Economy
NSE: Investors Lose N150b as Buhari Declares 2019 Re-election Bid

By Dipo Olowookere
Investors trading in Nigerian stocks lost N149.7 billion on Monday as President Muhammadu Buhari declared his intention to seek re-election in the 2019 presidential election.
Mr Buhari had left many guessing if he would eventually throw his hat into the ring, but today, he put that into rest, announcing that he would want to remain in Aso Rock till 2023, when he would be expected to leave if he is finally elected by Nigerians in March 2019.
However, investors in the Nigerian capital market received this news with mixed feelings and by the time market activities were brought to an end on Monday, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) depreciated by 1.01 percent, shrinking the year-to-date returns to 5.72 percent.
The All-Share Index (ASI) went down by 411.96 points to settle at 40,429.18 points, while the market capitalisation reduced by N149.7 billion to close at N14.604 trillion.
Business Post reports that the market fell on Monday mainly as a result of price depreciation recorded by stocks in the banking, industrial goods and consumer goods sectors, which investors offloaded from their portfolios.
Today, Lafarge Africa Plc released its 2017 earnings, which fell short of what investors were expecting, especially with a N35 billion loss the cement maker declared.
In addition, investors were not happy with the cash dividend of N1.50k proposed by the board of Lafarge and they consequently punished the stock by offloading it.
At the end of the day, the market recorded 31 price losers and 17 price gainers, leaving the market breadth to close negative.
Unilever was the biggest price loser at the stock market today, going down by N4.80k to settle at N55 per share.
It was followed by Lafarge, which lost N3.20k of its share value to finish at N41 per share, and Dangote Cement, which fell by N2.90k to close at N252 per share.
Guinness Nigeria went down by N1 to end at N103 per share, while Dangote Flour decreased by 65k to settle at N13.15k per share.
On the flip side, GlaxoSmithKline emerged the biggest price gainer, going up by N1 to close at N30 per share.
It was trailed by CCNN, which appreciated by 20k to settle at N18 per share, and Champion Breweries, which also improved by 20k to close at N2.48k per share.
Axa Mansard grew by 12k to end at N2.52k per share, while Fidson also increased by 12k to settle at N5.80k per share.
Business Post’s Dipo Olowookere reports that the volume transactions recorded today decreased by 42.82 percent, while the value went down by 15.37 percent.
A total of 287 million shares were sold at the market on Monday in 4,285 deals worth N4.9 billion in contrast to the 502 million equities exchanged last Friday in 6,108 deals valued at N5.9 billion.
Trading was dominated by banking stocks with FBN Holdings emerging investors’ toast after selling 30 million units worth N359 million.
It was followed by Skye Bank, which traded 23 million shares valued at N15 million, and FCMB, which exchanged 23 million shares for N53.9 million.
Zenith Bank traded 22.5 million units valued at N606.9 million, while Nigerian Breweries sold 20.6 million worth N2.6 billion.
Economy
Secure Electronic Technology Seeks Approval to Merge Every Four Shares Into One

By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Secure Electronic Technology (SET) Plc is planning to reconstruct its shares at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited by merging four stocks into one.
However, this exercise is subject to the approval of shareholders of the company and the board is proposing an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) to be held on or before April 17, 2025.
Business Post reports that the decision to reconstruct the shares of the organisation was reached at the board meeting of the firm on Friday, MArch 7, 2025.
In a notice to the stock exchange, SET Plc said it was agreed that the proposed share reconstruction and recapitalisation of the company shall be by way of one or a combination of the following; an offer for subscription, rights offering or private placement, upon terms agreed by both parties under the definitive agreement.
It further said, “The issued and share capital of the company be reduced from N2,815,770,000, represented by 1,407,885,000 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each, subject to the approval of the Federal High Court, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and relevant regulatory authorities.”
“This restructuring share result in the cancellation of 4,223,655,000 units of shares and the portion of the share capital cancelled, being valued at N2,111,827,500 be transferred to a special reconstruction reserve,” it noted.
The disclosure also said, “There shall be a proportional upward adjustment in the share price of SET on the NGX to be reflected after the conversion, so that the value of one converted share shall be equal to the market price of four pre-reconstruction shares, and at the end of the reconstruction, SET market capitalisation and each shareholder’s percentage holding shall remain unchanged.”
The company emphasised that it would “consolidate its issued shares at a basis of 1 for 4 ratio, meaning every four shares of SET Plc currently held by a shareholder shall be converted to one share and shareholdings that result in fractional shares post-reconstruction shall be rounded up to the nearest whole number.”
It was disclosed that this exercise was suggested by Gamma Civic Limited, a part of Gamma Group, a company listed on the Mauritius Stock Exchange and represented by Cruzan Investment Limited, a company incorporated in Nigerian under the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020.
Economy
FrieslandCampina Wamco Weakens NASD OTC Exchange by 0.06%

By Adedapo Adesanya
FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc brought down the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.06 per cent on Wednesday, March 12.
Business Post reports that the share price of FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc slumped by N1.26 during the session to N37.45 per unit from the preceding day’s N38.71 per unit.
However, Geo-Fluids Plc gained 27 Kobo to trade at N2.95 per share versus Tuesday’s closing price of N2.68 per unit, and First Trust Microfinance Bank Plc appreciated by 3 Kobo to close at 56 Kobo per share, in contrast to the previous day’s rate of 53 Kobo per share.
When the platform ended trading activities yesterday, its value went down by N1.17 billion to settle at N1.955 trillion compared with the preceding day’s N1.956 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) decreased by 2.03 points to close at 3,385.50 points, in contrast to the previous trading day’s 3,387.53 points.
The volume of securities traded at the bourse dropped by 36.3 per cent to 298,845 units from the 469,185 units published on Tuesday, the value of securities decreased by 4.8 per cent to N10.4 million from the N10.9 million quoted at the preceding session, and the number number of deals moderated by 34.2 per cent to 25 deals from 38 deals.
At the close of business, Impresit Bakolori Plc was the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 533.9 million units worth N520.9 million, followed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 12.5 million units valued at N484.0 million, and Afriland Properties Plc with 17.2 million units sold for N352.8 million.
Also, Impresit Bakolori Plc was the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 533.9 million units worth N520.9 million, trailed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 69.9 million units sold for N23.7 million, and Afriland Properties Plc with 17.2 million units valued at N352.8 million.
Economy
Reps Approve Conditions to Revoke Licences of Insurance Companies

By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The House of Representatives has passed Nigeria Insurance Industry Reform Act, 2024, repealing Act, Cap 117, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004; the Marine Insurance Act, Cap M3, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004; The Motor Vehicle (Third Party) Insurance Act, Cap M22, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004; the National Insurance Corporation of Nigeria Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and the Nigerian Insurance Reinsurance Corporation Act, Cap N131, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
At the plenary on Wednesday, the green chamber of the National Assembly approved some conditions the operating licence of an insurance company can be revoked by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM).
The new piece of legislature, which provides for a comprehensive legal and regulatory framework for insurance business in Nigeria, was enacted yesterday after the consideration of the Senate bill.
During the presentation by House Leader, Mr Julius Ihonvbere, yesterday, for a clause-by-clause consideration, it was agreed that NAICOM can withdraw the licence of an insurer or reinsurer if it is not conducting insurance business in accordance with sound insurance principles.
In addition, this action can be carried out if the licence holder has “failed to satisfy the capital or solvency requirement as prescribed by the commission and has ceased to carry on the business of insurance and the primary purpose for which it was registered for at least one year in Nigeria.”
The lower chamber of the parliament also concurred with the Senate that for obtaining an operating licence, “An application for licensing as an insurer shall be made to the commission in the prescribed form and accompanied by such other documents or information as the commission may from time to time require.
“The commission shall publish and make available to the general public a service charter which shall provide for products and services of the commission and the complete list of requirements to obtain the products and services.”
However, no person or organisation is allowed to “commence or carry out insurance, reinsurance or related business in Nigeria unless licensed by the commission as an insurer or a reinsurer under this bill.”
NAICOM was given the power to “regulate the insurance industry [in Nigeria] in order to develop the insurance sector and to protect the interest of policyholders, prospective policyholders and other stakeholders under insurance policies in ways that are consistent with the continued development of a viable, competitive and innovative insurance industry.”
-
Feature/OPED5 years ago
Davos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism9 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz2 years ago
Estranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking7 years ago
Sort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy2 years ago
Subsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking2 years ago
First Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Sports2 years ago
Highest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn
-
Technology4 years ago
How To Link Your MTN, Airtel, Glo, 9mobile Lines to NIN