Economy
SEC Records 96% Compliance Level of Prudential Returns in 2022
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.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed flat on Wednesday, August 5, as the market witnessed weaker trading activity with only two deals executed.
In the midweek session, the volume of securities exchanged by investors dropped 99.9 per cent to 802 units from the 1.6 million units recorded on Tuesday. The value of securities further decreased by 99.6 per cent to N208,240 from the preceding session’s N47.6 million, and the number of deals significantly went down by 93.9 per cent to two deals from the 33 deals recorded a day earlier.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 76.9 million units transacted for N5.5 billion.
GNI Plc was also the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for 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 valued at N415.7 million.
There were no price gainers or losers yesterday.
As a result, the market capitalisation stood unmoving at N2.739 trillion, while the NASD Security Index (NSI) remained unchanged at 4,563.96 points.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira slid against the US Dollar by N2.28 or 0.17 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Wednesday, August 5, to N1,363.85/$1 from N1,362.55/$1.
The local currency also declined against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N5.97 to close at N1,837.38/£1 compared with Tuesday’s closing rate of N1,831.41/£1, and against the Euro, it crashed by N6.54 to quote at N1,575.25/€1 versus the preceding session’s N1,568.71/€1.
But at the black market, the Nigerian Naira traded flat against the greenback yesterday at N1,400/$1, and also remained unchanged at the GTBank FX desk at N1,373/$1.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says rates have narrowed to below two per cent, while the country’s external reserves have risen above $52.5 billion, reflecting the impact of its ongoing monetary and foreign exchange reforms.
CBN Governor Yemi Cardoso, represented by the Acting Director of Corporate Communications and Investor Relations, Mrs Hakama Sidi-Ali, disclosed this on Tuesday during the CBN Fair in Gombe. He noted that reforms introduced since 2023 had significantly reduced the disparity between the official FX market and the parallel market.
“The Naira continues to strengthen, with the spread between official and Bureau de Change rates now below two per cent,” he said, adding that reserves at $52.5 billion were supported by sustained inflows and renewed investor confidence in the economy.
Interbank FX transactions slid as weaker market activities dropped total Dollar volume exchanged to $75.35 million, a 51.8 per cent decline from $156.23 million in turnover quoted at the previous close.
The deals at the NFEM window also fell as data from the central bank put Wednesday’s quote at 82 from 139.
In the cryptocurrency market, major were down as global risk sentiment softened as a key world equity index slipped and chipmakers fell.
The MSCI All Country World Index snapped a five-day run to fall 0.2 per cent as chipmakers retreated on both sides of the Pacific. South Korea’s Kospi, a bellwether for the AI trade, dropped 4.4 per cent.
Ripple (XRP) depleted by 1.7 per cent to $1.05, Binance Coin (BNB) decreased by 1.0 per cent to $594.87, Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 0.9 per cent to $0.1884, TRON (TRX) shrank by 0.2 per cent to $0.3261, Solana (SOL) crumbled by 0.1 per cent to $74.00, and Dogecoin (DOGE) went down by 0.1 per cent to $0.0697.
On the flip side, Ethereum (ETH) gained 2.3 per cent to trade at $1,911.41, and Bitcoin (BTC) rose by 0.8 per cent to $64,759.28, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
By Dipo Olowookere
The domestic stock exchange rebounded by 0.05 per cent on Wednesday on the back of renewed bargain-hunting by investors, though the level of activity waned.
After bleeding for a few days, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited heaved a sigh of relief yesterday, as the All-Share Index (ASI) gained 109.41 points to close at 244,912.24 points compared with the previous day’s 244,802.83 points, and the market capitalisation garnered N71 billion to settle at N158.087 trillion versus Tuesday’s N158.016 trillion.
Business Post reports that despite the rebound recorded by Customs Street at midweek, the market breadth index remained negative, as there were 20 price advancers and 29 price decliners, implying bearish investor sentiment.
Linkage Assurance appreciated by 9.94 per cent to N1.77, AVA Capital rose by 9.55 per cent to N10.90, Fortis Global Insurance advanced by 7.69 per cent to N2.80, McNichols gained 7.34 per cent to finish at N5.85, and Coronation Insurance surged by 5.51 per cent to N2.49.
Conversely, Honeywell Flour depreciated by 9.94 per cent to N16.30, PZ Cussons gave up 9.94 per cent to trade at N74.75, Zichis crashed by 9.74 per cent to N20.76, Learn Africa slipped by 9.62 per cent to N9.40, and Neimeth tumbled by 8.33 per cent to N8.25.
The busiest equity was FCMB, with a turnover of 369.2 million units valued at N4.1 billion. Chams transacted 46.7 million units worth N201.8 million, First Holdco transacted 43.5 million units for N5.7 billion, Access Holdings sold 29.8 million units worth N778.0 million, and Linkage Assurance exchanged 19.6 million units valued at N33.5 million.
At the close of transactions, market participants bought and sold 824.1 million units worth N25.5 billion in 48,114 deals, in contrast to the 1.6 billion units sold for N28.7 billion in 54,160 deals a day earlier, showing a shortfall in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 48.49 per cent, 11.15 per cent, and 11.16 per cent, respectively.
