Economy
SEC Vows to Make Islamic Capital Market Attractive in Nigeria
By Dipo Olowookere
Those who wish to explore the Islamic capital market in Nigeria have been assured of an attractive enabling environment by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
According to the Director-General of SEC, Mr Lamido Yuguda, efforts are being made to work with relevant stakeholders to implement recommendations for the non-interest capital market sector in line with the objectives of the 10-year Nigerian Capital Market Master plan (2015-2025), which include developing the segment of the market to contribute at least 25 per cent of the overall capital market capitalisation by 2025, with Sukuk contributing 15 per cent of outstanding bond issuances.
Mr Yuguda, who spoke at the 2021 African International Conference on Islamic Finance held in Abuja on Wednesday, stated that Islamic finance instruments are globally recognized as acceptable securities, with less Value-at-Risk due to their asset-based and project-tied investment features.
He noted that due to this, the sector offers financial products that are safe, competitive and attractive, adding that many jurisdictions have realised the potentials in Islamic finance and have positioned themselves to tap the potential benefit of such financing.
“It is noteworthy that since Islamic finance heavily relies on the Islamic capital market (ICM) as an investable outlet, products such as Sukuk (Islamic bond), Islamic REITs (I-REITS), Islamic Funds (I-Funds) and Exchange-mirrored Traded Funds (Islamic Equity Index) could all be offered for the purpose of financing infrastructure,” the SEC chief, who was represented by the Executive Commissioner Corporate Services SEC, Mr Ibrahim Boyi, submitted.
At the event themed Infrastructure Financing, Sustainability, and the Future of African Markets 2.0, he further stated that, “Sukuk issuances are increasingly gaining significance as a veritable mode of infrastructure financing.
“Consequently, a number of countries in the Sub-Saharan region of the continent; Sudan, Gambia, Senegal, South Africa, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Mali, and Togo, have issued sovereign Sukuks to finance infrastructure.”
“For example, we have reviewed existing regulatory frameworks and introduced new ones. In particular, we issued rules on Islamic Fund Management as well as on Sukuk issuance.
“These two legal frameworks have encouraged Islamic product innovation with the registration of ten ethical/shariah compliant funds and the issuance of Nigeria’s sub-national Ijara Sukuk by the Osun State government in 2013, which was oversubscribed.
“Also, the federal government, through the Debt Management Office (DMO) has so far issued Ijara Sukuk in excess of N350 billion within the last 3 years. The funds were used to construct and rehabilitate infrastructure development projects across the six geo-political zones of the country.”
He noted that the agency recently approved a N30 billion corporate Sukuk programme and a N10 billion series issuance under the programme. This marks the first corporate Sukuk issuance to the public; commendably, the proceeds are to be used to finance housing infrastructure.
Similar to the sovereign issuances, the corporate issuance was also oversubscribed. The issuance was a landmark in the Market and we are confident that more corporates will begin to access the market.
According to him, the theme of this year’s conference resonates with a core function of the capital market as the market plays a crucial role in enabling access to medium and long term financing which is better suited to infrastructural development.
“According to the AfDB, Africa requires an annual investment of between $130 and $170 billion annually in infrastructure to reduce its infrastructure deficit. While according to the Global Infrastructure Hub (2020), Africa required an infrastructure investment of $184.03 billion in 2019 and $190.1 billion in 2020 to close its infrastructure deficits.
“The African continent continues to be challenged by deficits in infrastructure with governments being the major financier of infrastructure. Regrettably, governments’ efforts to finance the sector is constrained by large deficits in the budget, rising public debt and debt sustainability concerns,” he said.
He disclosed that the commission was also considering modalities to constitute a Sharia Advisory Council as a body of experts to advise the SEC and the market on non-interest products and their applications.
“Going forward, our focus will be on public enlightenment to encourage sub-national and corporate issuances and stronger capacity building initiatives. This is what informed the idea of hosting 3 webinars on non-interest capital market products in 2021 and more will be organised next year.
“We hope that the State governments represented here will take advantage of this important opportunity to familiarize themselves with the kind of products that can be issued and how to leverage this exciting area of finance to better the lives of our citizens.”
He reiterated the SEC’s commitment to continue to identify ways of using Non-Interest capital market products such as Sukuk as a tool for financing infrastructural development.
“We are committed to facilitating the growth of the non-interest capital market segment through innovation whilst ensuring a fair, efficient and transparent market.
“We will continue to put in place clear and consistently applied regulatory frameworks and reduce regulatory and operational impediments to engender the smooth functioning of the market,” he added.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The 25th week of trading at the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange ended on a positive note last Friday.
In the five-day trading week, investors saw an expansion in their investment portfolios by 0.5 per cent or N10 billion as the market capitalisation closed at N1.011 trillion compared with the preceding week’s N1.010 trillion as the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI) increased by 3.86 points to 768.27 points from 764.41 points.
Business Post reports that three stocks on the bourse contributed to the gains reported by unlisted securities investors last week as they overpowered the losses printed by two equities.
Niger Delta Exploration and Production Plc appreciated in the week by 10 per cent to close at N198.00 per share in contrast to the preceding week’s N180 per share, Citi Trust Plc grew by 9.6 per cent to N6.85 per unit from N6.25 per unit, while Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc appreciated by 2.5 per cent to N14.80 per share from N14.44 per share.
Conversely, NASD Plc lost 8.7 per cent to settle at N13.68 per unit compared with the previous N15.00 per unit, while Nipco Plc depreciated by 5.2 per cent to N58.85 per share from N62.10 per share.
There was a 352.8 per cent increase in the total value of transactions in the week to N324.4 million from N69.9 million, while the volume of trades went down by 57.0 per cent to 6.0 million units from 2.6 million units just as the number of deals decreased by 8.1 per cent to 57 trades from 62 trades of the previous week.
At the close of the week, VFD Group Plc was the most traded security by volume with 1.2 million units, CSCS Plc traded 703,377 units, NASD Plc exchanged 350,935 units, CitiTrust Holdings Plc traded 214,800 units, while NDEP Plc sold 65,300 units.
In terms of the value of trades in the week, VFD Group Plc also topped with N293.5 million, NDEP Plc recorded N12.5 million, CSCS Plc traded N10.4 million, NASD Plc posted N5.3 million, while CSCS Plc had N1.5 million.
On a year-to-date basis, investors have transacted 3.2 billion units worth N21.3 billion in 1,428 deals, with the year-to-date gain at 3.4 per cent.
By Dipo Olowookere
Holders of Greif Nigeria Plc shares have been prevented from trading the security on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited for now.
The embargo on the trading of the company’s stocks was placed on Monday, June 20, 2022, to ensure the process of winding up the organisation goes seamlessly.
Greif Nigeria, formerly known as Van Leer Containers Nigeria Plc, is in the business of making steel drums in the country. It also manufactures plastic containers and sheet metal products.
The company, which is a subsidiary of Greif International Holding BV, also offers services for steel punching and aluminium welding.
But lately, things have not been going on smoothly and it is in the process of winding up.
At its Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on January 31, 2022, the shareholders of the firm authorised the board to begin the voluntary winding up of the company.
In accordance with Section 622 of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020 which states that a voluntary winding-up shall be deemed to commence at the time of the passing of the resolution for voluntary winding-up, the NGX Regulation (NGX RegCo) Limited, has notified “all trading license holders and the investing public that it has suspended trading in the shares of Greif Nigeria Plc effective on Monday, June 20, 2022, to ensure a smooth winding-up process.”
In a notice filed last week, the agency explained that this action was also in line with Section 624 of CAMA 2020 which provides that a transfer of shares, not being a transfer made to or with the sanction of the liquidator, and any alteration in the status of the members of the company, made after the commencement of a voluntary winding-up, shall be void.
Business Post reports that Greif Nigeria, which uses the ticker Vanleer on the NGX trading platform, has shares outstanding of 42.640 million units and a market capitalisation of N232.4 million as it last traded at N5.45 per unit.
By Dipo Olowookere
Transactions on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited last week closed bearish with a week-on-week decline of 0.14 per cent, with the All-Share Index (ASI) and the market capitalisation closing at 51,705.61 points and N27.875 trillion respectively.
Similarly, all other indices finished lower with the exception of the CG, premium, banking, pension, NGX Afr bank value, energy and lotus indices, which appreciated by 0.86 per cent, 1.50 per cent, 0.33 per cent, 0.40 per cent, 0.16 per cent, 0.32 per cent and 0.55 per cent respectively, while the Asem and growth indices closed flat.
In the week, 16 equities gained points compared with the 13 equities of the previous week, while 56 stocks shed weight in contrast to the 51 stocks of the preceding week, with 84 shares closing flat as against the 92 shares of the earlier week.
Data from the exchange showed that CWG was the worst-performing stock as it fell by 14.89 per cent to 80 kobo, RT Briscoe dropped 14.29 per cent to 48 kobo, GlaxoSmithKline depreciated by 13.28 per cent to N6.10, John Holt lost 11.27 per cent to 63 kobo, while Academy Press went down by 10.00 per cent to N1.17.
On the flip side, NAHCO finished the five-day trading week as the best-performing stock as it gained 10.53 per cent to settle at N8.40, Champion Breweries appreciated by 10.00 per cent to N3.74, MRS Oil Nigeria rose by 9.80 per cent to N16.25, FBN Holdings improved by 8.76 per cent to N10.55, while Royal Exchange climbed higher by 6.59 per cent to 97 kobo.
Last week, investors bought and sold 1.121 billion shares worth N13.703 billion in 22,350 deals versus the 940.892 million shares valued at N11.494 billion transacted a week earlier in 20,077 deals.
FCMB, UBA and Oando accounted for 407.770 million shares worth N2.009 billion in 2,181 deals, contributing 36.39 per cent and 14.66 per cent to the total trading volume and value respectively.
A further breakdown showed that financial stocks led the activity chart with the sale of 806.824 million equities worth N6.075 billion in 11,071 deals, accounting for 71.99 per cent and 44.33 per cent of the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.
Energy shares recorded a turnover of 95.031 million units valued at N1.449 billion in 1,849 deals, while conglomerates goods equities traded 66.716 million units valued at N169.517 million in 733 deals.
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