Connect with us

Economy

SEC Plans to Boost Value of Shariah-Compliant Products to N5trn by 2025

Published

on

non-interest capital market Shariah-compliant products

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has said it plans to expand the size of the Shariah-compliant products in the non-interest capital market in Nigeria to at least N5 trillion by 2025.

The Director-General of SEC, Mr Lamido Yuguda, said the revised edition of the Capital Market Master Plan (2021 – 2025), which was launched recently, has mapped out ways to achieve this goal.

Speaking at the opening of a three-day capacity-building workshop for local Shariah talent for non-interest capital market held at the SEC head office in Abuja on Wednesday, Mr Yuguda said this could be achieved through the listing of at least 50 Shariah-compliant products.

The DG, who was represented by the SEC’s Executive Commissioner Operations, Mr Dayo Obisan, said that the Non-Interest Capital Market (NICM) also plans to ensure 100 retail Shariah-compliant products and attract about 1 million direct investors in the ecosystem.

Mr Yuguda noted that with these new responsibilities, promoting capacity-building programmes, such as the workshop, on Shariah-compliant processes and products (Regulators and Operators) has become necessary for the NCIM.

He said the commission, in recognising the potential of the non-interest capital market for economic growth, dedicated a component in its 10-year policy to the speedy development of the market in the financial system.

Specifically, Mr Yuguda said the plan provides clear strategic objectives for the development of the market, one of which is the “encouragement of the development of stakeholders for the market” and today’s workshop is evidence of the realization of this particular objective.

The stride and significant achievements recorded by the policy, he said, are evidenced by the last ranking of Nigerian Islamic Finance in 13th place on the global Islamic Finance Development Indicator 2021, with the assets under management valued at N2.30 billion, which is higher than countries like Bangladesh and Turkey.

“As you may be aware, the major difference between conventional finance and non-interest finance is the application of Shariah principles. This simply means that a non-interest financial market cannot exist without experts in Islamic commercial jurisprudence (FiqhulMu’amalat Al-Maliyya).

“Therefore, this Workshop will help in fast-tracking the development of experts for the Market. We believe that it would be a magic lamp for developing our local Sharia talent, not only for the Nigerian capital market but for the Nigerian financial system in general.

“The level of activities in the non-interest capital market that we are currently experiencing in Nigeria affirms the overwhelming acceptance of NICM products by the country’s populace. This shows a strong appetite for other alternative forms of investments.

“Recently, the market witnessed the entrance of institutions offering non-interest capital market services/products and the oversubscription of the FGN and corporate Sukuk, further buttresses the need for this workshop to encourage the development of Shariah experts for the market.”

The DG said the workshop is aimed at exposing participants who have the potential to provide Shariah advisory services for the Islamic finance industry, particularly the non-interest capital market’s operations as it relates to Shariah principles and rulings. It is also planned to be in two levels, Level 1 and 2.

He stated that Level 1, is focused on the basic areas of financial market structure and operations of the capital market, Shariah principles and contracts relating to non-interest capital markets, as well as Shariah issues relating to the operations and businesses of the market, among others while level-2 which will address the operation of the Sukuk and equity markets.

The SEC boss said NICM has so much potential in the country by attracting an untapped investor base who appears indifferent to conventional instruments to participate in the capital market as well as the existing investors to diversify to ethical and socially responsible investments.

“We believe that developing Shariah talent through a Workshop like this is another opportunity of creating awareness for the non-interest capital market products and services, which in turn will facilitate the financial inclusion drive in the Nigerian Financial System.

“I am happy to note that the commission recently exposed registration rules to set a minimum standard for corporate or individuals seeking to provide Shariah advisory services for non-interest capital market activities. This is to encourage further and attract the attention of qualified persons and entities to engage in the Shariah advisory function for the non-interest capital market.”

Mr Yuguda expressed the confidence that the participants will benefit from the vast knowledge and experience of the facilitators, which will bring about a much-needed impact on the participants and the market in general.

Aduragbemi Omiyale is a journalist with Business Post Nigeria, who has passion for news writing. In her leisure time, she loves to read.

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Economy

NASD Index Appreciates 0.69% to 3,095.00 Points

Published

on

NASD Unlisted Security Index

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a 0.69 per cent appreciation on Monday, January 13, as investors showed renewed interests in unlisted securities.

During the trading session, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) increased by 21.07 points to wrap the session at 3,095.00 points compared with the 3,073.93 points recorded in the previous session.

In the same vein, the value of the local alternative stock exchange went up by N7.22 billion to close at N1.061 trillion compared with last Friday’s N1.051 trillion.

Yesterday, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc recorded a growth of N3.78 to close at N42.00 per share versus N38.22 per share, Mixta Real Estate Plc improved by 20 Kobo to end at N2.35 per unit versus the preceding closing rate of N2.15 per unit, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc gained 1 Kobo to finish at 25 Kobo per share compared with the previous session’s 24 Kobo per share.

Conversely, Geo-Fluids Plc lost 29 Kobo to quote at N4.56 per unit compared with the preceding day’s N4.85 per unit, and Afriland Properties Plc slid by 75 kobo to end the session at N15.50 per share versus the preceding closing rate of N16.25 per share.

During the session, the volume of securities traded decreased by 27.2 per cent to 3.1 million units from 4.3 million units, the value of securities slumped by 81.5 per cent to N3.2 million from N17.2 million, and the number of deals expanded by 57.9 per cent to 30 deals from 19 deals.

At the close of trades, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc remained the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 1.9 million units worth N74.2 million, followed by 11 Plc with 12,963 units valued at N3.2 million, and IGI Plc with 10.7 million units sold for N2.1 million.

Also, IGI Plc remained the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 10.6 million units sold for N2.1 million, trailed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 1.9 million units valued at N74.2 million, and Acorn Petroleum Plc with 1.2 million units worth N1.9 million.

Continue Reading

Economy

FX Supply Pressure Weakens Naira to N1,548/$1 at NAFEM

Published

on

naira at forex market

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira recorded a 0.38 per cent or N5.86 depreciation on the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Monday, January 13 to close at N1,548.89/$1, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1,543.03/$1.

The local currency weakened further in the official market yesterday as the deadline to cut off Bureaux De Change (BDC) operators from the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) built to enhance transparency in the FX system looms.

Recall that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in December opened a 42-day window to allow BDCs to buy FX worth $25,000 per week from the spot market.

However, the domestic currency appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market on Monday by N11.87 to trade at N1,877.43/£1 compared with last Friday’s N1,889.29/£1 and against the Euro, it improved its value by N4.94 to close at N1,578.87/€1, in contrast to the previous trading day’s N1,583.81/€1.

A look at the parallel market indicated that the Nigerian Naira slumped against the greenback yesterday by N5 to sell at N1,655/$1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,650/$1.

In the cryptocurrency market, large positive outcomes came even as risk assets weighed the possibility of US Federal Reserve rate cuts in the wake of Friday’s hotter-than-expected US jobs report.

The biggest gainer was recorded by Dogecoin (DOGE) as it rose by 3.9 per cent to sell at $0.3422, Bitcoin (BTC) grew by 0.9 per cent to trade at $94,843.98, Binance Coin (BNB) appreciated by 0.8 per cent to sell for $687.84, and Solana (SOL) recorded a 0.8 per cent growth to quote at $185.24.

Further, Ripple (XRP) increased its value by 0.7 per cent to close at $2.53, and Cardano jumped by 0.3 per cent to settle at $0.9469.

On the flip side, Ethereum (ETH) depreciated by 1.9 per cent to finish at $3,159.52, and Litecoin (LTC) went down by 0.9 per cent to close at $98.68, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.

Continue Reading

Economy

Oil Prices up as China, India Seek Alternative Supply After Fresh US Sanctions

Published

on

oil prices driving up Trump

By Adedapo Adesanya

Oil prices rose on Monday as Chinese and Indian buyers sought new suppliers after the administration of President Joe Biden of the United States imposed toughest sanctions yet on Russian energy.

Last Friday, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas, as well as 183 vessels that traded oil as part of Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” of tankers. The move is expected to cost Russia billions of Dollars per month.

This pushed the price of Brent higher by $1.25 or 1.6 per cent yesterday to $81.01 per barrel and raised the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude by $2.25 or 2.9 per cent to $78.82 a barrel.

As a result, Chinese and Indian refiners are seeking alternative fuel supplies as they adapt to the severe sanctions on Russian producers and tankers that are designed to curb the revenues of the world’s second-largest oil exporter.

The large sanction gives Ukraine and the US President-elect, Mr Donald Trump, leverage to reach a deal for peace in the almost three years war.

Market analysts note that these sanctions have the potential to take as much as 700,000 barrels per day of supply off the market, which would erase the surplus that we are expecting for this year.

On its part, Goldman Sachs estimated that vessels targeted by the new sanctions transported 1.7 million barrels per day of oil in 2024, or 25 per cent of Russia’s exports. The bank is increasingly expecting its projection for a Brent range of $70-$85 to trade.

The Vladimir Putin-led government said the sanctions risked destabilising global markets, and Russia would seek to counter them.

Many of the tankers named have been used to ship oil to India and China after previous Western sanctions. A price cap imposed by the Group of Seven countries in 2022 shifted trade in Russian oil from Europe to Asia. Some of the ships have also moved oil from Iran, which is also under sanctions.

Also, six European Union countries called on the European Commission to lower the price cap put on Russian oil by G7 countries, arguing it would reduce Russia’s revenue to continue the war while not causing a market shock.

However, weaker demand from major oil buyers, China, could have an impact on the tighter supply as data showed that China’s crude oil imports fell in 2024 for the first time in two decades outside of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Continue Reading

Trending