Economy

Shareholders Empower CSCS Board to Pay N3.5b Dividend

Published

8 years ago

29/05/2018

By Dipo Olowookere

Shareholders of Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) have approved the payment of N3.5 billion proposed by the board of the firm. This dividend payment amounts to 70 kobo per share for the 2017 business year.

The approval was given at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of CSCS Plc held on Monday, May 28, 2018 in Lagos.

During the meeting, the shareholders commended the board and management of CSCS for rewarding them. They charged them to continue to do more.

However, the shareholders expressed worry that the funding of the Investment and Securities Tribunal (IST) was not equally shared among stakeholders in the capital market.

They noted funding of the tribunal should be spread to all the value chains in the market, pointing out the present arrangement was weighing on the trio of CSCS, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Responding, Chairman of CSCS, Mr Oscar Onyema, agreed with the shareholders, saying everyone in the capital market should fund the tribunal since it was for all stakeholders.

Speaking on what the company plans to achieve in the future, Mr Onyema said the CSCS hopes to improve its services.

“We have unveiled our strategic business plan for 2018 to 2020 period. The strategic objectives and initiatives in the plan are anchored on the following pillars, process optimization, customers’ satisfaction, and technology improvement to deliver corporate goals, partnerships through strategic alliance across businesses and stakeholders, revenue growth. We have started leading initiatives to deliver on some of these pillars,” he said.

According to him, “We anticipate that our revenues shall continue to grow, and we shall continually keep our promise of decent return on investments for our shareholders.”

Also speaking at the AGM, the chief executive of CSCS, Mr Haruna Jalo Waziri, assured shareholders that, “We trust that as we continue to deliver value to our participants and stakeholders, our market dominance shall remain unchangeable.”

He said the company has developed a pipeline of new products in response to market need and will also reassess traditional products and services to ensure that its pricing model is smart, as well as guarantees the companies competitiveness.

CSCS Plc was incorporated on July 29, 1992 as a Financial Market Infrastructure (FMI) for the Nigerian Capital Market. It was commissioned in April, 1997 and commenced operations in April 14, 1997. On May 16, 2012, it became a Public Liability Company (PLC) by a special resolution.

The firm facilitates the delivery (transfer of securities from seller to buyer) and settlement (payment of bought shares) of securities transacted on the approved Nigerian Exchanges. It enables securities to be processed in an electronic book-entry form thereby substantially reducing the period it takes a transaction to commence and end.

Parts of its main functions include central depository for share certificates of companies quoted on The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE); sub-registry for all quoted securities (in conjunction with registrars of quoted companies); issuer of central securities identification numbers to shareholders; and custodian (in conjunction with custodian member(s) for local and foreign instruments.

Economy

NBA Demands Suspension of Controversial Tax Laws

Published

3 hours ago

24/12/2025

Modupe Gbadeyanka

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The federal government has been asked by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to suspend the implementation of the controversial tax laws.

In a reaction to the tax reform acts, the president of the group, Mr Afam Osigwe (SAN), the suspension of the laws would allow for a proper investigation into allegations of alterations in the gazetted and harmonised copies.

A member of the House of Representatives, Mr Abdussamad Dasuki, alleged that some parts of the laws passed by the parliament were different from the gazetted copy.

To address the issues raised, the NBA said it is “imperative that a comprehensive, open, and transparent investigation be conducted to clarify the circumstances surrounding the enactment of the laws and to restore public confidence in the legislative process.”

“Until these issues are fully examined and resolved, all plans for the implementation of the Tax Reform Acts should be immediately suspended,” the association declared.

It noted that the controversies “raise grave concerns about the integrity, transparency, and credibility of Nigeria’s legislative process.”

“These developments strike at the very heart of constitutional governance and call into question the procedural sanctity that must attend lawmaking in a democratic society,” it noted.

“Legal and policy uncertainty of this magnitude has far-reaching consequences. It unsettles the business environment, erodes investor confidence, and creates unpredictability for individuals, businesses, and institutions required to comply with the law. Such uncertainty is inimical to economic stability and should have no place in a system governed by the rule of law.

“Nigeria’s constitutional democracy demands that laws, especially those with profound economic and social implications, emerge from processes that are transparent, accountable, and beyond reproach. Anything short of this undermines public trust and weakens the foundation upon which lawful governance rests.

“We therefore call on all relevant authorities to act swiftly and responsibly in addressing this controversy, in the overriding interest of constitutional order, economic stability, and the preservation of the rule of law,” the organisation stated.

Economy

MRS Oil, Two Others Raise NASD Bourse Higher by 0.52%

Published

5 hours ago

24/12/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Demand for hot stocks, including MRS Oil Plc, buoyed the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.52 per cent on Tuesday, December 23.

The energy company was one of the three price gainers for the session as it chalked up N19.69 to sell at N216.59 per share versus the previous day’s value of N196.90 per share.

Further, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained N2.95 to close at N56.75 per unit versus N53.80 per unit and Golden Capital Plc appreciated by 84 Kobo to N9.29 per share from Monday’s N8.45 per share.

Consequently, the market capitalisation went up by N10.95 billion to N2.125 trillion from N2.125 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rose by 18.31 points to 3,570.37 points from 3,552.06 points.

Yesterday, the NASD bourse recorded a price loser, the Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS), which gave up 17 Kobo to close at N33.70 per unit against the previous trading value of N33.87 per unit.

The volume of securities traded at the session went down by 97.6 per cent to 297,902 units from the previous day’s 12.6 million units, the value of securities decreased by 98.5 per cent to N10.5 million from N713.6 million, and the number of deals remained flat at 32 deals.

By value, Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc ended as the most actively traded stock on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units exchanged for N16.4 billion. This was followed by Okitipupa Plc, which traded 178.9 million units valued at N9.5 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 36.1 million units worth N4.9 billion.

In terms of volume, also on a year-to-date basis, InfraCredit Plc led the chart with a turnover of 5.8 billion units traded for N16.4 billion. Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc ranked second with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.7 million, while Impresit Bakolori Plc followed with the sale of 536.9 million units valued at N524.9 million.

Economy

NGX All-Share Index Soars to 153,354.13 points

Published

5 hours ago

24/12/2025

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

It was another bullish trading session for the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited as it closed higher by 0.59 per cent on Tuesday.

The market further rallied due to continued interest in large and mid-cap stocks on the exchange by investors rebalancing their portfolios for the year-end.

Yesterday, Aluminium Extrusion sustained its upward trajectory after it further appreciated by 9.96 per cent to N14.90, as Austin Laz gained 9.81 per cent to close at N2.91, Custodian Investment improved by 9.69 per cent to N38.50, and First Holdco soared by 9.35 per cent to N50.30.

Conversely, Royal Exchange declined by 7.22 per cent to N1.80, Champion Breweries shrank by 6.57 per cent to N15.65, NASCON lost 5.36 per cent to trade at N105.05, Sovereign Trust Insurance depreciated by 5.28 per cent to N3.77, and Japaul went down by 4.51 per cent to N2.33.

At the close of business, 29 shares ended on the gainers’ table and 27 shares finished on the losers’ log, representing a positive market breadth index and bullish investor sentiment.

This raised the All-Share Index (ASI) by 895.06 points to 153,354.13 points from 152,459.07 points and lifted the market capitalisation by N579 billion to N97.772 trillion from the previous day’s N97.193 trillion.

VFD Group finished the day as the busiest stock after it recorded a turnover of 192.0 million units worth N2.1 billion, GTCO exchanged 63.5 million units valued at N5.6 billion, Access Holdings traded 49.8 million units for N1.0 billion, First Holdco sold 45.8 million units valued at N2.3 billion, and Secure Electronic Technology transacted 38.3 million units worth N28.4 million.

In all, market participants bought and sold 677.4 million units valued at N20.8 billion in 27,589 deals compared with the 451.5 million units worth N13.0 billion traded in 33,327 deals on Monday, showing an improvement in the trading volume and value by 50.03 per cent and 60.00 per cent apiece, and a shortfall in the number of deals by 17.22 per cent.