Economy

Stockbrokers Must Ascertain Investors’ Source of Fund—ASHON

Published

8 years ago

21/05/2018

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria (ASHON) has emphasised that it is wrong for investors to just jump into the capital market without first approaching its members.

According to the association’s General Secretary, Mr Sam Onukwe, a new investor must contact a stockbroking firm for a proper Know Your Client (KYC) to ascertain basic information about him or her.

Mr Onukwe stressed that the KYC must be extensively conducted in order to ascertain information such as the address of the new investor, form of identification, source of livelihood and source of fund for investment among others.

“An investor who has some funds to invest must go through a stockbroking firm, who shall conduct the KYC which is very fundamental.

“The stockbroker must carry out investigation to ascertain that the potential investor is a fit and proper person.

“I must emphasize that because we are very mindful of people using the market for money laundry and all of sorts of illegality.

“The next phase is for the person to complete the processes of account opening forms .We shall do the account opening with the Cleaning house of The Nigerian Stock Exchange, the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc.

“The CSCS shall provide an account number for the client and that is the basis upon which we can now buy and sell on behalf of the client. But our purchase or sale order must be based on instruction or agreement with the client,” he said.

According to him, after the rudiments of KYC and account opening, stockbrokers are interested in an investor’s Investment objective in order to know the types of asset classes that would form his portfolio.

He stated that where an investor could not clearly explain his objectives, there is a mechanism through which a stockbroker can design certain questions for the investor in order to ascertain his risk profile and other important investment variables.

Speaking on investor confidence in the market, he said confidence had been restored as investors have seen a lot of transformation on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) after the meltdown.

He explained that both capital market regulators and operators had been working together to ensure adherence to global best practices in all areas of market operations.

Recently, ASHON’s Chairman, Mr Patrick Ezeagu, explained that the association would soon commence its enlightenment programme tagged ‘ASHON Investor Education’ in order to meet the yearning demand for market knowledge by the existing and potential investors nationwide.

According to Mr Ezeagu, the youths would be factored into the reviewed programme in order to help them develop investment instinct at a tender age. He noted that ASHON’s members must always exhibit highest level of integrity as there are sufficient rules and regulations to address any act of unethical practices by its members.

He assured investors to take advantage of relatively cheap prices of stocks on The Exchange to beef up their portfolio as the market fundamentals are very strong while return on investment on The Exchange would continue to be attractive.

Commenting on what informed ASHON’s decision to float Lagos Commodity and Futures Exchange (LCFE) in conjunction with the Lagos State Government, Mr Ezeagu explained that, “An emerging trend is that government is now expanding its scope of diversification in terms of earning foreign exchange from other access other than crude oil. If we are diversifying and they have to go into commodities which has to do with agricultural products as well as solid mineral and gas, it means that there must be a platform where our members can play their intermediating roles in terms of trading on warehouses receipts electronically

“The ultimate goal for our members is to be able to push for high turnover in this proposed market. The whole process is all about how we can play our role in the economy and ensure that the economy grows in the manner its supposed to grow. We must be part of the diversified economy as Nigeria would no longer be dependent on crude oil any longer.”

Economy

Dangote Values Refinery at $39bn, Seeks $1bn in Private Placement

Published

20 hours ago

11/06/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Dangote Petroleum Refinery is seeking to raise about $1 billion through a private placement that values the company at $39.1 billion.

According to reports, the refinery is offering 3 billion ordinary shares at $0.35 per share. Investors must subscribe for at least 1 million shares, equal to $350,000, with additional subscriptions accepted in multiples of 500,000 shares. The shares will be subject to a 365-day lock-up period from allotment.

It was reported that demand for the offer has already exceeded $2 billion, suggesting that the placement may be oversubscribed.

The operation is already attracting the interest of local investors. Recall that Nigerian billionaire, Mr Femi Otedola, has committed $100 million, while Afrobeats superstar, Mr David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, also announced he would participate.

The proceeds will be used for expansion projects and general corporate purposes as the refinery deepens its role in Nigeria’s fuel supply market.

The facility has a nameplate capacity of 650,000 barrels per day and began fuel production in 2024. It produces diesel, aviation fuel, naphtha and premium motor spirit.

Standard Bank Group has also said it plans to play a leading role in the refinery’s future public listing, after the facility completed test runs at 700,000 barrels per day. It aims to reach 1.4 million barrels per day by 2028.

The fundraising is likely to renew expectations of a future public listing with a major stakeholder, Mr Aliko Dangote, saying the refinery could be listed, though no timeline was disclosed in the memorandum.

The current placement is seen as an early step that could expand ownership ahead of any future initial public offering (IPO).

Mr Dangote plans to sell between 5 and 10 per cent of the refinery on five major African exchanges: the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), the BRVM, the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) and the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE).

It has appointed Stanbic IBTC Capital, Vetiva Capital Management and FirstCap to lead the planned initial public offering of its refinery business on the Nigerian Exchange.

Economy

Investors Lose N3.1bn as NASD Exchange Remains Red

Published

24 hours ago

11/06/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange entered a third straight day of losses after it fell by 0.12 per cent on Wednesday, June 10.

The depletion trimmed the market capitalisation further by N3.1 billion to N2.590 trillion from N2.593 trillion, and cut the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 5.19 points to 4330.12 points from 4,335.31 points.

11 Plc lost N22.21 during the session to finish at N221.00 per share versus the previous day’s N243.21 per share, MRS Oil Plc depreciated by N6.90 to N158.10 per unit from N165.00 per unit, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc decreased by N2.81 to N78.32 per share from N81.13 per share.

On the flip side, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc went up by N9.27 to N183.08 per unit from N173.81 per unit, Nitrox Industrial Gases Plc added N1.92 to its value to close at N23.80 per share compared with the preceding day’s N21.88 per share, and Food Concepts Plc gained 10 Kobo to exchange at N2.58 per unit, in contrast to Tuesday’s closing price of N2.48 per unit.

At the close of business, the volume of securities traded by investors contracted by 92.6 per cent to 117,374 units from 1.6 million units, and the value of securities moderated by 80.5 per cent to N12.2 million from N62.3 million, while the number of deals increased by 4.9 per cent to 43 deals from 41 deals.

Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc finished the day as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 65.2 million units exchanged for N4.4 billion.

GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million

Economy

Naira Crashes to N1,362.05/$1 at Official Window After N1.50 Loss

Published

1 day ago

11/06/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira fell against the United States Dollar by N1.50 or 0.11 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) to sell at N1,362.05/$1 on Wednesday, June 10, compared with the N1,360.55/$1 it traded on Tuesday.

Also, the local currency lost N4.33 against the Pound Sterling in the official window yesterday to trade at N1,827.33/£1 versus the preceding day’s N1,823.00/£1, and depreciated against the Euro by N1.74 to quote at N1,575.35/€1, in contrast to N1,573.61/€1 of the previous session.

However, at the GTBank forex desk, the Naira gained N3 against the US Dollar to sell at N1,370/$1 versus N1,373/$1, and at the parallel market, it remained unchanged at N1,380/$1.

Updated data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that foreign reserves surged further due to additional inflows from various sources. Nigeria’s gross external reserves increased to $50.439 billion, its highest level since March 2026, reflecting sustained inflows from oil revenue and other FX sources.

Also, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said increased confidence in the Naira, supported by lower and more stable inflation, would encourage households, businesses and investors to hold more local currency assets and reduce reliance on foreign currencies.

The global lender, in a recent assessment, stressed the importance of strengthening the CBN’s operational framework and aligning liquidity management operations more closely with monetary policy objectives.

In the cryptocurrency market, there were recoveries from recent losses as US headline inflation rose an expected 0.5 per cent in May, but the beat on the core rate — which cuts out food and energy costs — pleased markets. The core rate, though, rose just 0.2 per cent in May against forecasts for 0.3 per cent.

The print reinforces the view that the US Federal Reserve will keep interest rates at 350-375 basis points at its June 17 meeting, but is likely to increase rates by 25 basis points by the end of the year.

Cardano (ADA) went up by 2.4 per cent to $0.1647, Bitcoin (BTC) rose by 2.3 per cent to $62,794.09, Binance Coin (BNB) jumped 1.8 per cent to $596.23, Ethereum (ETH) grew by 1.7 per cent to $1,658.12, and Solana (SOL) also soared by 1.7 per cent to $65.23.

Further, Dogecoin (DOGE) appreciated by 1.5 per cent to $0.0849, Ripple (XRP) expanded by 0.4 per cent to $1.11, and TRON (TRX) increased by 0.05 per cent to $0.3218, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) lost 0.10 per cent to close at $0.9989, and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) declined by 0.01 per cent to $0.9997.