CAPITAL MARKET
‘N170b unclaimed dividend now in UDTF, says Yuguda
Equities investors yet to claim their dividends may face a more rigorous and cumbersome process in recovering them as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has disclosed that the N170 billion unclaimed dividends have been remitted to the new Unclaimed Dividend Trust Fund (UDTF). The fund is being managed by the Commission and the Debt Management Office (DMO). At a virtual post-Capital Market Committee (CMC) meeting held in Lagos, at the weekend, the Director-General of the SEC, Lamido Yuguda, said unclaimed dividends have been moved into the fund and are now managed by both institutions. He, however, stated that the monies would be released to the owner or beneficiaries with appropriate documents proving ownership. Guardian
SEC Engages Reverent Stakeholders to Re-introduced Tax Waivers in Debt Market
The Director General Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr. Lamido Yuguda has hinted that the SEC has commenced necessary engagements with relevant stakeholders to ensure that tax waivers exemption in the debt capital market is re-introduced. Speaking virtually during the first quarter Capital Market Committee, the DG noted that the sunset of tax waiver could potentially distort future capital inflows into the country with the likely pressure on foreign exchange, which is not in the interest of the economy as a whole. According to him, until recently, transaction fees were non-existent or negligible in the debt capital market, while the cost of regulation was relatively the same as in other instruments and markets, stressing that the fact that tax advantage gave the market some support, allowing it to grow. This Day
Consolidated Hallmark records N971.6m profit
Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Plc’s profit before tax grew by 26 per cent, from N772.5m as of the end of 2020 financial period to N971.6m at the end of 2021. The firm disclosed in a statement that its accounts had been approved by the National Insurance Commission and published by the Nigerian Exchange Group. CHI said it remained consistent with the timely rendition and approval of the operating results as a demonstration of its commitment to regulatory compliance and shareholder information flow. The statement said, “The Group’s 2021 financial result shows a gross premium written of N10.5bn, which when compared with the N9.8bn recorded in the corresponding period of 2020 represents a growth of 7.4 per cent. Punch
Sovereign Trust Insurance’s profit rises by 42%
Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc’s profit after tax rose by 42 per cent in the 2021 financial period. The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the underwriting firm, Mr Olaotan Soyinka, disclosed this in a statement on its 2021 financial performance. He stated that the “Company recorded a leap of 42 per cent in its profit after tax of N974m as against N687m recorded in year 2020. “Profit before tax equally increased as well from N796m in 2020 to N885m in the year under review, representing an 11 per cent growth rate. “The gross premium written in 2021 stood at N12.7bn compared to the N11.1bn written in 2020, representing an increase of 14 per cent.” Punch
NGX Lists N1.7 Trillion, $4 Billion Eurobond in Q1
The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) has announced that it listed issuance worth N1.701 trillion and $4billion Eurobonds on its platform in the first quarter (Q1) 2022. In a statement, the NGX said tthe issuance listed across both the bonds and equities markets are integral in deepening the market, improving liquidity and tradability, as well as increasing access to capital to fund growth initiatives. A breakdown revealed that under its bond market, the Federal Government of Nigeria dominated issuances, raising about N589.05 billion locally and listing $4 billion in Eurobonds. Further breakdown revealed that corporates also leveraged the low yield environment to fund expansion objectives and pursue debt refinancing, raising a total of N35.3 billion. This Day
BANKING
Aggrieved customers petition banks over N546bn wrong charges, others
No fewer than 2,256 depositors have lodged complaints on transactions totalling N368.9bn and $428.7m (N177.05bn) on their accounts against their banks with the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria. The institute, through its ethic and governance directorate, however, said it had been able to resolve 2,206 of the reported cases. It also said that total amount awarded on the cases were N30.65bn and $19.48m since the inception of the tribunal. The institute disclosed this in its 2021 annual report which was released on Saturday after its annual general meeting in Lagos. Punch
ECONOMY
Nigeria’s non-oil exports fall by 39%, dollar shortage may worsen
Nigeria’s non-oil exports are declining amid a worsening foreign exchange crisis, ODINAKA ANUDU reports. NIGERIA’S non-oil exports have fallen by 39 per cent from N6.914tn to N4.194tn in10 years, according to an analysis of the National Bureau of Statistics’ Foreign Trade Statistics by Financial PUNCH. Specifically, figures show that the N4.194tn non-oil exports recorded in 2021 is 39.34 per cent lower than the N6.914tn non-oil exports recorded in 2012. In 2012, Nigeria’s total exports amounted to N22.446tn. Out of this number, N15.531tn was crude oil export while N6.914tn was non-oil exports. The non-oil exports comprised 30.8 per cent of the total exports that year. Punch
NAICOM targets month-end for risk-based capital rollout
The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has concluded plans to introduce the Risk-Based Capital (RBC) roadmap to guide the industry on a new capital regime before the end of April 2022. This was one of the resolutions that were reached at the Insurers’ Committee meeting held in Lagos at the weekend. The Commissioner for Insurance, Sunday Thomas, while addressing Managing Directors of insurance companies and the Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) informed them that the Commission would by month-end make public its decision on what should constitute the capital for operators in the sector. He commended operators that have embraced the NAICOM portal while imploring those that have yet to fully comply with the directive to do so. Guardian
Electricity: Anger, confusion over frequent system collapse
Nigerians, at the weekend, expressed their displeasure over the nation’s deteriorating power infrastructure after electricity transmission grid collapse left millions in darkness. It was the fourth of such incidents in year 2022. With the inability of the managers of the transmission system to restore power supply to most parts of the country affected by the outage in over four days, consumers including households, industries and Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have blamed the government for being responsible for the problem. They argued that the frequent system collapse was negative impacting their operations, especially in the face of rising Diesel price at over N600 per litre. The Sun
