CAPITAL MARKET
Large-cap stocks drag market lower, investors lose N11.83bn
The Nigerian equities market started the week on a negative note as declines in some large-cap stocks saw the market closing lower by N11.83bn at the end of trading. The Nigerian Exchange Limited’s All-Share Index fell by 0.05 per cent to close at N22.56tn from N22.57tn on Friday, while the market capitalisation dropped to 43230.34 basis points from 42,253.01bps. Investor activity on the floor of the NGX on Monday was negative as trading volume and value dipped by 6.8 per cent and 7.75 per cent, respectively. A total of 293.43 million shares valued at N4.29bn were traded in 4,329 deals, compared to 314.85 million units worth N4.65bn in 3,400 deals on Friday. Punch
BANKING
Four banks borrow $6.21bn from foreign market amid dollar shortage
In a bid to support their balance sheets with foreign exchange, four banks in the country raised $6.21bn from foreign creditors between January and October 2021. An analysis of reports shared on the issuer’s portal of the Nigerian Exchange Limited revealed that Access Bank Plc, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, Fidelity Bank Plc and the United Bank for Africa Plc sought dollar liquidity through secure and unsecured notes, three of which listed their notes on the London Stock Exchange. On February 11, Ecobank notified the NGX of successful pricing of its $300m fixed-rate, dollar-denominated bond, carrying a coupon rate of 7.125 per cent. It said the issuance was oversubscribed three times, with about $900m raised. Punch
ECONOMY
Inflation rate declines again despite rising prices
The National Bureau of Statistics on Monday disclosed that the nations’ inflation rate fell to 15.99 per cent in October, from 16.36 in September, according to its Consumer Price Index report. This October figure showed a steady decline in the country’s inflation rate over a seven-month period beginning from April. The decline is amid complaints of surges in the prices of goods and services by Nigerians. In recent times, the skyrocketing food prices in major cities across the country were being reported with adverse effects on household budgets. Punch
CBN Grants Airtel Approval-in-Principle to Operate Super-Agent
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday granted Airtel Nigeria the approval in principle to operate super-agent network in Nigeria. Airtel Africa, the parent company of Airtel Nigeria, announced this in a statement.
With the super-agent licence, Airtel would be able to create an agent network that could service the customers of licenced Nigerian banks, Payment Service Banks (PSB) and licenced mobile money operators in Nigeria. The approval came few days after the CBN granted Airtel and MTN approval-in-principle to operate as PSBs in Nigeria. This Day
After Months of Improvement, Nigeria’s Oil Rig Count Declines in October
After months of relative growth, Nigeria’s oil rig count fell from 11 in September to nine in October 2021, according to data released by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in its November Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR). The reduction of the country’s oil assets by two is in contrast to a number of other countries that have their facilities increase markedly, including Algeria’s, which climbed by three, Congo’s which rose by one, Saudi Arabia’s which increased by seven and United Arab Emirates which added four oil rigs. Angola’s rigs remained constant, staying at four in September and October, but overall, between 2018 and 2021, total OPEC rigs from the 13 member countries fell from 549 to 380, but rose by 13 month-on-month from 367 to 380. This Day
World Bank: Boko Haram Caused Economic Activities to Decline in North-east by 50%
The World Bank has stated that the destruction caused by the Boko Haram sect caused economic activities in the north-eastern part of the country to decline by 50 per cent. The multilateral institution noted that Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states which are in the Lake Chad region saw economic activities decline from 10 to 14 per cent between 2009 and 2013, adding that the region has recorded 50 per cent decline in activities from 2018. Speaking at the Launch of the Lake Chad regional economic memorandum, Lead Economist, World Bank and Co-author of the report, Mr. Marco Hernandez said: “In northern Nigeria, we see that 50 per cent or more of crop yields have been affected as a result of conflict, there is a huge cost that could very well turns into a benefit because that takes into account other factors that have been going on at the time, including, for instance, issues related to climate. This Day
