Economy
NSE Kicks Out Midland, 89 Others from Capital Market
By Dipo Olowookere
The operating license of Midland Capital Markets Limited has been revoked by authorities at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
Consequently, the firm was deregistered as a capital market operator in Nigeria by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The expulsion of Midland Capital Markets Limited has brought to 90 the total number of stockbrokers so far expelled from the market in 2017.
It was gathered that the withdrawal of the company’s license was approved by the stock market regulator’s highest administrative organ, the National Council of the NSE.
With this development, the stockbroking firm will not be able to trade in the Nigerian stock market and other international markets that Nigeria has Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with.
Nigerian capital market authorities have standing bilateral agreements with several other jurisdictions including Morocco, Angola, China, Ghana, Kenya, Malaysia, Mauritius, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda.
With the expulsion, investors who have their investment accounts with the expelled stockbrokers will be required to move their accounts to other functional stockbroking firms.
Also, directors, executives, top management and other employees of Midland Capital Markets Limited will not be able to secure any employment in the capital market without prior clearance and written consent of the Exchange.
Though a regulatory document obtained by The Nation did not give reason for the revocation and expulsion of the stockbroking firm, capital market regulators traditionally apply the highest punishment of expulsion and revocation of licence to serious offences that could undermine investors’ confidence including fraud and inability to meet major operating requirements for the function.
“Dealing members are advised not to engage in any activity with the above mentioned firm. Also, all authorised clerks and employees of dealing member firms are strongly advised against allowing themselves to be used in carrying out activities that are capable of affecting the integrity of the market,” NSE stated.
The Exchange stressed the need for dealing firms to always comply with extant rules and regulations.
Under Rule 6.12 of the Rulebook of the Exchange, 2015, members of the Exchange are disallowed from employing any of directors, authorised clerks or other persons including principal officers such as the chief executive officer, chief finance officer, chief compliance officer and chief risk officer, who have been indicted by the Exchange or the Commission without prior regulatory approval.
Also, the rule disallows other stockbroking firms from employing any person who was an officer or employee of a stockbroking firm or dealing member expelled from the Exchange; any person expelled, as an authorised clerk or its equivalent, from any other exchange; any person refused admission as a member of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers or any person expelled from its membership; any person expelled as a member of any professional association or institute and any person who is insolvent or has been convicted of theft, fraud, forgery, or any other crime involving dishonesty.
The Rulebook of the Exchange 2015 provides that: where the Exchange revokes a dealing member’s licence, the Exchange shall immediately commence the process of expelling such dealing member.
Besides, the rules empower the NSE to suspend any authorised clerk or revoke the registration of any authorised clerk who has breached any rules or regulations of the Exchange or is found to be complicit in any breach of such rules or regulations.
Also, suspension of any stockbroking firm by SEC will lead to immediate suspension by the NSE while revocation of any broker’s registration will lead to expulsion of the firm by the NSE.
“Without prejudice to all the remedies open to the dealing member, where a dealing member is suspended by the Commission, as soon as the Exchange is notified, it shall immediately commence the process of suspension or expulsion of the dealing member.
“Where a Dealing Member’s registration is revoked by the Commission, as soon as the Exchange is notified, it shall immediately commence the process of expulsion of the dealing member,” the rules stated.
The NSE had recently revoked the operating licence and imposed a fine of N582.37 million on a stockbroking firm-Bytofel Securities and Investment Limited, for allegedly engaging in fraudulent activities in the stock market.
Bytofel Securities was expelled for engaging in “unauthorised sales of clients’ shares and misappropriation of clients’ funds”.
The Nation had earlier reported the expulsion of 67 stockbrokers from the master list of dealers at the stock market. A regulatory report had indicated that the expulsion was the final phase of the delisting of the stockbroking firms, after their dealing licences had been revoked by the exchange.
A source at the exchange said the expulsion followed recommendation of the disciplinary committee of the council of the exchange and the final approval of the National Council of the Exchange.
That round of expulsion in May 2017 brought the number of stockbroking firms that had then been expelled from Exchange to 88 stockbroking firms. The Nation had earlier in April 2017 reported the expulsion of 21 stockbroking firms for various infractions ranging from poor capitalisation to unauthorised sales of investors’ shares.
The group of 67 expelled stockbrokers included ATIF Securities Limited, Abacus Securities Limited, ABC Securities Limited, Akitorch Securities Limited, All Wealth Securities Limited, Apex Securities Limited, Asset Plus Securities Limited, Associated Securities Limited, Avon Finance and Securities Limited, Beachgroove Securities & Investments Limited, Broadedge Securities Limited, Bullion Securities Limited, Cardinal Securities Limited, City Investment Management Limited, Comment Finance & Securities Limited, Corporate Trust Limited, Crown Merchant Securities Limited, Dalgo Investment & Trust Limited, Devcom Securities Limited, Devserv Finance & Securities Limited, EBN Securities Limited, Equity securities Limited, Farida Investment and Finance Limited, Gilts and Hedge Finance Limited, Global Investment & Sec Limited, Goldworth Securities Limited, Haggai Investment & Trust Limited, Halsec Finance Limited, HP Securities Limited, Investicon Nigeria Limited, Investment Resources Limited, Island Securities Limited and Jenkins Investments Limited.
Others included Kapital Securities Limited, Lozinger Securities Limited, M&M Securities Limited, M. J Securities & Investment Limited, Majestic Securities Limited, Matrix Capital Management Limited, MBA Securities Limited, MBCOM Securities Limited, Merchant Securities Limited, Metropolitan Trust Nigeria Limited, MMB Securities & Trust Limited, MMG Securities Limited, Nationwide Securities Limited, New Horizons Finance and Investment Limited, Nigbel Securities Limited, Omega Securities Limited, Omnisource International Limited, OpenGate Finance Company Limited, Pacific Securities Limited, Pamal Finance Limited, Peak Securities Limited, Prime Securities Limited, Prudent Stockbrokers Limited, Royal Securities Limited, Source Finance and Trust Company Limited, Supreme Finance & Investment Co. Limited, Synergy and Assets Trust Limited, Thomas Kinsley Securities Limited, Tradestamp Securities Limited, Trust Securities Limited, Unit Trust Securities Limited, Universal Securities Limited, Viva Securities Limited and Wintrust Limited.
Capital market authorities had earlier in the year expelled 21 stockbroking firms including Allbond Investment Limited, Consolidated Investment Limited, Dakal Services Limited, Emi Capital Resources Limited, First Equity Securities Ltd, Ideal Securities Limited, Maninvest Asset Management Plc, Metropolitan Trust Nigeria Limited, Omas Investment & Trust Company Limited, Pennisula Asset Management & Investment Company Limited, Prudential Securities Limited, Securities Trading & Investments Limited, Transglobe Investment & Finance Company Limited, Tropics Securities Limited, Wizetrade Capital & Asset Management Limited, WT Securities Limited, Zuma Securities Limited, Bosson Capital Assets Limited, KFF Worldwide Solutions Limited, Silver & Gold Securities Limited and First Alstate Securities Limited.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed flat on Wednesday, January 14, with the key performance indicators like the market capitalisation and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) remaining unchanged at N2.2 trillion and 3,678.13 points, respectively.
This happened despite the alternative stock market recording three price gainers led by Nipco Plc, which appreciated by N21.42 to sell at N235.90 per share compared with the N214.48 per share achieved a day earlier.
Further, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc improved its value by 84 Kobo to close at N40.97 per unit versus N40.13 per unit, and IPWA Plc expanded by 12 Kobo to finish at N1.35 per share, in contrast to Tuesday’s price of N1.23 per share.
During the trading session, the price of Food Concepts Plc went down by 31 Kobo to end at N3.06 per unit compare with the preceding day’s N3.37 per unit.
Yesterday, there was a 71.6 per cent drop in the value of transactions to N24.4 million from the N86.1 million recorded in the previous day, same as the volume of transactions, which shrank by 60.3 per cent to 645,002 units from the 1.6 million units posted in the previous day, as the number of deals depreciated by 71.6 per cent to 19 deals from 67 deals.
When the market closed for the day, CSCS Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 2.6 million units for N102.5 million, followed by MRS Oil Plc with a turnover of 265,748 units valued at N53.1 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 6.4 million units worth N43.4 million.
Geo-Fluids Plc ended the day as the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 6.4 million units traded for N43.4 million, trailed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with a turnover of 3.1 million units valued at N1.9 million, and CSCS Plc with 2.6 million units sold for N102.5 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira crashed against the United States Dollar on Wednesday, January 14 by 38 Kobo or 0.03 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) to N1,420.04/$1, in contrast to the N1,419.66/$1 it was traded a day earlier.
Despite the decline in the daily value of the Naira against the greenback in the official FX market, the near-term projection indicate that with continued support by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), stronger external inflows from foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), and improving current account dynamics, the local currency will remain within projected range.
The country’s external reserves continued to swell as it added $40.26 million to the previous day’s balance, bringing total reserves to $45.78 billion.
Data showed that the domestic currency firmed up against the Pound Sterling in the spot market by N2.89 to trade at N1,911.09/£1 versus Tuesday’s closing rate of N1,913.98/£1 and gained N1.11 against the Euro to finish at N1,655.48/€1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,656.59/€1.
At the GTBank forex desk, the Nigerian currency gained N4 on the US Dollar to sell for N1,427/$1, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1,431/$1 but closed flat at the black market at N1,490/$1.
A look at the cryptocurrency market showed that most of the tracked tokens were under pressure as broader financial markets turned cautious of the US-Iran rhetoric, which affect risk assets like crypto.
US President Donald Trump signaled he may delay military action against Iran, easing immediate geopolitical tensions.
With upcoming U.S. economic data unlikely to shift expectations for a Federal Reserve rate cut before midyear, traders are watching whether crypto can hold positive positions despite softer equity markets.
During the trading day, Litecoin (LTC) declined by 4.9 per cent to $74.70, Cardano (ADA) slumped by 4.3 per cent to $0.4024, Dogecoin (DOGE) went down by 2.6 per cent to $0.1433, Ripple (XRP) slipped by 2.0 per cent to $2.09, Ethereum (ETH) shrank by 0.13 per cent to $3,319.40, and Binance Coin (BNB) depreciated by 0.05 per cent to $936.13.
On the gainers’ angle, Bitcoin (BTC) led with an appreciation of 2.9 per cent to sell at $96,474.70, and Solana (SOL) grew by 0.3 per cent to $144.49, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
It was another trading session in the green territory for Customs Street on Wednesday as it closed higher by 0.56 per cent as investors doubled down on their confidence in the market.
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited rallied despite the consumer goods sector going down by 0.20 per cent due to profit-taking by traders.
According to data, the 6.26 per cent gain recorded by the energy space and the others contributed to the growth achieved by bourse at midweek.
Business Post reports that the commodity index was up by 3.35 per cent, the insurance counter expanded by 0.78 per cent, the banking index grew by 0.05 per cent, and the industrial goods sector advanced by 0.01 per cent.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) of the platform was swollen by 934.63 points to 166,771.95 points from 165,837.32 points as the market capitalisation inflated by N599 billion to N106.781 trillion from N106.182 trillion.
During the session, there were 47 price gainers and 28 price losers, implying a positive market breadth index and bullish investor sentiment.
Academy Press gained 10.00 per cent to close at N8.25, NCR Nigeria improved by 9.98 per cent to N106.30, Tripple G surged by 9.95 per cent to N4.86, Tantalizers rose by 9.93 per cent to N2.99, and McNichols leapt by 9.92 per cent to N7.31.
On the flip side, May and Baker lost 9.79 per cent to trade at N28.55, Coronation Insurance shed 6.76 per cent to settle at N3.31, Livestock Feeds declined by 6.67 per cent to N7.00, PZ Cussons moderated by 6.52 per cent to N54.50, and Eterna gave up 6.30 per cent to quote at N34.20.
It was a quiet market day on Wednesday as the level of activity dropped, as Access Holdings, which led the chart by volume, only transacted 53.4 million shares valued at N1.2 billion, Lasaco Assurance traded 39.0 million stocks worth N100.2 million, Veritas Kapital sold 32.8 million equities for N69.6 million, Tantalizers exchanged 30.1 million shares worth N89.6 million, and Deap Capital traded 28.6 million stocks valued at N114.1 million.
At the close of business, a total of 761.9 million equities worth N29.9 billion exchanged hands in 55,751 deals compared with the 1.1 billion equities valued at N33.6 billion transacted in 49,216 deals on Tuesday, indicating a shortfall in the trading volume and value by 30.74 per cent and 11.01 per cent apiece, and a leap in the number of deals by 13.28 per cent.
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