Economy
TSA: Nigeria Saves N540bn Yearly in Interest Payments—FG
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The federal government has said it has saved at least N540 billion annually in interest payments at N45 billion per month since the treasury single account (TSA) was implemented.
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, which speaking in Abuja on Monday, said this TSA policy has brought huge benefits to the country, allowing the government to have more funds to meet some critical needs of the nation.
“On the monetary policy side, we have better control over money supply and, therefore, able to rein in inflation and undue pressure on the Naira.
“Our foreign reserve position has also recorded appreciable improvement through the consolidation of the federal government foreign currency earnings under the TSA,” the Minister said during the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on TSA with the Republic of The Gambia in Abuja.
She noted that because of the TSA, Nigeria could now easily determine its aggregate cash balance which is critical for managing public finances at a time of acute fiscal constraints.
The MoU with The Gambia was signed to put the West African nation through with running a single account for government revenue collection system.
In May 2019, the country’s representatives were in Nigeria to understudy the police based on the recommendation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
After the one-week tour, The Gambia requested for technical co-operation with Nigeria to support its own transition to TSA.
At the event this week in Abuja, Mrs Ahmed said the co-operation seeks to avail the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs of The Gambia of the vast knowledge, experience and technical expertise that Nigeria has gained in the past 15 years of implementing TSA in particular and other public financial management (PFM) reforms, in general.
“By so doing, The Gambia is properly guided as it implements its own TSA. The co-operation will enable The Gambia to leverage on the experience of Nigeria to build on our strengths while avoiding our mistakes,” she said, expressing the country’s happiness to “support The Gambia in their bid to implement TSA and other PFM reforms.”
“We are also open to supporting other African countries who may want to build on our experience and significant progress in TSA implementation. It is our belief that African countries are better off learning from each other and supporting each other because of our shared culture and history,” the Minister added.
“To start with, as with all governance reforms, you need strong political support to deal with the heavy lifting that comes with PFM reforms. Do not embark on this journey if you are not confident that you have the buy-in of your topmost political leadership.
“It is the most potent antidote against the several headwinds that will try to undermine and derail your reform effort,” Mrs Ahmed advised The Gambia.
Advising further, she said: “Next in line is to assemble the right team of competent and committed reformers with in-depth knowledge of PFM. Upon that team will rest the responsibility of translating policy into action and by so doing, ensuring that your TSA expectations are met. There are more factors at play. You need, for instance, the financial resources and an enabling environment to drive reforms.
“The importance of the synergy between the fiscal and monetary authorities, she also said, cannot be over-emphasised. Equally important, according to her, is the co-operation of other stakeholders: the parliament; the ministries, departments and agencies of government; the banks and service providers.
“Above all, the general public, on whose behalf government exists and manages public funds, must be convinced that TSA and other reforms are being implemented in their interest and for the good of the country. “As is the case in Nigeria, when you have their support, they will take it upon themselves to be against forces of resistance and any attempt at derailing the reforms.”
Responding, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance of The Gambia, Ms Ada Gaye, expressed her country’s happiness to be in Nigeria to sign the MoU, saying that the … tour has helped them to understand the workings of the TSA.
“The Gambia wants to efficiently manage its funds; the fragmentation of accounting systems in The Gambia is huge. It is, therefore, noteworthy for The Gambia to adopt TSA. Though … is still … We are going to create the needed sensitisation to help the people of The Gambia understand the process. Nigeria is the big brother while The Gambia is the small brother. We are happy to cement this brotherly love.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
Four price gainers lifted the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.54 per cent on Friday, February 14.
Okitipupa Plc improved its share price by N11.29 to close at N124.18 per unit versus N112.89 per unit, Mixta Real Estate Plc appreciated by 34 Kobo to finish at N3.76 per share versus the preceding day’s N3.42 per share, Afriland Properties Plc went up by 62 Kobo to settle at N21.03 per unit compared with N20.41 per unit, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc jumped by 5 Kobo to trade at N39.95 per share, in contrast to the preceding day’s N39.90 per share.
At the close of business, the market capitalization rose by N9.91 billion to N1.828 trillion from N1.818 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) increased by 17.49 points to 3,227.53 points from the 3,210.04 points recorded on Thursday.
During yesterday’s session, the volume of securities transacted by investors jumped by 1,001.3 per cent to 5.1 million units from the 465,820 units transacted in the previous trading day.
Also, the value of transactions surged by 1,025.4 per cent to N108.5 million from N9.6 million, while the number of deals went south by 10 per cent to nine deals from 10 deals recorded on Thursday.
Impresit Bakolori Plc finished the day as the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 519.5 million units worth N504.3 million, trailed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 7.4 million units valued at N293.2 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 9.3 million units sold for N44.8 million.
Similarly, Impresit Bakolori Plc ended the session as the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 519.5 million units worth N504.3 million, followed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 69.6 million units sold for N23.6 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 10.7 million units valued at N51.2 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira was relatively stable against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Friday, February 14, though it shed 10 Kobo or 0.01 per cent to sell at at N1,510.10/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,510.00/$1.
However, it depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the trading day by N7.32 to quote at N1,879.42/£1 versus the N1,872.42/£1 it was sold at the previous session and lost N6.27 against the Euro to settle at N1,566.23/€1, in contrast to Thursday’s closing rate of N1,559.96/€1.
At the parallel market, the Nigerian Naira improved its value against the US Dollar yesterday by N5 to finish at N1565/$1 compared with the preceding session’s value of N1,570/$1.
As for the cryptocurrency market, it was positive on Friday after investors overlooked recent data that frustrated the landscape.
This week, the US data released showed increment in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). This shows the US Federal Reserve will likely wait till June before making changes to the current interest rate levels.
Over the last two weeks, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has also acknowledged applications for Litecoin and Solana exchange traded funds (ETFs) — indicating that the SEC’s leadership under the Donald Trump administration has changed its tact to crypto-related listings.
Ethereum (ETH) expanded its value by 5.4 per cent to sell at $3,394.79, Solana (SOL) recorded a 4.4 per cent appreciation to end at $260.86, Cardano (ADA) jumped by 2.9 per cent to trade at $1.00, and Litecoin (LTC) saw a 2.6 per cent surge to quote at $116.78.
In addition, Bitcoin (BTC) appreciated by 2.1 per cent to settle at $1o4,978.31, Ripple (XRP) rose 0.7 per cent to $3.16, Dogecoin (DOGE) increased by 0.6 per cent to finish at $0.3572, and Binance Coin (BNB) gained 1.6 per cent to sell for $710.31, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
Dipo Olowookere
It was a sad Valentine’s Day for local stock investors as the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited depreciated on Friday by 1.02 per cent as a result of profit-taking.
This dragged the market capitalisation below N68 trillion because its value went down by N697 billion to N67.419 trillion from the N68.116 it closed on Thursday.
In the same vein, the All-Share Index (ASI) decreased by 1,118.09 points to 108,053.95 points from the 109,172.04 points recorded a day earlier.
The market bled yesterday as a result of the selling pressure across the key segments of the bourse except the industrial goods space, which closed higher by 0.78 per cent.
The consumer goods counter weakened by 5.01 per cent, the energy sector lost 2.34 per cent, the banking industry slumped by 0.75 per cent, and the insurance index depreciated by 0.15 per cent.
However, investor sentiment remained strong during the session. This was because the exchange ended with 38 price gainers and 28 price losers, implying a positive market breadth index.
BUA Foods slipped by 10.00 per cent to N373.50, DAAR Communications went down by 9.09 per cent to 70 Kobo, Aradel Holdings shed 6.90 per cent to trade at N530.00, Livestock Feeds tumbled by 6.09 per cent to N6.01, and Beta Glass plunged by 5.74 per cent to N95.20.
Conversely, Royal Exchange gained 10.00 per cent to sell for 99 Kobo, UPDC improved by 9.88 per cent to N3.78, The Initiates advanced by 9.76 per cent to N4.05, Red Star Express surged by 9.09 per cent to N6.00, and CWG increased by 7.41 per cent to N8.70.
A total of 478.8 million equities worth N13.9 billion exchanged hands in 15,613 deals on Friday versus the 427.1 million equities valued at N9.2 billion traded in 16,342 deals on Thursday, representing a fall in the number of deals by 4.46 per cent, and a growth in the trading volume and value by 12.11 per cent and 51.09 per cent apiece.
Leading the activity chart was Sterling Holdings with 88.6 million stocks valued at N531.8 million, Access Holdings transacted 29.7 million equities worth N835.1 million, Veritas Kapital traded 21.6 million shares for N26.0 million, AIICO Insurance exchanged 20.1 million stocks worth N34.6 million, and Honeywell Flour traded 18.4 million equities valued at N267.7 million.
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