Economy
SEC Praises Market Development Initiatives of NGX, CSCS, Others
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, the Central Securities Clearing System and other capital market stakeholders have been praised by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for their market development initiatives, helping the capital market scale through the COVID-19 crisis.
According to the Director-General of SEC, Mr Lamido Yuguda, NGX plays a very significant role in the Nigerian capital market, and as such, the commission remains supportive of the exchange in the key role it plays towards developing the market.
While speaking at a meeting with capital market stakeholders in Abuja on Wednesday, the SEC chief further said the agency was aware that the advancement of new-generation information technologies, the rapid innovation of financial instruments and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic are gradually transforming the operations of capital markets through the introduction of sound initiatives in the financial industry eco-system.
“The past two years have been challenging for the Nigerian capital market, which is largely a reflection of the Pandemic-related unexpected challenges in global markets. However, the NGX has continued to deploy capable resources to tackle elements militating against the market’s growth.
“You will agree with me that the efforts made and gains achieved in this regard are as a result of the collective efforts of various stakeholders in the Nigerian capital market, including the commission and the NGX Ltd. This emphasises the importance of collaboration on the growth of our market,” he said.
Mr Yuguda said specifically, the launching of the Smart Surveillance System and X-Mobile App for retail trading; upgrading of the X-Issuer Platform to further enhance market integrity; and the X-Public Offer initiatives are highly commendable achievements that support our common goal of building a world-class capital market.
While applauding their efforts, the SEC boss, however, reminded them of the challenging task ahead and new threats brought forth by Fintech and what is expected from stakeholders to consolidate on the achieved gains while making necessary adjustments to improve market practices and remain vigilant against potential risks.
“We all have a common interest in developing a healthy, viable and world-class capital market. At the bottom of the work we do at the SEC, is investor protection. While trying to look at the rules we should not forget that the ultimate goal of the commission is to have a fair and transparent market that is fair to investors,” Mr Yuguda said.
He reiterated that as the apex regulator of the capital market with a mandate to develop the market, SEC will continue to support all efforts aimed at making the markets fairer, more efficient and more transparent.
In his opening remarks, Chief Executive Officer of NGX Limited, Mr Temi Popoola, said there have been strong growth and market interactions in recent times which he attributed to the collaborative efforts of stakeholders.
Mr Popoola emphasised the need for education in the technology sector in the country, adding that as a market it is time to put all hands on deck to tap the potential in that sector.
“A lot of opportunities exist for the capital market. Technology can be used to address the capital formations in the market and we are making progress in tapping that.
“We are on a digitalisation drive and we have started with the MTN offer which was done electronically, we need to improve on that going forward. That is the only way to unlock the demography of young Nigerians that are technology savvy.
“We are collaborating with relevant stakeholders to ensure what’s best for the ecosystem. We are exploring ways to strengthen the entire market infrastructure,” he stated.
Also speaking, the Managing Director/CEO of CSCS, Mr Haruna Jalo-Waziri, welcomed the collaboration between markets, regulators and tiger stakeholders saying that the aim is to simplify the marker and give investors the experience they deserve to ensure they keep coming back.
“The market is changing, and with technology, a lot of the ways we were operating is also changing and we look forward to better market and operations,” he added.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira appreciated by 0.31 per cent or N1.31 against the US Dollar at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment of the foreign exchange (forex) market on Friday, May 20.
At the spot market, the exchange rate of the Naira to the greenback closed at N419.02/$1 in contrast to the N420.33/$1 it was traded in the previous session.
However, at the Peer-to-Peer (P2P) window, the local currency depreciated by N1 against the American currency to trade at N616/$1 compared with the preceding day’s exchange rate of N615/$1.
Equally, at the interbank segment of the market, the Naira depreciated against the British Pound Sterling by N2.15 to trade at N518.64/£1 versus the preceding session’s N516.49/£1 and against the Euro, it slid by N1.75 to close the day at N439.23/€1 compared with N437.48/€1 of the previous day.
Meanwhile, at the cryptocurrency market, things continued to go awry for Luna backed TerraUSD (UST) as investors saw their money continually burn. The crisis-hit coin plunged further by 31.2 per cent to trade at $0.0584.
It was not a different story for other tokens tracked by Business Post yesterday, with Ripple (XRP) recording a 5.7 per cent loss to trade at $0.4094.
Solana (SOL) went down by 4.7 per cent to sell at $49.60, Bitcoin (BTC) recorded a 3.1 per cent slide to sell at $29,240.00, Ethereum (ETH) went down by 3.0 per cent to finish at $1,963.47, Dogecoin (DOGE) depreciated by 2.9 per cent to trade at $0.0841, Cardano (ADA) slipped to $0.5228 after a 1.9 per cent loss, Binance Coin (BNB) suffered a 1.8 per cent loss to settle at $303.10, Litecoin (LTC) declined by 1.5 per cent to quote at $69.27, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) retreated by 0.03 per cent to $0.9987.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) plunged by 1.95 per cent on Friday, May 21 as negative price movements in FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc and Capital Bancorp Plc chopped off N20.61 billion from the bourse.
Consequently, the market capitalisation of the unlisted stock exchange finished at N1.04 trillion compared with the preceding session’s N1.06 trillion, while the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI) decreased by 15.74 points to wrap the session at 793.05 points compared with 808.79 points recorded in the previous session.
Business Post reports that the share price of Friesland went down yesterday by N11 or 9.24 per cent to N109.00 per unit from N120.00 per unit, while Capital Bancorp dropped 11 kobo or 3.54 per cent to settle at N3.00 per share in contrast to N3.11 per share of Thursday.
However, two stocks appreciated in value during the session and were led by Niger Delta Exploration and Production (NDEP) Plc, which gained N5 or 2.7 per cent to close at N225.00 per unit versus the preceding day’s N220.00 per unit. The second price gainer was NASD Plc, which rose by 12 kobo or 0.88 per cent to N13.72 share from N13.60 per share.
A total of 9.6 million units of securities were traded by investors on the last trading session of the week, lower than the 20.0 million units of securities transacted on Thursday by 51.9 per cent.
However, the value of shares traded went up by 90.4 per cent to N46.5 million from N24.4 million and was carried out in 24 deals, 380 per cent higher than the five deals executed in the preceding day.
At the close of business, AG Mortgage Bank Plc was the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 2.3 billion units valued at N1.2 billion. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc maintained second place with 661.7 million units valued at N13.9 billion, while Food Concepts Plc was in third place with 134.0 million units worth N114.9 million.
The most traded by value on a year-to-date basis was still CSCS Plc with the sale of 661.7 million units for N13.9 billion, VFD Group was in second place for trading 9.4 million units worth N2.9 billion, while AG Mortgage Bank Plc in third place has exchanged 2.3 billion units valued at N1.2 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The oil market was in the positive territory on Friday as a planned European Union (EU) ban on Russian energy imports and easing of COVID-19 lockdowns in China countered concerns that slowing economic growth will hurt demand.
Yesterday, the price of the Brent crude rose by 87 cents or 0.78 per cent to $112.90 per barrel while the United States West Texas Intermediate (WTI) grew by $1.02 or 91 cents to $113.20 per barrel.
On a week-to-date basis, Brent was up about one per cent after falling about one per cent last week while WTI was on track for its fourth consecutive weekly gain for the first time since mid-February.
Analysts noted that the Chinese reopening and continued efforts towards a Russian oil embargo by the EU swayed the market to the positive zone.
In China, Shanghai did not signal any change to its planned end of a prolonged city-wide lockdown on June 1 even though the city announced its first new COVID-19 cases outside quarantined areas in five days.
Authorities have granted approval to 864 of the city’s financial institutions to resume work on Wednesday as it gradually eases a city-wide lockdown that began seven weeks ago.
The move is part of the financial hub’s plan to reopen broadly and allow normal life to resume after the lockdown was enacted to curb China’s worst outbreak since the coronavirus was discovered in Wuhan in late 2019 and halted the most economic activity.
The EU is hoping to clinch a deal on a proposed ban on Russian crude imports which includes carve-outs for member states most dependent on Russia such as Hungary.
In Europe’s largest economy, Germany, businesses are drafting a plan to use an auction system to help ration available supplies in the event Russia cuts off its gas.
However, China added some downward pressure to oil prices this week when it clearly signalled its intent to buy more discounted Russian oil.
China and India have become the destination for Russia as it races to pivot toward Asia as the EU attempts to ditch its oil.
In the US, energy firms this week added oil and natural gas rigs for a ninth week in a row, according to the Baker Hughes rig count, as most small producers respond to high prices and prodding by the government to ramp up output.
