CAPITAL MARKET
SEC wants capital market to attract more Nigerians
The Securities and Exchange Commission has said it is committed to making the capital market attractive to all Nigerians. The Director-General, SEC, Mr Lamido Yuguda, said this during a meeting with a team led by the British Deputy High Commissioner in Abuja on Friday, according to a statement on Sunday. According to him, the commission is implementing various initiatives to ensure that products and offerings in the market are accessible to both the young and old which will further deepen the market. Yuguda said, “The average age of that account holder was over 50, and that made us realise that the young people were not participating in this market and when young people are not participating in any market, that market is doomed to fail. Punch
Financial sector buoys NGX N19.6 billion turnover
The volume of shares traded on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) soared last week, as a turnover of 1.785 billion shares worth N19.6 billion was recorded in 27,822 deals. This was higher than 1.448 billion units valued at N19 billion that changed hands in 22,557 deals the preceding week. The financial services industry (measured by volume) led the activity chart with 1.094 billion shares valued at N10.5 billion traded in 13,580 deals; thus, contributing 61.3 per cent to the total equity turnover. The conglomerate industry followed with 144.172 million shares worth N253.3 million in 1,077 deals. The ICT Industry ranked third with a turnover of 122.193 million shares worth N1.7 billion in 1,661 deals. Guardian
BANKING
CRR: CBN Debits Zenith Bank, Providus, FCMB, 11 Others N356.1bn
For the first time in 2022, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has wielded the big stick and debited Zenith Bank Plc, Providus Bank, First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited and 11 other banks N356.1billion for failing to meet its 27.5 per cent Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) obligation. The fresh debit, which THISDAY reliably gathered occurred last Friday, has left many stakeholders in the banking very upset as the apex bank recently suspended debiting banks for not meeting the requirement. This Day
Sterling Bank extends N1bn credit to women-owned businesses
Sterling Bank Plc says it is prepared to extend N1 billion credit to businesses founded by women across the country with a free interest rate for the first 30 days under its OneWoman initiative. Its Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Abubakar Suleiman disclosed this in Kano recently while presenting the keynote address at the 5th edition of the Women Founders Conference. According to him, the bank is set to invest another $100,000 in the next two years in such businesses while adding that the best business is that which is set up to solve a problem. The Sun
ECONOMY
External reserves slides to four months low at $39.98bn
The external reserves have fallen below the $40bn mark to the lowest point in over three months, figures from the Central Bank of Nigeria have revealed. The reserves dropped to $39.82bn on February 2, 2022 from $40.53bn as of December 30, 2021. The country’s external reserves had jumped from $39.82bn on October 15, 2021, to a high of $41.83bn on October 29, on the back of Eurobond inflow and the International Monetary Fund’s Special Drawing Right. Punch
Fitch: Nigeria’s Oil Sector Weak Performance May Slowdown Economic Growth
Fitch Solutions, an affiliate of global rating agency, Fitch, has predicted that Nigeria’s weak performance in the oil and gas sector may continue to slow down the country’s economy in the coming years. In its latest report on the state of the Nigerian economy, the rating agency stated that from its analysis, the new Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) might not markedly impact the country in the near term. Forecasting an average annual decline of 0.5 per cent in the next four years, the group added that given the rapid pace of population growth in Nigeria, it expected that average incomes would continue to stagnate in the country. This Day
Akabueze: FG Not Excited by High Crude Prices, Rates above $63pb Have Negative Fiscal Impact
The federal government has stated that it would not be excited about the rising prices of crude oil in the international market as long as fuel subsidies regime remained in Nigeria’s domestic market. This was stated by the Director General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Mr. Ben Akabueze, during a webinar that was organised by the Financial Institutions Training Centre (FITC), under its National Economic Development Outlook Series 2022 with the theme, “Rebooting the Economy: The Path to Sustainable Growth.” This Day
Nigeria, others need $484bn by 2025 for economic recovery – AfDB president
The President, African Development Bank, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, says Africa needs $484bn over the next three years to tackle the socioeconomic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and boost economic recovery. Adesina said this on Saturday at the opening of the 35th African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A copy of his speech was published on AfDB’s website on Sunday. He first highlighted the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Africa. “It has been a global economic cyclone. Africa witnessed a decline in GDP growth of 2.1 per cent in 2020, its lowest in 20 years. Africa’s GDP fell by $165bn. Over 30 million jobs were lost and over 26 million people fell into extreme poverty,” he said. Punch
NIMC portal breaks down, banks, telcos, passport issuance suffer
Telcos lose millions, customers’ verification affected, NIMC apologises as engineers battle crisis Thousands of telecommunication subscribers nationwide seeking to retrieve their lost Subscriber Identity Module cards or acquire new lines temporarily have been left stranded, following a technical glitch in the National Identity Management Commission portal that has grounded SIM-related services. The affected NIMC portal enables telecom firms, the Nigerian Immigration Service, banks and other organisations to verify the National Identity Number of their customers before attending to them, in line with the Federal Government’s directive. Punch
