Economy
SEC Sees Huge Untapped Investment Opportunity in Nigeria’s N59.5bn Housing Deficit
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr Lamido Yuguda, has said the N159.5 billion investment needed to address the 20 million housing deficit in Nigeria, according to a study by the World Bank Group, provides a huge untapped investment opportunity.
He said this issue could be addressed through the non-interest segment of the capital market, calling on stakeholders to join hands together to bridge the gap.
The SEC chief, who was at the webinar themed the Non-Interest Capital Market as Panacea to Mortgage Financing in Nigeria, said the focus of the programme was timely and relevant.
“I have observed with delight the attention this webinar has generated and come to the conclusion that it is a clear indication of the keen interest in the potential that the non-interest finance segment holds in furthering the development of the Capital Market and the growth of our economy.
“According to a World Bank study, Nigeria’s housing sector requires an investment of about N59.5 trillion to bridge the 20 million housing deficit that is increasing yearly. Undoubtedly, this shows a huge untapped investment opportunity in the Nation’s real estate sector,” he said.
Mr Yuguda stated that governments at both federal and state levels and businesses in Nigeria have been tapping various available sources of financing, including capital market products, for funding real estate developments. The methods of finance have various associated costs, some of which are deemed to be high.
He emphasised that the Nigerian capital market provides a platform for mobilizing long-term funds for real estate investments to complement the mortgage funding sources by commercial banks, primary mortgage institutions, non-governmental organizations, cooperative societies and international finance institutions.
“The capital market creates investment opportunities to enhance the flow of low-cost, long-term funds to the real estate sector through investment vehicles such as Real Estate Investment Trust Schemes (REITs) and mortgage-backed securities. These instruments are usually traded on recognised exchanges.
“I am delighted to inform you that some corporate entities have started taking advantage of the non-interest capital market.
In 2021, Family Homes Funds Limited, a social housing initiative promoted by the federal government, issued a N10 billion Sukuk to finance residential houses across the six geopolitical zones of the country, and it was oversubscribed by over 200 per cent.
“The company also recently raised another N10 billion from the market. This development was a strong indication of the readiness of the capital market and the corresponding investors’ appetite for non-interest mortgage instruments.
“We strongly believe that the operationalization of the non-interest pension fund (Fund VI) and the recent amendment of the pension act to facilitate withdrawals from RSA for down payments of equity contributions for a mortgage will increase the quantum of low-cost, long-term investible funds to the mortgage industry by unlocking the untapped capital in the economy.”
The webinar, he said, therefore, aims to create awareness of the non-interest capital market instruments as a new source of financing for mortgage institutions as well as to facilitate the active participation of the private sector towards positioning the sector to perform optimally and contribute to the overall economy.
Mr Yuguda expressed confidence that the non-interest finance experts at the webinar would evoke the interest and attention of participants and enhance their knowledge on the subject to eventually lead to the birth of promoters and off-takers of new non-interest products in the capital market.
Speaking at the event, the Managing Director CEO of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, Mr Madu Hamman, stated that the non-interest financial products have gained a lot of interest from investors in Nigeria and globally and could aid housing finance sources and expand the frontiers of home ownerships through non-interest finance sources.
He stated that the engagement would go a long way in giving the capital market the needed boost to unbundle funds that were hitherto not accessible to Nigerians, adding that it is obvious that the Nigerian economy is on the verge of experiencing a tremendous transformation in this regard.
Mr Hamman said that sourcing non-interest funds from the capital were very necessary for seamless operations as funds sourced from interest-based facilities cannot be leveraged to deliver on non-interest mortgage transactions.
“We are committed to linking the mortgage market with the Nigerian capital market and thereby ensure sustainable long-term funding for the housing and mortgage sector. The non-interest capital market is, therefore, one area for such sustainable long-term funds that can be assured,” he said.
In his remarks, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Mortgage Refinancing Company, Mr Kehinde Ogundimu, said there is no way the nation can meet the housing deficit without having the non-interest services sector actively participating in it and commended the SEC on the initiative.
By Dipo Olowookere
The local stock market firmed up by 1.13 per cent on Friday as appetite for Nigerian stocks remained strong.
Investors reacted well to the 2026 budget presentation of President Bola Tinubu to the National Assembly yesterday, especially because of the more realistic crude oil benchmark of $64 per barrel compared with the ambitious $75 per barrel for 2025. This year, prices have been between $60 and $65 per barrel.
Business Post observed profit-taking in the commodity and energy sectors as they respectively shed 0.14 per cent and 0.03 per cent.
But, bargain-hunting in the others sustained the positive run, with the consumer goods index up by 3.82 per cent.
Further, the industrial goods space appreciated by 1.46 per cent, the banking counter improved by 0.08 per cent, and the insurance industry gained 0.04 per cent.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 1,694.33 points to 152,057.38 points from 150,363.05 points and the market capitalisation chalked up N1.080 trillion to finish at N96.937 trillion compared with Thursday’s closing value of N95.857 trillion.
A total of 34 shares ended on the advancers’ chart, while 24 were on the laggards’ log, representing a positive market breadth index and bullish investor sentiment.
Austin Laz gained 10.00 per cent to close at N2.42, Union Dicon also jumped 10.00 per cent to N6.60, Tantalizers increased by 9.80 per cent to N2.69, Aluminium Extrusion improved by 9.78 per cent to N12.35, and Champion Breweries grew by 9.71 per cent to N16.95.
Conversely, Sovereign Trust Insurance dipped by 7.42 per cent to N3.87, Royal Exchange lost 6.84 per cent to trade at N1.77, Omatek slipped by 6.84 per cent to N1.09, Eunisell depreciated by 5.88 per cent to N80.00, and Eterna dropped 5.63 per cent to close at N28.50.
Yesterday, traders transacted 1.5 billion units worth N21.8 billion in 25,667 deals compared with the 839.8 million units sold for N32.8 billion in 23,211 deals in the preceding session, showing a surge in the trading volume by 76.61 per cent, an uptick in the number of deals by 10.58 per cent, and a shrink in the trading value by 33.54 per cent.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Three stocks stretched the bearish run of the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.21 per cent on Friday, December 19, with the market capitalisation giving up N26.01 billion to close at N2.121 billion compared with the N2.147 trillion it ended a day earlier, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) dropping 43.47 points to 3,546.41 points from 3,589.88 points.
The trio of FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, and NASD Plc overpowered the gains printed by four other securities.
FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc lost N6.00 to sell at N54.00 per unit versus N60.00 per unit, NASD Plc shrank by N3.50 to N58.50 per share from N55.00 per share, and CSCS Plc depleted by N2.91 to N33.87 per unit from N36.78 per unit.
On the flip side, Air Liquide Plc gained N1.01 to close at N13.00 per share versus N11.99 per share, Golden Capital Plc appreciated by 70 Kobo to N7.68 per unit from N6.98 per unit, Geo-Fluids Plc added 39 Kobo to sell at N5.50 per share versus N5.11 per share, and IPWA Plc rose by 8 Kobo to 85 Kobo per unit from 77 Kobo per unit.
During the trading day, market participants traded 1.9 million securities versus the previous day’s 30.5 million securities showing a decline of 49.3 per cent. The value of trades went down by 64.3 per cent to N80.3 million from N225.1 million, but the number of deals jumped by 32.1 per cent to 37 deals from 28 deals.
Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc finished the session as the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units valued at N16.4 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 178.9 million units transacted for N9.5 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 36.1 million units traded for N4.9 billion.
The most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis was still InfraCredit Plc with 5.8 billion units worth N16.4 billion, trailed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.7 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 536.9 million units traded for N524.9 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira at the two major foreign exchange (FX) market on Friday as it suffered a heavy loss against the United States Dollar at the close of transactions.
In the black market segment, the Naira weakened against its American counterpart yesterday by N10 to quote at N1,485/$1, in contrast to the N1,475/$1 it was traded a day earlier, and at the GTBank forex counter, it depreciated by N2 to settle at N1,467/$1 versus Thursday’s closing price of N1,465/$1.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) window, which is also the official market, the nation’s legal tender crashed against the greenback by N6.65 or 0.46 per cent to close at N1,464.49/$1 compared with the preceding session’s rate of N1,457.84/$1.
In the same vein, the local currency tumbled against the Euro in the spot market by N2.25 to sell for N1,714.63/€1 compared with the previous day’s N1,712.38/€1, but appreciated against the Pound Sterling by 73 Kobo to finish at N1,957.30/£1 compared with the N1,958.03/£1 it was traded in the preceding session.
The market continues to face seasonal pressure even as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is still conducting FX intervention sales, which have significantly reduced but not remove pressure from the Naira. Also, there seems to be reduced supply from exporters, foreign portfolio investors and non-bank corporate inflows.
President Bola Tinubu on Friday presented the government’s N58.47 trillion budget plan aimed at consolidating economic reforms and boosting growth.
The budget is based on a projected crude oil price of $64.85 a barrel and includes a target oil output of 1.84 million barrels a day. It also projects an exchange rate of N1,400 to the Dollar.
President Tinubu said inflation had plunged to an annual rate of 14.45 per cent in November from 24.23 per cent in March, while foreign reserves had surged to a seven-year high of $47 billion.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was dominated by the bulls but it continues to face increased pressure after million in liquidations in previous session over accelerating declines, with Dogecoin (DOGE) recovering 4.2 per cent to trade at $0.1309.
Further, Ripple (XRP) appreciated by 3.9 per cent to $1.90, Cardano (ADA) rose by 3.5 per cent to $0.3728, Solana (SOL) jumped by 3.4 per cent to $126.23, Ethereum (ETH) climbed by 2.9 per cent to $2,982.42, Binance Coin (BNB) gained 2.0 per cent to sell for $853.06, Bitcoin (BTC) improved by 1.7 per cent to $88,281.21, and Litecoin (LTC) soared by 1.2 per cent to $76.50, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.
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