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Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund, Pension ETF 40 Open At NSE

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By Modupe Gbadeyanka

After being granted approvals by relevant agencies in Nigeria, the Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (SIDF) and SIAML Pension ETF 40 have been officially opened at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), with Stanbic IBTC Asset Management Limited (SIAML) acting as the fund manager to both funds.

Both SIDF and ETF 40 were given the nod by the NSE and the the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

While SIDF provides retail and institutional investors the opportunity to seek exposure in attractive dollar-denominated securities to serve as a devaluation hedge as well as to optimize returns on investments, ETF 40, an Exchange Traded Fund (ETF), will mirror the Pension 40 Index (Pension Index), replicating as closely as possible the total return of The NSE Pension 40 Index.

The Index, launched last year by the NSE to drive market optimization, is a tracking mechanism for investors, particularly institutional investors like Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs), that invest in line with guidelines set out by the National Pension Commission.

The NSE Pension Index monitors the top 40 most capitalized and liquid companies in the market.

The initial public offerings (IPOs) for units of both Funds opened on Monday, September 26, 2016 and will close on Wednesday, November 2, 2016.

The signing of the enabling agreement by the various parties to the transactions took place on Tuesday, September 6, 2016, when the directors of SIAML, the fund manager, and all other professional parties indicated that the signing completed the initial phase of the previously announced plan to float the products.

Under the terms of the deal, the parties agreed to proceed with the solicitation of offers for 5,000,000 units of the Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (SIDF) available at $1 each and multiples of 500 units thereafter.

The Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Asset Management Limited, Mrs Bunmi Dayo-Olagunju, said the Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund was launched based on the need to spur the preservation and appreciation of wealth.

“We believe that even in these volatile times, the Fund will foster the diversification of portfolios and investments in currency terms, which in turn will help in the preservation and appreciation of wealth for investors,” she said.

In the offering for the SIAML Pension ETF 40, there will be 10,000,000 units available for subscription at 100 each at par and multiples of 10,000 units thereafter. The Fund has an offer size of N1 billion.

Mrs Dayo-Olagunju added that the primary objective of the SIAML Pension ETF 40 was to provide investors access to the most liquid publicly quoted companies on the NSE that are compliant with the regulatory requirements for investing pension assets in terms of taxable profits, free float, dividend, sector and individual stock weighting.

“The SIAML Pension ETF 40 is designed as an instrument of choice for PFAs, Life Assurance companies, institutional investors, as well as foreign portfolio managers who are desirous of the Nigerian exposure with minimal liquidity and exit risk,” Mrs Dayo-Olagunju stated.

Highlighting some of the benefits of the ETF, she said it would provide investors with a strategic exposure to the equities market, allowing for flexibility, cost effectiveness, diversification of investment, as well as liquidity. She added that it would act as a benchmark for PFAs to measure performance and report same to Retirement Savings Account (RSA) holders.

On his part, the Chief Executive of Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited, Mr Funso Akere, commended SIAML for its efforts in deepening the Nigerian capital market through the introduction of new and innovative products with specific characteristics to meet the needs of various market categories.

Apart from SIAML as the fund manager, First Registrars and Investor Services Limited will serve as the registrar while Stanbic IBTC Capital is the issuing house.

Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Limited is the authorized dealer; FBN Trustees Limited will serve as trustees while Standard Chartered Bank is the offer custodian.

Stanbic IBTC Asset Management Limited, Mrs Dayo-Olagunju also said, will continue to leverage its expertise in asset and wealth management, built over the past 20 years, as well as the Stanbic IBTC Group’s rich heritage in corporate and investment banking to provide quality products and services that will not only deepen the market but enhance transparency, add value and lead to investor confidence.

Stanbic IBTC Asset Management Limited is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC, which is part of the Standard Bank Group, Africa’s largest bank by assets.

Standard Bank Group has been in operation for 153 years and has direct, on-the-ground representation in 20 African countries.

Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC provides the full spectrum of financial services with a clear focus on three main business pillars – Corporate and Investment Banking, Personal and Business Banking and Wealth Management.

Dipo Olowookere is a journalist based in Nigeria that has passion for reporting business news stories. At his leisure time, he watches football and supports 3SC of Ibadan. Mr Olowookere can be reached via [email protected]

Economy

NGX Seeks Suspension of New Capital Gains Tax

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By Adedapo Adesanya

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited is seeking review of the controversial Capital Gains Tax increase, fearing it will chase away foreign investors from the country’s capital market.

Nigeria’s new tax regime, which takes effect from January 1, 2026, represents one of the most significant changes to Nigeria’s tax system in recent years.

Under the new rules, the flat 10 per cent Capital Gains Tax rate has been replaced by progressive income tax rates ranging from zero to 30 per cent, depending on an investor’s overall income or profit level while large corporate investors will see the top rate reduced to 25 per cent as part of a wider corporate tax reform.

The chief executive of NGX, Mr Jude Chiemeka, said in a Bloomberg interview in Kigali, Rwanda that there should be a “removal of the capital gains tax completely, or perhaps deferring it for five years.”

According to him, Nigeria, having a higher Capital Gains Tax, will make investors redirect asset allocation to frontier markets and “countries that have less tax.”

“From a capital flow perspective, we should be concerned because all these international portfolio managers that invest across frontier markets will certainly go to where the cost of investing is not so burdensome,” the CEO said, as per Bloomberg. “That is really the angle one will look at it from.”

Meanwhile, the policy has been defended by the chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, who noted that the new tax will make investing in the capital market more attractive by reducing risks, promoting fairness, and simplifying compliance.

He noted that the framework allows investors to deduct legitimate costs such as brokerage fees, regulatory charges, realised capital losses, margin interest, and foreign exchange losses directly tied to investments, thereby ensuring that they are not taxed when operating at a loss.

Mr Oyedele  also said the reforms introduced a more inclusive approach to taxation by exempting several categories of investors and transactions.

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Economy

Food Concepts Return NASD OTC Exchange to Danger Zone

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By Adedapo Adesanya

Food Concepts Plc neutralized the gains recorded by three securities, returning the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange into the negative territory with a 0.27 per cent loss on Thursday, December 4.

Yesterday, the share price of the parent company of Chicken Republic and PieXpress declined by 34 Kobo to sell at N3.15 per unit compared with the previous day’s N3.49 per unit.

This shrank the market capitalisation of the OTC bourse by N5.72 billion to N2.136 billion from N2.142 trillion and weakened the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 9.57 points to 3,571.53 points from 3,581.10 points.

Business Post reports that Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by 50 Kobo to N38.50 per share from N38.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained 29 Kobo to sell at N55.79 per unit versus N55.50 per unit, and Geo-Fluids Plc added 5 Kobo to close at N4.60 per share compared with Wednesday’s closing price of N4.55 per share.

Trading data indicated that the volume of securities recorded at the session surged by 6,885.3 per cent to 4.3 million units from the 61,570 units posted a day earlier, the value of securities increased by 10,301.7 per cent to N947.2 million from N3.3 million, and the number of deals went up by 146.7 per cent to 37 deals from the 15 deals achieved in the previous trading session.

At the close of business, Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 5.8 billion units for N16.4 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 170.4 million units worth N8.0 billion, and Air Liquide Plc with 507.5 million units valued at N4.2 billion.

InfraCredit Plc also finished the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units transacted for N16.4 billion, followed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.2 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 536.9 million units traded for N524.9 million.

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Economy

Investors Gain N97bn from Local Equity Market

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By Dipo Olowookere

The upward trend witnessed at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited in recent sessions continued on Thursday as it further improved by 0.10 per cent.

This was despite investor sentiment turning bearish after the local equity market ended with 23 price gainers and 28 price gainers, indicating a negative market breadth index.

UAC Nigeria gained 10.00 per cent to finish at N88.00, Morison Industries appreciated by 9.94 per cent to N3.54, Ecobank rose by 8.53 per cent to N36.90, and Coronation Insurance grew by 8.47 per cent to N2.56.

On the flip side, Ellah Lakes depreciated by 10.00 per cent to N13.14, Eunisell Nigeria also shed 10.00 per cent to finish at N72.90, Transcorp Hotels slipped by 9.95 per cent to N157.50, Omatek shrank by 9.23 per cent to N1.18, and Guinea Insurance dipped by 8.46 per cent to N1.19.

Yesterday, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 152.28 points to 145,476.15 points from 145,323.87 points and the market capitalisation chalked up N97 billion to finish at N92.726 trillion compared with the previous day’s N92.629 trillion.

Customs Street was bubbling with activities on Thursday, though the trading volume and value slightly went down, according to data.

A total of 1.9 billion stocks worth N19.2 billion exchanged hands in 23,369 deals during the session versus the N2.3 billion valued at N21.0 billion traded in 21,513 deals a day earlier.

This showed that the number of deals increased by 8.63 per cent, the volume of transactions depleted by 17.39 per cent, and the value of trades decreased by 8.57 per cent.

For another trading day, eTranzact led the activity chart with 1.6 billion units sold for N6.4 billion, Fidelity Bank traded 31.0 million units worth N589.3 million, GTCO exchanged 28.3 million units valued at N2.5 billion, Zenith Bank transacted 27.1 million units for N1.6 billion, and Ecobank traded 21.9 million units worth N744.3 million.

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