Economy
Yuguda Calls for Aggressive Investor Education
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr Lamido Yuguda, has called for aggressive investor education, noting that this would help the investing public to make an informed decision on capital market products.
Mr Yuguda said this when he met the managements of the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) and the Lagos Free Zone (LFZ) in Abuja recently.
He tasked the two organisations to step up their investor enlightenment campaign as they prepare to access the capital market.
According to the DG, there is a lot of ignorance among investors as regards financial products, stating that there is a need for aggressive investor education to enable them to make informed decisions.
“When you come to the market to list, you must massively educate people. Investors would need to have as much information as possible about your company’s operations, especially since it operates within a Free Zone. They want to know how the NEPZA Act affects your cash flows and what is available to investors.
“These are important so investors can see the value the companies in the free zone have over those not operating there. They also want to know what the goal of the listing is as you need to erase those doubts and scepticism before listing,” he said.
Mr Yuguda stated that given the quantum of development and investment domiciled within the free zone, it holds the key to Nigeria’s future and commended the management for already contributing immensely to the economy by attracting international brands like Kellogg’s, Dano, BASF and Colgate to the Zone.
“Lagos Free Zone is enough to give domestic and international business communities the hope and courage to make valuable investments in Nigeria. You can imagine how much we spend travelling to buy goods abroad. With LFZ, I am convinced that we can transfer some of our demand to local production. I believe this is a bold step to bring back Nigeria’s industrial prowess,” he said.
The SEC chief pledged to ensure that the free zone remains attractive to investors and all other stakeholders by providing prompt regulatory backing where necessary.
In his remarks, the chief executive of LFZ, Mr Dinesh Rathi, said his organisation has assisted in creating employment for more than 7,000 people, and investment has also gone up considerably since they commenced operations, lauding the apex capital market regulatory agency for the support and progress on the draft regulation to enable the zone access the capital market.
“We hope the entire regulatory framework on Free Zone listing is completed by April. We solicit your support as this will pave the way for other operators who are having their own free zones to follow suit.
“Listing is not only a financial step but will also help deepen the market and attracts more investors. Listing creates a lot of positivity. Once the Free Zone is listed, part of the port gets listed too.
“In future, there is a possibility of the port also coming to the market. It is very crucial in a lot of ways, and the faster it is done, the better for all. We want to get past the finishing line quickly,” he said.
In his comments, the Managing Director of NEPZA, Prof Adesoji Adesugba, stated that the free zone scheme aimed to bring companies far away to operate within Nigeria where they can build their factories here, employ Nigerians and also export the products using the relevant laws, beneficial to them.
“To make it efficient, they are like a country within a country not subject to normal Nigerian laws. Since the SEC is efficient, we can allow you to regulate these companies. People need to understand that investment into this enclave before now was an FDI, no tax and the investors can take away 100% of their profit.
“They will be able to make reports to shareholders, the governance structure that is being utilized is as stipulated by the SEC. SEC stipulates the rules before the listing is done,” he said.
Mr Adesugba said that as a Nigerian, he prefers that Nigerians also benefit from the profits of these companies operating within the country hence his support on the listing desire of the Lagos Free Zone.
“I would not want people to come here, develop a port and take away profit 100 per cent without Nigerians benefiting from it. We need to design the regulations in such a way that the funds that are coming from the capital market suit our purposes.
“It is like a foreign country, but it is still in Nigeria, and Nigerians should be able to invest and get paid the dividends of their investments. The free zone is more efficient and does not allow those things that affect commerce ordinarily affect it,” he said.
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.
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.
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.
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