CAPITAL MARKET
Investors Interest in MTN Nigeria Lifts Stock Market by N33bn
The stock market of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) yesterday rebounded as the market capitalisation appreciated by N33billionn, ending two-day investors profit-taking. Unlike in the past two trading sessions, performance in the domestic stock market was positive following renewed interest in top telecommunication player, MTN Nigeria Communications (MTNN). Precisely, the All-Share Index inched higher by 61.39 basis points or 0.13 per cent to close at 46,904.48 points, while the overall market capitalisation value gained N33 billion to close at N25.279 trillion. This Day
Operators seek speedy listing of privatised firms, multinationals
Capital market operators have renewed the call for relevant authorities to expedite action to list privatised companies on the Exchange, stating that the listing of 10 new companies on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) within five years added N6.08 trillion to the market capitalisation. According to them, the listing, which took place between 2018 and 2022 has provided access to capital for Nigerian and international companies, from small-cap and growth-oriented companies to more established businesses looking to utilise the capital market to fund their businesses and expansion strategies. Guardian
BANKING
Agbaje: Holdco Structure Will Take our Valuation Way Beyond Current Position
The Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCo), Mr. Segun Agbaje has assured that the completion of its restructuring into a holding company structure, will take it beyond current valuation. He likened the transition to the current structure to its foray into African countries revealing that results from West and East Africa has proven the company right. He said GTCos subsidiaries will come good sooner that expected insisting that there is no quick fix. He predicted that the group’s profit before tax will hit N243.5 billion at the end of 2022 from the 2021 figure of N221.5 billion. This Day
Access to deepen Africa trade finance, diaspora remittances
The Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Access Holdings Plc, Dr. Herbert Wigwe, has said that the bank, in its move to become one of the top five in Africa by 2027, plans to deepen its trade finance capacity to support intra-African trade, enhance payments and diaspora remittances. According to Wigwe, the bank had never failed to meet its aspirations in terms of growth in its 20-year history, adding that the bank’s projection for 2027 would be pursued aggressively and be met. Wigwe told journalists that the projection would see the bank regionalising its presence on the continent with regional offices in Ghana, Nairobi, Botswana, South Africa and Nigeria. Guardain
Four banks lost N1.77bn to fraud in 2021, says report
Four Nigerian deposit money banks lost a total of N1.77bn to fraudulent activities involving the banks’ employees and consumers in 2021. This was contained in the 2021 financial statements of the banks. The banks are Access Bank Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, First Monument City Bank, and Wema Bank. The Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System, a company saddled with the responsibility of providing infrastructure for interbank transactions in the country, said Nigeria’s adoption of several electronic channels continued to rise as N271.95tn worth of transactions were recorded on its platform in 2021 compared to N158.21trn that changed hands on the platform in 2020. Punch
ECONOMY
Russia-Ukraine war: Oil hits $114, OPEC laments seven million bpd loss
Brent, the crude against which Nigeria’s oil is priced, moved up in price to $114/barrel as at 4.34pm Nigerian time on Wednesday, rising by $3.72 or 3.37 per cent when compared to the previous day’s cost. Its rise in price followed the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, as the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries raised the alarm that the crisis was also costing the energy market more than seven million barrels of crude oil daily. Punch
31.6 million Nigerians live in areas without telecom coverage – NCC report
Thirty-one million, one hundred and sixty thousand Nigerians live in areas without telecommunication coverage, according to the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy. The ministry revealed this in the appendix of its ‘Nigerian National Broadband Plan 2020 – 2025’ document. According to the ministry, unserved areas are locations without any service provider coverage. It added that in 2013 there were 207 clusters without network coverage which reduced to 114 in 2019. It said, “Broadband coverage to unserved areas is critical to ensure delivery of quality internet services and to provide access to enhanced economic and social opportunities such as financial inclusion, and access to government services. Punch
Senate demands downward pay-TV tariff review, orders hike probe
The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, on Wednesday, constituted a seven-man ad hoc committee to investigate the hike in the tariffs imposed on subscribers by pay-tv service providers operating in Nigeria. The Senate has also asked all cable television service providers to immediately review their bouquet prices downwards, in tandem with the prevailing reality of the economic situation in Nigeria. Lawan, while announcing members of the committee chaired by the Deputy Majority Whip, Senator Aliyu Sabi-Abdullahi, tasked the panel with carrying out a comprehensive probe into how pay-tv service providers impose bills on subscribers in other countries. Punch
Members of the committee include Senators Sulaiman Kwari, Oluremi Tinubu, Yusuf Yusuf, Lekan Mustapha, Chukwuka Utazi, Akon Eyakenyi.
Telecoms Subscribers Jitter over SIM Deactivation as NIN-SIM Registration, Linkage Ends Today
Telecoms subscribers who are yet to register and link their National Identification Number (NIN) with their Subscriber Identification Module (SIM card), are beginning to jitter over the initial threat by the federal government to deactivate all SIM cards that are not linked to NIN, after today’s deadline of March 31, 2022. Allaying such fears, the Head, Corporate Communications, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Mr. Kayode Adegoke, however said in as much as the deadline for NIN-SIM registration and linkage is today, NIMC registration centres would still be open to telecoms subscribers who could not register before today’s deadline. This Day
Countries with Huge Debts Vulnerable to Financial Crises, Recession, IMF Warns
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that economies with large external debts could be vulnerable to financial crises and deep recessions when capital flows out. The IMF stated this in a Review of the Institutional View on the Liberalisation and Management of Capital flows it released yesterday. It noted that while the overall presumption that capital flows could bring substantial benefits for countries and that capital flow management measures (CFMs) it should not substitute for warranted macroeconomic adjustment. It stated: “Capital flows can help countries to grow and to share risks. This Day
