Economy
Stakeholders Hail FCMB’s Export Trade Promotion
By Dipo Olowookere
The series of customer fora organised by First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited on export trade has been described as laudable and an impressive initiative as it will go a long way to assist the growth of businesses and activities of the government, particularly in its bid to diversify the nation’s economy through the Zero-oil strategy.
The commendation came from the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammed Sanusi II, Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Mr Olusegun Awolowo and other stakeholders who attended the customer forum of the Bank held in Kano on January 26, 2017.
It was in collaboration with the NEPC, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and 3T Impex Trade Academy.
The forum, the fourth by the Bank in its series, was themed, “Financial Inclusion for Non-oil Exports Growth”. It was aimed at further empowering and enhancing the capacity of its customers and other stakeholders on the rudiments and benefits of export trade and how FCMB could provide support, such as direct export financing, refinancing and rediscounting of sales contracts/invoice (pre-shipment and post-shipment financing) for agro commodities, solid minerals and other non-oil resources.
Speaking at the event, Emir Sanusi urged Nigerians engaged in export trade to move beyond primary products by focusing on the exportation of processed products, which will go a long way to add value to their businesses and the country in general. He stated that, “we must realise that the era of Nigeria exporting raw agricultural and other primary products is gone.
“For us to achieve the required mileage and benefits in international trade, we must redirect our efforts on processing finished products and export these items which will earn us more revenue, build capacity and accelerate the country’s drive towards industrialisation”.
He expressed gratitude to FCMB for organising the forum in Kano, while urging exporters in the state to take advantage of the opportunity to take their businesses to the next level.
“FCMB has provided a window of opportunity for businesses in Kano through this forum. I believe the Bank will use this platform to further empower the people, businesses and the economy of the state, considering its rich history beginning as an investment Bank and the institutions impressive skills pedigree”, Emir Sanusi added.
In his speech, Mr Awolowo, who was represented by the Regional Co-ordinator, North-West of the Council, Mr Abdullahi Mamman, stated that, “the NEPC’s collaboration with FCMB will play an important role in delivering the Zero-oil plan strategy and making the non-oil export sector a significant contributor to foreign exchange earnings”.
He added that by organising the customer forum, FCMB is helping to build a higher level of engagement with exporters and other stakeholders to promote competitiveness, competence and capacity through innovative and bespoke financial solutions.
Mr Awolowo explained that the Zero-oil plan is a coherent agenda to mobilise public and private sector resources towards replacing oil as the main source of the country’s foreign exchange and revenue.
“The focus is to make the world a market place for Nigerian non-oil products. We want to grow non-oil exports from $2.7 billion (2014) to $8 billion in 2019 and eventually $25 billion by 2025. Appropriate trade financing definitely is critical in achieving this feat”, he stressed.
Commenting on the customer forum, the Executive Director, Business Development of FCMB, Mr Adam Nuru, said it is one of the various initiatives of the Bank to build the capacity and support customers to take their businesses to the next level in order to effectively leverage on available opportunities, such as those provided by financial inclusion and e-payment solutions.
He added that, ‘’this programme helps to amplify how much we value our customers. It also provides a platform for us to equally inform the Market that we are truly on ground to support government, exporters and stakeholders in their efforts towards driving and growing export trade to boost non-oil revenue and other benefits in Nigeria in a sustainable manner’’.
Mr Nuru disclosed that FCMB has various services which it provides to exporters to enable them effectively carry out their business.
These include, but are not limited to, pre-shipment and post-shipment financing, processing of payments by way of telegraphic transfer, internet banking, or other means, provision of documentary and standby letters of credit, guarantees, performance bonds, securities underwriting commitments and other forms of off balance sheet exposures, issuing bank drafts and bank cheques to exporters to facilitate trade, lending through overdraft, instalment loans, cash management and treasury services, among others.
The Executive Director urged customers of the Bank to take advantage of these services so as to be able to compete favourably globally.
He assured that, “As an inclusive lender committed to exceptional service delivery, we will continue to champion and support initiatives that will fast-track the growth of the country and by extension our customers’ businesses in line with our values as a simple, helpful and reliable financial institution’’.
First City Monument Bank (FCMB) is a member of FCMB Group Plc, which is one of the leading financial services institutions in Nigeria with subsidiaries that are market leaders in their respective segments.
Having successfully transformed to a retail and commercial banking-led group, FCMB expects to continue to distinguish itself by delivering exceptional services, while enhancing the growth and achievement of the personal and business aspirations of its customers.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed flat on Wednesday, January 14, with the key performance indicators like the market capitalisation and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) remaining unchanged at N2.2 trillion and 3,678.13 points, respectively.
This happened despite the alternative stock market recording three price gainers led by Nipco Plc, which appreciated by N21.42 to sell at N235.90 per share compared with the N214.48 per share achieved a day earlier.
Further, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc improved its value by 84 Kobo to close at N40.97 per unit versus N40.13 per unit, and IPWA Plc expanded by 12 Kobo to finish at N1.35 per share, in contrast to Tuesday’s price of N1.23 per share.
During the trading session, the price of Food Concepts Plc went down by 31 Kobo to end at N3.06 per unit compare with the preceding day’s N3.37 per unit.
Yesterday, there was a 71.6 per cent drop in the value of transactions to N24.4 million from the N86.1 million recorded in the previous day, same as the volume of transactions, which shrank by 60.3 per cent to 645,002 units from the 1.6 million units posted in the previous day, as the number of deals depreciated by 71.6 per cent to 19 deals from 67 deals.
When the market closed for the day, CSCS Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 2.6 million units for N102.5 million, followed by MRS Oil Plc with a turnover of 265,748 units valued at N53.1 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 6.4 million units worth N43.4 million.
Geo-Fluids Plc ended the day as the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 6.4 million units traded for N43.4 million, trailed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with a turnover of 3.1 million units valued at N1.9 million, and CSCS Plc with 2.6 million units sold for N102.5 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira crashed against the United States Dollar on Wednesday, January 14 by 38 Kobo or 0.03 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) to N1,420.04/$1, in contrast to the N1,419.66/$1 it was traded a day earlier.
Despite the decline in the daily value of the Naira against the greenback in the official FX market, the near-term projection indicate that with continued support by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), stronger external inflows from foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), and improving current account dynamics, the local currency will remain within projected range.
The country’s external reserves continued to swell as it added $40.26 million to the previous day’s balance, bringing total reserves to $45.78 billion.
Data showed that the domestic currency firmed up against the Pound Sterling in the spot market by N2.89 to trade at N1,911.09/£1 versus Tuesday’s closing rate of N1,913.98/£1 and gained N1.11 against the Euro to finish at N1,655.48/€1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,656.59/€1.
At the GTBank forex desk, the Nigerian currency gained N4 on the US Dollar to sell for N1,427/$1, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1,431/$1 but closed flat at the black market at N1,490/$1.
A look at the cryptocurrency market showed that most of the tracked tokens were under pressure as broader financial markets turned cautious of the US-Iran rhetoric, which affect risk assets like crypto.
US President Donald Trump signaled he may delay military action against Iran, easing immediate geopolitical tensions.
With upcoming U.S. economic data unlikely to shift expectations for a Federal Reserve rate cut before midyear, traders are watching whether crypto can hold positive positions despite softer equity markets.
During the trading day, Litecoin (LTC) declined by 4.9 per cent to $74.70, Cardano (ADA) slumped by 4.3 per cent to $0.4024, Dogecoin (DOGE) went down by 2.6 per cent to $0.1433, Ripple (XRP) slipped by 2.0 per cent to $2.09, Ethereum (ETH) shrank by 0.13 per cent to $3,319.40, and Binance Coin (BNB) depreciated by 0.05 per cent to $936.13.
On the gainers’ angle, Bitcoin (BTC) led with an appreciation of 2.9 per cent to sell at $96,474.70, and Solana (SOL) grew by 0.3 per cent to $144.49, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
It was another trading session in the green territory for Customs Street on Wednesday as it closed higher by 0.56 per cent as investors doubled down on their confidence in the market.
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited rallied despite the consumer goods sector going down by 0.20 per cent due to profit-taking by traders.
According to data, the 6.26 per cent gain recorded by the energy space and the others contributed to the growth achieved by bourse at midweek.
Business Post reports that the commodity index was up by 3.35 per cent, the insurance counter expanded by 0.78 per cent, the banking index grew by 0.05 per cent, and the industrial goods sector advanced by 0.01 per cent.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) of the platform was swollen by 934.63 points to 166,771.95 points from 165,837.32 points as the market capitalisation inflated by N599 billion to N106.781 trillion from N106.182 trillion.
During the session, there were 47 price gainers and 28 price losers, implying a positive market breadth index and bullish investor sentiment.
Academy Press gained 10.00 per cent to close at N8.25, NCR Nigeria improved by 9.98 per cent to N106.30, Tripple G surged by 9.95 per cent to N4.86, Tantalizers rose by 9.93 per cent to N2.99, and McNichols leapt by 9.92 per cent to N7.31.
On the flip side, May and Baker lost 9.79 per cent to trade at N28.55, Coronation Insurance shed 6.76 per cent to settle at N3.31, Livestock Feeds declined by 6.67 per cent to N7.00, PZ Cussons moderated by 6.52 per cent to N54.50, and Eterna gave up 6.30 per cent to quote at N34.20.
It was a quiet market day on Wednesday as the level of activity dropped, as Access Holdings, which led the chart by volume, only transacted 53.4 million shares valued at N1.2 billion, Lasaco Assurance traded 39.0 million stocks worth N100.2 million, Veritas Kapital sold 32.8 million equities for N69.6 million, Tantalizers exchanged 30.1 million shares worth N89.6 million, and Deap Capital traded 28.6 million stocks valued at N114.1 million.
At the close of business, a total of 761.9 million equities worth N29.9 billion exchanged hands in 55,751 deals compared with the 1.1 billion equities valued at N33.6 billion transacted in 49,216 deals on Tuesday, indicating a shortfall in the trading volume and value by 30.74 per cent and 11.01 per cent apiece, and a leap in the number of deals by 13.28 per cent.
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