CAPITAL MARKET
Oil, gas firms lead as stock market gains N94bn
Oil and gas firms led the upturn in the stock market on Monday as investors gained N94.04bn at the end of trading on the floor of Nigerian Exchange Limited. The NGX All-Share Index appreciated by 0.47 per cent on Monday closing at 38,849.08 basis points from 38,667.90 earlier. The market capitalisation of equities rose from N20.15tn on Friday to N20.24tn at the end of trading on Monday. The total volume of shares traded rose by 7.08 per cent from 230.25 million shares valued at N2.31bn exchanged in 4,135 deals last Friday to 246.56 million shares worth N2.24bn traded in 4,676 deals. Punch
Operators task FG on EODB as market dips by N1.4tr in seven months
Investors in the nation’s capital market have stressed the need for the Federal Government to adopt a holistic approach in tackling issues constraining the growth of the market to achieve sustainable recovery. In separate interviews with The Guardian, the shareholders expressed worry about the huge loss of investment they have suffered in the last few years, owing to the increasing level of insecurity, kidnapping, recurrent farmers-herders clashes, unemployment, weak naira and GDP growth, rising inflation and dwindling revenue. Guardian
Unilever Nigeria grows profit by 60% in six months
Unilever Nigeria Plc has said its gross profit rose by 60 per cent to N9.9bn for the six-month period ended June 30, 2021 from N6.2bn in the corresponding period of 2020. It disclosed this on Sunday in a statement released on its unaudited interim report for the period, titled ‘1H 2021 unaudited report: Unilever Nigeria records 43 per cent growth on topline’. “The company recorded turnover of N39.2bn in the period under review which represented 43 per cent topline growth compared to N27.3bn turnover recorded in the corresponding period in 2020,” Punch
ECONOMY
Nigeria’s revenue-to-GDP ratio lowest, private sector choking – World Bank
Nigeria’s revenue-to-Gross Domestic Product ratio, which fell to between five and six per cent last year, is the lowest in the world, the World Bank said on Monday. The Country Director for Nigeria, World Bank, Dr Shubham Chaudhuri, said this during a panel session at a virtual public sector seminar with the theme ‘Nigeria in challenging times: imperatives for a cohesive national development agenda’ organised by the Lagos Business School. Chaudhuri, who stressed the need for private investment for the country to realize its potential, said the private sector in the country ‘is struggling to breathe’. Punch
Buhari signs N982.7bn 2021 Supplementary Appropriation Bill into law
President Muhammadu Buhari, Monday, in Abuja signed a supplementary budget of N982,729,695,343 into law. According to a statement by Senior Special Assistant to the President Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the budget is to address urgent security and COVID-19 needs of the nation. The President signed the Supplementary Appropriation Act, 2021 in his office at the State House in the presence of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, Chief of Staff, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari and Director-General, Budget Office of the Federation, Ben Akabueze and Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters. The Sun
25,645 workers dump PFAs, move N102.59bn to other operators
No fewer than 25,645 workers who were displeased with their Pension Fund Administrators have transferred N102.59bn in their Retirement Savings Accounts to other PFAs. The National Pension Commission disclosed this in a presentation titled ‘Understanding the RSA transfer process’ during a seminar for journalists in Lagos on Monday. According to the presentation, 2,799, 12,681 and 10,165 workers transferred N18.90bn, N47.78bn and N35.91bn in fourth quarter of 2020, Q1, 2021 and Q2, 2021 respectively. The pension regulator opened the transfer window in November 2020. Punch