Economy
SEC: Market Reaction to 2019 Elections Normal, Calls for Caution
By Dipo Olowookere
Acting Director-General of Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ms Mary Uduk, has disclosed that the current reaction of investors to the nation’s capital market to the forthcoming general elections next year is nothing to worry about.
Events lately in the political settings in the country ahead of the 2019 polls have left some market players, especially foreign portfolio investors, exiting the local stock market.
About two weeks ago, the political scene witnessed mass defections from both the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Even the Senate President, Mr Bukola Saraki, left the APC to the PDP, leading to call for his resignation and invasion of the parliament by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS).
Worried by this and other development, the market witnessed huge capital flights, resulting in massive selloffs of shares.
For 10 consecutive days, the stock market was heavily dominated by the bears and was only in the green zone last Friday when it went up by 1.87 percent.
But the SEC chief said the market reaction to the 2019 elections is nothing to worry about as it is a normal thing to expect.
While answering questions from newsmen on Thursday, August 9, 2018, in Lagos at the end of the quarterly Capital Market Committee (CMC) meeting, Ms Uduk said there is no measure the regulators can put in place to prevent the reaction.
However, she urged the media not to create panic in the market, warning that the reporting can be blown out of proportion.
“The market must react whether positively or negatively. Irrespective of measures we put in place, the market reacts to activities that happen in the system.
“In 2008, during the meltdown, the market reacted to the global situation.
“Therefore, you should be alarmed if something happens during the 2019 election and the market does not react, we should be worried.
“Irrespective of what we put in place, the market will react. I would rather enjoin gentlemen of the press to help us.
“The world is now a global village, anything we write here is blown out. I enjoin us to stay on facts, when we do that I am sure it will be fine.
“I therefore appeal to you especially since we are going into an election year to please help us,” Ms Uduk said.
Speaking on the proposed initial public offering by MTN Nigeria, the SEC boss said, “Let MTN first file [for listing on stock exchange] and the day they inform you they have filed, watch what the SEC will do.
“Not what is being bandied on the pages of newspapers, we will do our work to the best of our ability.
“I will make an exception and allow the press to come and monitor, that’s the seriousness with which we view everything that surrounds MTN and other filings.
“As we speak, as far as we know MTN is still a private company and until they convert to a public company and then file application with us, that is when the matter should be focused on us.”
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Nigeria’s First Lady, Mrs Oluremi Tinubu, has given Nigerians business advice that may not involve a lot of money to start.
Speaking with newsmen recently, the wife of President Bola Tinubu said businesses like akara (fried bean cake), kulikuli (a crunchy snack from roasted peanuts or groundnuts) and roasted corn can be set up without breaking the bank.
She disclosed that to support her husband’s Renewed Hope agenda, she has provided funding packages to traders and others to the tune of N3.5 billion.
“To start akara business doesn’t take a lot of money. To start roasting corn and kuli-kuli doesn’t take much. We didn’t give them a loan; we gave it to them as a grant,” she stated.
She further said, “We’ve encouraged Nigerians as best as we could, what is within our hands, I have given, and I keep giving. Those are the things we’ve done.”
“I remember giving for TB (tuberculosis) when I heard of many TB cases; I gave N2 billion, to breast cancer, I gave N1 billion, and to [tackle] malnutrition, I gave N500 million.
“These are the things we’ve been doing to assist the government. So, we’ve had impact in agriculture, social investment, education (as scholarship and ICT training) and others. We are still open to doing more,” she disclosed.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rallied by 1.70 per cent on Thursday, June 25, after three price gainers overpowered the two price losers recorded at the close of business.
Consequently, the market capitalisation of the trading platform increased by N43.79 billion to N2.618 trillion from N2.574 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 72.96 points to close at 4,362.32 points, in contrast to Wednesday’s 4,289.36 points.
Yesterday, the price advancers were led by Nipco Plc, which chalked up N31.79 to close at N349.76 per unit versus the preceding day’s N317.97 per unit. Okitipupa Plc gained N18.00 to end at N298.00 per share versus the previous session’s N280.00 per share, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went up by N7.11 to N86.79 per unit from N79.68 per unit.
On the flip side, Nitrox Industrial Gases Plc crumbled by 32 Kobo to close at N21.09 per share compared with the N21.41 per share it closed at midweek, and Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 25 Kobo to N2.51 per unit from N2.76 per unit.
During the session, the value of securities traded by investors went down by 86.7 per cent to N10.9 million from the preceding session’s N82.9 million, and the volume of securities dropped 84.9 per cent to 10.9 million units from the previous 82.9 million, while the number of deals grew by 84.2 per cent to 35 deals from 19 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 68.4 million units exchanged for N4.7 billion.
GNI Plc was also 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 traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited further suffered a 0.64 per cent decline on Thursday as the bears tightened their grip on the bourse.
For the second straight session, all the key sectors of Customs Street pointed south, with the energy counter down by 5.22 per cent. The insurance index slumped by 2.59 per cent, the banking space depreciated by 0.28 per cent, and the consumer goods segment moderated by 0.06 per cent, while the industrial goods sector was flat, though with a marginal fall.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) contracted by 1,493.71 points to 233,580.83 points from 235,074.54 points, and the market capitalisation retreated by N959 billion to N149.888 trillion from N150.847 trillion.
Investor sentiment remained weak after a negative market breadth index, as there were 21 price gainers and 34 price losers.
Aradel and Deap Capital went down by 10.00 per cent each to N1,575.00 and N4.05, respectively. Trans-Nationwide Express fell by 9.90 per cent to N3.64, Regency Alliance slipped by 9.57 per cent to N85 Kobo, and C&I Leasing dipped by 9.48 per cent to N28.12.
Conversely, Red Star Express grew by 9.60 per cent to N24.55, Legend Internet expanded by 9.09 per cent to N6.00, Neimeth appreciated by 7.10 per cent to N8.30, Abbey Mortgage Bank rose by 5.45 per cent to N8.70, and Ellah Lakes improved by 4.65 per cent to N9.00.
Yesterday, market participants traded 393.7 million equities valued at N19.2 billion in 45,813 deals compared with the 488.1 million equities worth N20.9 billion transacted in 46,239 deals recorded a day earlier, implying a shortfall in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 19.34 per cent, 8.13 per cent, and 0.92 per cent, respectively.
The most active stock for the session was Access Holdings with a turnover of 39.1 million units worth N896.2 million, Chams traded 24.5 million units valued at N96.5 million, Fidelity Bank sold 24.1 million units for N436.9 million, Sterling Holdings exchanged 23.8 million units valued at N182.2 million, and Zenith Bank transacted 18.9 million units worth N2.1 billion.
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