Economy
PenCom Assets Under Management Rises 23% to N25.9trn in September 2025
By Adedapo Adesanya
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has disclosed that the Assets Under Management (AuM) of the regulated pension industry increased by 23 per cent year-on-year to N25.9 trillion as of August 2025.
This was contained in the latest monthly update by the regulator, which indicated that the pension industry has remained resilient amid prevailing macroeconomic challenges.
This was supported by sustained growth in pension contributions and consistent investment returns across asset classes.
However, despite the industry’s impressive performance, it remains significantly underpenetrated. On a standardised basis, the total pension assets account for only about 7.1 per cent of Nigeria’s 2024 gross domestic product (GDP).
According to PenCom, the strong year-on-year growth was primarily driven by sustained investment in FGN securities, which was supported by the elevated interest environment. Their value grew by 17 per cent year-on-year or N2.3 trillion to N15.7 trillion.
Within this segment, FGN bonds were the primary driver of growth, accounting for a substantial share of -85 per cent of the total FGN securities. Investment in FGN bonds increased by 5 per cent year-on-year to N13.3 trillion.
The Nigerian stock market also contributed to the impressive year-on-year performance, with pension fund holdings in equity investments rising sharply by 86 per cent per cent year-on-year or N1.7 trillion to reach N3.6 trillion.
In August, the NGX ASI advanced by 0.31 per cent month-on-month, and it has delivered an impressive year-to-date return of 45.68 per cent.
The bullish sentiment in the local bourse market was fuelled by strong investor appetite for bellwether stocks, supported by improved macroeconomic conditions and strong corporate earnings.
The performance of the money market asset class improved significantly compared with the previous year, with total pension assets in money market instruments rising by 15 per cent year-on-year to N2.4 trillion.
In contrast, corporate debt declined slightly by 1 per cent year-on-year or N22.1 billion to N2.2 trillion. The slowdown in corporate issues during the year was due to the high-interest-rate environment, driven by the monetary tightening stance of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC) 50 basis-point cut in September signals the beginning of a potential easing cycle, which could lower borrowing costs and improve market conditions for debt financing.
The latest inflation data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) also showed a sixth moderating cycle to 18.02 per cent in September 2025, further boosting support for more when the committee meets in November.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
