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 Dipo Olowookere
About 0.04 per cent was recovered on Friday from the loss recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) the previous due to profit-taking.
Yesterday, investors were in the market with renewed vigour, mopping up stocks trading at relatively cheaper prices.
According to data, the insurance counter gained 0.41 per cent, the banking sector appreciated by 0.38 per cent, and the consumer goods index grew by 0.14 per cent.
The gains achieved by these three sectors were enough to lift Customs Street at the close of business despite the 0.26 per cent decline printed by the industrial goods segment and the 0.14 per cent loss suffered by the energy industry. The commodity counter was flat during the session.
A total of 43 equities gained weight on the last trading day of this week, while 26 equities shed weight, indicating a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
Red Star Express increased its share price by 10.00 per cent to N13.20, NCR Nigeria grew by 9.97 per cent to N128.55, SCOA Nigeria inflated by 9.96 per cent to N14.90, Omatek appreciated by 9.94 per cent to N1.77, and Deap Capital expanded by 9.85 per cent to N4.46.
On the flip side, McNichols decreased by 8.81 per cent to N6.00, Legend Internet crumbled by 7.56 per cent to N5.50, Cornerstone Insurance crashed by 6.48 per cent to N6.35, C&I Leasing contracted by 6.29 per cent to N8.20, and Austin Laz slipped by 5.78 per cent to N3.75.
Yesterday, 539.9 million shares valued at N16.7 billion were transacted in 48,023 deals versus the 1.0 billion shares worth N31.6 billion executed in 51,227 deals in the preceding day, implying a shrink in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 46.01 per cent, 47.15 per cent, and 6.26 per cent apiece.
Zenith Bank was the most active for the day with 54.6 million stocks sold for N3.8 billion, Jaiz Bank traded 41.5 million units worth N359.4 million, Secure Electronic Technology transacted 37.7 million units valued at N39.2 million, Access Holdings exchanged 30.5 million units for N699.2 million, and Lasaco Assurance transacted 27.2 million units worth N68.3 million.
When the market closed for the day, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 72.21 points to 166,129.50 points from 166,057.29 points and the market capitalisation gained N31 billion to N106.354 trillion from N106.323 trillion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was a positive ending for the Naira this week after it further appreciated against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, January 16 by N1.33 or 0.09 per cent to sell for N1,417.95/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,419.28/$1.
The domestic currency also gained N2.41 against the Euro in the official market to close at N1,647.51/€1 versus the preceding session’s closing price of N1,649.92/€1, however, it suffered a N7.97 loss against the Pound Sterling in the same market window to trade at N1,901.32/£1, in contrast to Thursday’s closing price of N1,893.35/£1.
In the same vein, the Nigerian Naira depleted against the Dollar at the GTBank FX counter by N2 to quote at N1,427/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,425/$1, but strengthened against the greenback at the black market yesterday by N5 to settle at N1,485/$1 versus the N1,490/$1 it was exchanged a day earlier.
Improved supply conditions helped keep the market within range as exporters’ and importers’ inflows in addition to non-bank corporate supply enhanced liquidity as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) made no visible intervention.
Stronger external inflows from foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) and improving current account dynamics, continue to align with structural support in the wider economy.
Nigeria has seen projections of a stronger economic or gross domestic product (GDP) growth and lower inflation in 2026, with these forecasts citing improved macroeconomic fundamentals and reform impacts.
As for the cryptocurrency market, it was mixed following selloff in precious metals and lower US stocks appeared to be denting crypto sentiment.
Gold and silver, both of which also enjoyed big rallies earlier this week, tumbled 1.2 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively while key US stock indexes — the Nasdaq, S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average — all reversed from early gains to modest losses in Friday trade.
Dogecoin (DOGE) shrank by 2.2 per cent to $0.1370, Ripple (XRP) slipped by 0.8 per cent to $2.05, Ethereum (ETH) went down by 0.7 per cent to $3,228.56, and Bitcoin (BTC) slumped by 0.6 per cent to $95,086.80.
Conversely, Litecoin (LTC) appreciated by 3.2 per cent to $74.48, Solana (SOL) rose by 0.4 per cent to $143.70, Cardano (ADA) jumped by 0.2 per cent to $0.3942, and Binance Coin (BNB) increased by 0.1 per cent to $935.88, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil prices settled higher amid lingering worries about a possible US military strike against Iran, a decision that may still occur over the weekend.
Brent crude settled at $64.13 a barrel after going up by 37 cents or 0.58 per cent and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude finished at $59.44 a barrel after it gained 25 cents or 0.42 per cent.
The US Navy’s aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln was expected to arrive in the Persian Gulf next week after operating in the South China Sea.
Market analysts noted that it doesn’t seem likely anything will happen soon. However, the weekends have become the perfect time for actions so as not offset the markets.
The market had risen after protests flared up in Iran and US President Donald Trump signalled the potential for military strikes, but lost over 4 per cent on Thursday as the American president said Iran’s crackdown on the protesters was easing, allaying concerns of possible military action that could disrupt oil supplies.
Iran produces approximately 3.2 million barrels per day, accounting for roughly 4 per cent of global crude production, so it was not a coincidence that markets rallied sharply through Tuesday and Wednesday as President Trump canceled meetings with Iranian officials and posted that “help is on its way” to Iranian protesters, raising fears of potential US military strikes that sent prices surging toward multi-month highs.
Weighing against those fears are potential supply increases from Venezuela.
The Trump administration is exploring plans to swap heavy Venezuelan crude for US medium sour barrels that can actually go straight into Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) caverns, since not all all oil belongs in the reserve.
According to Reuters, the Department of Energy is considering moving Venezuelan heavy crude into commercial storage at the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, while US producers deliver medium sour crude into the SPR in exchange.
Analysts expect higher supply this year, potentially creating a ceiling for the geopolitical risk premium on prices.
Some investors covered short positions ahead of the three-day Martin Luther King holiday weekend in the US.
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