bitcoin is later sold, the next buyer will also have 1.5 per cent deducted from the cryptocurrency credited to their wallet.
The NRS said the guidelines are intended to provide clarity for taxpayers, crypto exchanges, peer-to-peer (P2P) marketplace operators, financial institutions, tax consultants and all participants in Nigeria’s virtual asset ecosystem.
According to the guidelines, the 1.5 per cent duty applies to eligible virtual asset transactions facilitated through registered exchanges and other recognised intermediaries. Where a cryptocurrency is used to complete a transaction that already attracts stamp duty under the law, the applicable duty on the underlying instrument will also be payable.
For crypto users, the implication is higher transaction costs, as eligible purchases will attract the 1.5 per cent stamp duty, while VAT on exchange service fees and income tax on taxable gains may also apply, depending on the nature of the transaction.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira opened the week on a positive note, as it appreciated against the US Dollar by N3.39 or 0.25 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Monday, August 3, to N1,364.83/$1 from N1,368.22/$1 last Friday.
However, it suffered a marginal decline against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by 10 Kobo to close at N1,837.89/£1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,837.79/£1, and lost 6 Kobo on the Euro to sell at N1,573.93/€1, in contrast to the previous trading day’s N1,573.87/€1.
At the black market segment, the Nigerian currency traded flat against the Dollar yesterday at N1,405/$1, and at the GTBank forex counter, it was unchanged at N1,374/$1.
Interbank FX transactions increased sharply as market makers’ activities raised total Dollar volume exchanged to $137.048 million, more than 132 per cent above $58.990 million in turnover at the previous close. The surge in turnover was driven by increased deals at the NFEM window. The central bank reported that deal count at the interbank FX window rose to 138 from 67 on Friday.
As for the cryptocurrency market, major tokens advanced despite ongoing uncertainty around unresolved Coldcard wallet sweeps that have drained hundreds of Bitcoin (BTC), while traders are watching whether bitcoin can hold above $63,000 through the US session. BTC rose by 1.70 per cent to $63,765.88.
Bitcoin treasury firm Strategy disclosed Monday it sold 1,638 bitcoin for about $105 million between July 27 and Aug. 2, its third sale of 2026, per an SEC filing.
Also, an attacker has moved about 1,816 bitcoins, or roughly $114 million, from more than 5,200 addresses since July 30 in a fourth wave of sweeps targeting BTC in Coldcard-generated addresses.
Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 6.7 per cent to $0.1959, Binance Coin (BNB) gained 1.5 per cent to sell for $590.82, Solana (SOL) jumped by 1.3 per cent to $73.72, TRON (TRX) soared by 0.9 per cent to $0.3286, Dogecoin (DOGE) also grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0703, Ripple (XRP) advanced by 0.5 per cent to $1.07, and Ethereum (ETH) rose by 0.4 per cent to $1,863.33, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.
By Dipo Olowookere
Bearish investor sentiment on Monday could not keep the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited in the red territory, as the bourse closed higher by 0.18 per cent.
According to data from Customs Street, there were 25 price gainers and 38 price losers, indicating a negative market breadth index.
Eterna expanded by 10.00 per cent to quote at N36.30, Caverton also improved by 10.00 per cent to N5.50, Omatek soared by 9.88 per cent to trade at N1.78, AVA Capital grew by 9.70 per cent to N9.05, and Vitafoam Nigeria appreciated by 7.90 per cent to N194.00.
Conversely, Ecobank declined by 9.95 per cent to N80.10, Cadbury Nigeria went down by 9.92 per cent to N58.10, Thomas Wyatt slumped by 9.82 per cent to N3.95, Coronation Insurance depreciated by 9.80 per cent to N2.30, and CMFC dipped by 9.79 per cent to N3.50.
Yesterday, market participants transacted 923.0 million stocks for N37.9 billion in 72,544 deals compared with the 943.0 million stocks worth N46.7 billion traded in 55,480 deals last Friday.
This indicated that the number of deals increased by 30.76 per cent, the trading volume shrank by 2.12 per cent, and the trading value dropped 18.84 per cent.
Access Holdings was the most active equity on the first trading day of this week and month, with a turnover of 166.6 million units worth N4.4 billion. Honeywell Flour sold 93.6 million units for N1.6 billion, Sterling Holdco exchanged 57.1 million units valued at N455.4 million, Universal Insurance traded 51.8 million units worth N45.8 million, and Chams transacted 33.8 million units valued at N152.5 million.
But when trading activities ended for the session, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 446.85 points to 245,730.53 points from 245,283.68 points, and the market capitalisation jumped by N289 billion to N158.615 trillion from N158.326 trillion.
