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Economy

SEC Records 96% Compliance Level of Prudential Returns in 2022

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Investment and Securities Bill

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has stated that it has continued to employ its compliance tool to ensure that only fit and proper capital market operators practice in the market.

This, the commission said, has resulted in an improved level of compliance with the filing of prudential returns, rising to 96 per cent in 2022 compared with 81 per cent in 2021.

The Director-General of the agency, Mr Lamido Yuguda, described this in an interview as a welcome development, given the organisation’s quest to pursue a capital market that is based on the principles of increased transparency, efficiency and global competitiveness.

He described the year 2022 as another eventful year in which the commission continued its implementation of sound initiatives that are expected to bring about the much-desired market development that would deepen not only the market but also ensure the continued protection of investors.

“SEC released guidelines on the implementation of Sections 60-63 of the Investments and Securities Act 2007.

“The NCMI organized training for CEOs, CFOs and other officers of public companies to facilitate their compliance. The Commission also provided filing options for Audited (Annual) and Fourth Quarter Financial Statements.

“The commission has conducted the Risk Based Supervision (RBS) examination on 20 capital market subsidiaries of five financial holding companies aimed at supporting the entire financial system stability.

“To further protect investors and boost confidence in the market, the commission has commenced implementation of 100 per cent custody requirement on all Collective Investment Schemes (CIS).

“Also, after a thorough review of the status of privately managed funds, SEC mandated that Rule 95 should also apply to all Discretionary/Non-Discretionary Portfolios and Products to ensure the protection of investors’ funds in the fund management space,” Mr Yuguda stated.

The SEC DG disclosed that a comprehensive on-site inspection exercise was successfully carried out on the 95 registered fund managers to ensure that both the public and private funds registered by the commission are being operated in line with the relevant rules and regulations.

On non-interest, Mr Yuguda stated that the commission, working jointly with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the Non-Interest Finance Committee of the CMC and other stakeholders, has developed a taxation regulation on non-interest finance.

The non-interest finance (taxation) regulation, he stated, has been approved by the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning and has already been gazetted. This is a positive development that will spur investments in non-interest capital market products.

He disclosed that the Nigerian capital market witnessed significant momentum, with the main equity bourse (NGX) recording a N6.1 trillion increase in the equities capitalisation, from N21.82 trillion on December 31, 2021, to N27.96 trillion as of December 30, 2022, representing a 28 per cent increase, outshining most of the global securities markets.

The NGX All-Share Index also recorded a 19.98 per cent year-on-year growth from 42,716.44 points on December 31, 2021, to 51,251.06 points as of December 30, 2022.

“On the debt side of the capital market, the S&P FMDQ Sovereign Bond Index closed at 592.84 points on December 14, 2022, indicating a 4.8 per cent increase from 565.67 points in December 2021.

“The market witnessed this despite relatively weak corporate earnings, investor apathy and slow economic growth.

“However, we expect to see enhanced growth in 2023 driven by initiatives that target improvement in the business environment, increased liquidity, and a possible increase in sovereign bond issuances to finance the budget deficit,” he remarked.

Economy

NASD Exchange Extends Bearish Run After 0.56% Drop

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NASD Exchange

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange extended its stay in the south territory with a decline of 0.56 per cent on Wednesday, April 2.

This brought down the market capitalisation by N13 billion to N2.417 trillion from N2.430 trillion, and downed the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 22.57 points to 4,062.87 points from the previous session’s 4,062.87 points.

It was observed that the NASD exchange ended with three price gainers and three price losers during the trading day.

MRS Oil Plc depreciated by N19.00 to close at N171.00 per unit compared with the previous price of N190.00 per unit, NASD Plc lost N4.14 to trade at N37.36 per share compared with Wednesday’s N41.50 per share, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gave up N2.00 to sell at N78.00 per unit versus N80.00 per unit.

On the flip side, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc appreciated by 19 Kobo to N93.00 per share from N92.81 per share, Food Concepts Plc expanded by 15 Kobo to N2.87 per unit from N2.72 per unit, and Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc improved by 2 Kobo to 52 Kobo per share from 50 Kobo per share.

Yesterday, the volume of securities dipped by 91.8 per cent to 260.2 million units from 3.2 billion units, the value of securities went down by 98.1 per cent to N154.2 million from N8.3 billion, while the number of deals soared by 53.3 per cent to 46 deals from 30 deals.

GNI Plc was the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 56.9 million units valued at N3.9 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.5 million units traded for N1.8 billion.

The most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis was also GNI Plc with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.2 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units exchanged for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units transacted for N1.2 billion.

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Economy

Naira Slips to N1,380/$1 at Official Market, Remains N1,405/$1 at Black Market

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yuan-naira $10bn

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira dropped N2.09 or 0.15 per cent against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Thursday, April 2, to trade at N1,380.79/$1 compared with Wednesday’s rate of N1,378.70/$1.

However, it appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market by N2.77 to quote at N1,824.86/£1 versus the N1,836.57/£1 it was traded at midweek, and improved its value against the Euro by N10.54 to N1,591.92/€1 from N1,602.46/€1.

Yesterday was the last trading session of the week for the local currency in the spot market, as the market will be closed on Friday and Monday for the Easter Holiday.

At the black market, the Nigerian Naira maintained stability against the greenback yesterday at N1,405/$1, but gained N8 at the GTBank FX counter to settle at N1,388/$1, in contrast to the previous session’s N1,396/$1.

Pressure eased on the domestic currency as strong policy indicators have helped calm the majority of worries within the financial systems. Particularly in the remittance segment, the apex bank has directed all International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) to route remittance transactions through designated Naira settlement accounts in banks, a move aimed at boosting transparency and channelling more foreign exchange into the formal market.

This helps take off pressure from the foreign reserves, which have fallen below the $50 billion mark as they are gradually decreasing rather than falling sharply.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was bullish on Thursday, as macro sentiment shifted against recent optimism after reports that Iran is drafting a protocol with Oman to manage traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, easing concerns about disruptions to a key global oil route.

The remarks came after U.S. President Trump on Wednesday night vowed to hit Iran “extremely hard” in the coming weeks and that the Strait of Hormuz would “open naturally” once the war ends.

Cardano (ADA) chalked up 1.9 per cent to trade at $0.2435, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 1.2 per cent to $0.0912, Ethereum (ETH) appreciated by 0.8 per cent to $2,066.37, Bitcoin (BTC) added 0.5 per cent to sell at $67,080.53, Solana (SOL) increased by 0.5 per cent to $79.91, and Ripple (XRP) jumped 0.2 per cent to $1.31.

Conversely, Binance Coin (BNB) dipped 0.7 per cent to $586.90, and TRON (TRX) depreciated by 0.3 per cent to $0.3147, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.

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Economy

Bulls, Bears Share Customs Street’s Spoils Amid Bullish Investor Sentiment

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customs street

By Dipo Olowookere

The local stock market was relatively flat on Friday, as the bears and the bulls shared the spoils of war, though investor sentiment turned bullish compared with the preceding session’s bearish posture.

Data from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited showed that the All-Share Index (ASI) was marginally down by 4.66 points as it ended at 201,698.89 points versus Wednesday’s 201,703.55 points, and the market capitalisation slightly contracted by N3 billion to N129.806 trillion from N129.809 trillion.

Customs Street was shut on Friday because of the public holidays declared by the federal government today and next Monday.

Business Post reports that John Holt declined by 9.91 per cent to N15.45, Abbey Mortgage Bank shed 9.60 per cent to trade at N8.95, International Energy Insurance slipped by 6.48 per cent to N3.32, Chams shrank by 5.30 per cent to N3.75, and Tantalizers depreciated by 5.18 per cent to N4.03.

On the flip side, Unilever Nigeria improved by 10.00 per cent to N103.40, Fortis Global Insurance gained 9.82 per cent to trade at N1.23, Multiverse appreciated 9.81 per cent to N20.15, Legend Internet advanced by 9.38 per cent to N6.30, and Zichis grew by 9.02 per cent to N14.14.

The market breadth index was positive during the trading session, as there were 35 appreciating stocks and 24 depreciating stocks.

Yesterday, investors traded 560.0 million equities valued at N19.3 billion in 49,676 deals, in contrast to the 815.5 million equities worth N33.3 billion transacted in 52,641 deals in the preceding day, representing a drop in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 31.33 per cent, 42.04 per cent, and 5.63 per cent, respectively.

Secure Electronic Technology dominated the activity log with 59.7 million shares valued at N61.1 million, Wema Bank exchanged 52.0 million equities worth N1.4 billion, VFD Group transacted 36.0 million stocks for N410.5 million, Access Holdings sold 35.3 million shares valued at N914.8 million, and Chams traded 31.0 million equities worth N115.0 million.

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