Economy
Retirement Savings Account Holders Grow by 96,346 in Q2
The total number of persons with Retirement Savings Account (RSA) in Nigeria increased by 96,346 to 7,589,936 workers under the contributory pension scheme as at the second quarter of 2017, compared with 7,493,590 registered in the first quarter of the year.
They country’s total working population stood at 69,470,901 as at the fourth quarter of 2016.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) stated this in its Retirement Savings Account (RSA) Membership Distribution for the second quarter 2017 (Q2 2017), posted on its website.
The RSA membership distribution as at Q2 of 2017 represented 10.93 per cent of the total working population.
This, the NBS stated was not surprising given the largely informal structure of the Nigerian labour force with about 50 per cent of the current workforce engaged in subsistence agriculture and informal trading.
Micro businesses, for example, accounts for over 90 per cent of total micro, small and medium scale enterprises in Nigeria.
Further disaggregation of RSA membership revealed that of a total male working population of 36,363,042 only 5,391,887 or 14.83 per cent male workers registered under the pension scheme as at Q2 2017 compared to 5,328,035 or 14.65 per cent registered male workers in Q1 2017.
Similarly, only 2,198,049 or 6.64 per cent out of a total female working population of 33,107,859 were registered under the scheme as at Q2 2017 compared to 2,165,555 or 6.54 per cent registered female workers in Q1 2017.
Accordingly, out of the 7,589,936 RSA members, 71.04 per cent were men and 28.96 per cent were women compared to 71.10 per cent men and 28.90 per cent women in Q1 2017.
This was compared with the gender split of the working population which had 52.3 per cent men and 47.7 per cent women.
RSA membership was dominated by the Private sector. The federal level had 1,898,199 registered RSA members under the national pension scheme as at Q2 2017 of which 1,384,579 or 72.94 per cent were male and 513,620 or 27.06 per cent were female compared to 1,889,143 registered RSA members of which 1,378,382 or 72.96 per cent were male and 510,761 or 27.04 per cent were female in Q1 2017.
“This may indicate that there are a lot more male employees in the federal public service than female. At the state (including local government) level, 1,537,138 State public workers are registered under the national pension scheme with 863,605 or 56.18 per cent male and 673,533 or 43.82 per cent female as at Q2 2017 compared to 1,525,748 registered public workers of which 858,365 or 56.26 per cent were male and 667,383 or 43.74 per cent were female in Q1 2017.”
“This may indicate that the federal public service is larger than that of all 36 States combined and similar to the Federal service, men dominate with respect to number of employees,” it added.
According to the study, private firms had 4,154,599 registered RSA members under the pension scheme as at Q1 2017 of which 3,143,703 or 75.67 per cent were male and 1,010,896 or 24.33 per cent were female compared to 4,078,699 registered RSA members of which 3,091,288 or 75.79 per cent were male and 987,411 or 24.21 per cent were female in Q1 2017.
It showed that the highest number of registered working population came from the age bracket of 30-39yrs and closely followed by the working population within the age bracket of 40-49 years and 50-59years. This, it said was expected considering ages 2544 accounts for about 55 per cent of the total working population.
“However, the least number of registered working population came from above 65yrs and 60-65yrs age bracket.
“1,898,199 federal working population are registered under the national pension scheme as at Q2 2017 compared to 1,889,143 in Q1 2017.
“1,384,579 are male while 513,620 are female compared to 1,378,382 male and 510,761 female in Q1 2017.
“1,537,138 state working population are registered under the national pension scheme as at Q2 2017 compared to 1,525,748 in Q1 2017. 863,605 are male while 673,533 are female compared to 858,365 male and 667,383 female in Q1 2017,” it added.
According to the NBS report, 4,154,599 private firms’ working population were registered under the national pension scheme as at Q2 2017 compared to 4,078,699 in Q1 2017. Also, 3,143,703 were male while 1,010,896 were female compared to 3,091,288 male and 978,411 female in Q1 2017
In addition, 7,589,936 working population were registered under the national pension scheme as at Q2 2017 compared to 7,493,590 in Q1 2017. 5,391,887 are male while 2,198,049 are female compared to 5,328,035 male and 2,165,555 female in Q1 2017
Private firms’ working population dominated the membership distribution and closely followed by the federal and state working population.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Five securities pulled down the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.72 per cent on Friday, August 14, cutting the market capitalisation by N47.04 billion to N2.689 trillion from N2.727 trillion, and slicing the NASD Security Index (NSI) by 78.37 points to 4,465.83 from 4,532.03 points.
11 Plc led the price decliners yesterday after its price went down by N15.03 to N230.00 per share from N245.03 per share. MRS Oil Plc weakened by N13.20 to N118.80 per unit from N132.00 per unit, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc slid by N10.30 to N99.46 per share from N109.76 per share, Okitipupa Plc fell by N6.99 to N270.01 per unit from N277.00 per unit, and Afriland Properties Plc dipped by N2.00 to N20.00 per share from N22.00 per share.
Business Post reports that the OTC securities exchange recorded four gainers during the session, led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which appreciated by N9.85 to N169.85 per unit from N160.00 per unit. IPWA Plc gained 70 Kobo to close at N10.41 per share versus N9.71 per share, Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc rose by 4 Kobo to 54 Kobo per unit from 50 Kobo per unit, and Geo-Fluids Plc improved by 1 Kobo to N2.06 per share from N2.05 per share.
The volume of trades soared by 64.8 per cent to 3.2 million units from the previous session’s 1.9 million units, the value of transactions jumped by 78.2 per cent to N375.7 million from N210.8 million, and the number of deals surged by 35.3 per cent to 46 deals from 34 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded 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 sold for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 79.0 million units exchanged for N5.7 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 transacted for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
The dominance of the bears on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited was consolidated on Friday, after further inflicting an 0.12 per cent loss at the close of trading activity.
All the key sectors of the local stock market turned red yesterday as a result of sustained profit-taking, though the industrial goods space was flat.
The insurance counter lost 1.49 per cent, the energy index shed 0.63 per cent, the consumer goods segment declined by 0.46 per cent, and the banking sector tumbled by 0.23 per cent.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) retreated by 398.18 points to 242,619.20 points from 243,017.38 points, and the market capitalisation receded by N257 billion to N156.624 trillion from N156.881 trillion.
Fortis Global Insurance lost 9.31 per cent to trade at N2.63, Omatek depreciated by 9.04 per cent to N1.51, John Holt slipped by 9.00 per cent to N9.10, RT Briscoe slumped by 7.94 per cent to N11.60, and Dangote Sugar went down by 7.79 per cent to N64.55.
But International Energy Insurance gained 9.92 per cent to sell for N5.32, Trans-Nationwide Express appreciated by 9.65 per cent to N2.84, Guinea Insurance improved by 6.67 per cent to 80 Kobo, Regency Alliance grew by 6.25 per cent to 85 Kobo, and Japaul jumped by 5.36 per cent to N2.95.
The market breadth index remained negative, with 30 price losers and 21 price gainers, indicating weak investor sentiment.
The level of activity contracted yesterday, with the trading volume, value, and number of deals down by 66.67 per cent, 10.65 per cent, and 5.60 per cent, respectively.
This was because market participants transacted 1.4 billion shares worth N45.3 billion in 39,134 deals during the session compared with the 4.2 billion shares valued at n50.7 billion traded in 41,454 deals on Thursday.
Fortis Global Insurance was the most active equity for the day, with a turnover of 874.1 million units valued at N2.4 billion, Cornerstone Insurance sold 100.3 million units worth N506.5 million, Universal Insurance traded 56.7 million units for N44.5 million, Sterling Holdings exchanged 53.3 million units worth N402.9 million, and MTN Nigeria transacted 44.6 million units valued at N31.4 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira maintained stability against the United States Dollar in the different segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Friday, August 14, according to data obtained by Business Post.
At the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), the local currency remained unchanged at N1,357.65/$1, but lost N6.05 against the Pound Sterling to trade at N1,840.10 versus the previous session’s N1,834.05/£1, and depreciated against the Euro by N4.70 to sell for N1,571.70/€1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,567.00/€1.
At the black market, the Nigerian currency traded flat against the Dollar at N1,395/$1, but gained N3 at the GTBank forex desk to quote at N1,364/$1 versus Thursday’s exchange rate of N1,367/$1.
Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that interbank FX transactions surged by 51.2 per cent to $119.594 million from $79.097 million. These transactions were executed in 137 deals, higher than the 98 deals recorded a day earlier.
FX inflows from exporters, remittances and other sources, alongside demand from importers and individuals requiring Dollars, continue to shape market conditions.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market recovered yesterday after experiencing a downturn in the previous sessions following reports that index provider MSCI has proposed new “non-operating company” screens for its Global Investable Market Indexes. Although the framework does not explicitly target cryptocurrency, it evaluates whether a company’s core operating assets constitute more than 50 per cent of its total holdings.
Heavy digital asset treasury adopters, including Strategy and Metaplanet, fail the proposed criteria and face potential removal during upcoming index rebalancings. While inclusion in major equity benchmarks previously allowed passive index funds and ETFs to automatically acquire these stocks, their removal could trigger forced institutional selling.
Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.7 per cent to $0.07, Binance Coin (BNB) expanded by 0.6 per cent to $611.34, Ethereum (ETH) added 0.4 per cent to trade at $1,879.65, and Bitcoin (BTC) increased by 0.2 per cent to $63,045.87, with Ripple (XRP), the US Dollar Tether (USDT), and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) flat at $1.00, respectively.
But Cardano (ADA) lost 1.2 per cent to trade at $0.1795, TRON (TRX) shed 0.4 per cent to finish at $0.3323, and Solana (SOL) declined by 0.2 per cent to $75.60.
