CAPITAL MARKET
On the heels of investors apathy, coupled with decline in corporate earnings for 2021 financial year and the first quarter of 2022, the values of 14 listed banks on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) added just N73.09 billion in five months of 2022 as investors trade with caution. According to THISDAY findings, six listed banks on the NGX recorded decline in stock prices, while others reported marginal increase in the period under review. It has been a challenging 2022 so far for Nigerian bank stocks as its Year-to-date performance, according to NGX banking index rose marginally by 4.8 per cent and has grossly underperformed the broader stock market gauge that has gained 24.05 per cent in Year-till-Date (YtD) performance. This Day
NGX to Deepen Collaboration With ICAN for Market Development
Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited has stated that it will deepen its collaboration with Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) for the development of the Nigerian capital market. The Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Exchange, Mr. Temi Popoola, CFA stated this at the Digital Closing Gong Ceremony of ICAN on the NGX. Popoola stated further, “Since its establishment in 1960, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria has been producing world-class Chartered Accountants, as well as regulating, and continuously enhancing their ethical standards and technical competences in the public interest. This Day
Bears sustain dominance as index slides further by 1.5%
Losses suffered by many blue-chip stocks, especially Nigerian Breweries and Northern Nigeria Flour mills (NNFM), sustained the dominance of the bears on the equities sector of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) as the All-share index depreciated further by 1.5 per cent. Market capitalisation of listed equities declined further by N421 billion or 1.5 per cent to N28.trillion from N28.989 trillion reported the previous day. The NGX All-Share Index also depreciated by 135.00 basis points to 52,990.28 points from 53772.14 points reported the previous day. Investors traded 318.278 million shares valued at N3.713 billion in 5190 deals against 27.564 billion shares worth N194.356 billion in 4585 deals. Guardian
MTN Nigeria appoints Mroue as non-executive director
The board of MTN has approved the appointment of Mazen Mroue as a non-executive director of the company effective June 1, 2022. This is according to a disclosure filed on the website of the Nigerian Exchange Group and signed by the company’s Secretary, Uto Ukpanah. The board at its meeting held on Thursday, May 26, 2022, approved Mroue’s appointment as a non-executive director of the company, effective June 1, 2022. Mroue holds a Master’s degree in Engineering, Intellectual Systems and Networks. He is also certified in Leadership Development and Executive Finance from Harvard Business School and INSEAD respectively. Punch
BANKING
CBN Mandates OFIs to Enroll in Credit Risk System by August1
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said the provisions of the regulatory guidelines for the redesigned Credit Risk Management System (CRMS) for commercial, merchant and non-interest banks issued on February 27, 2017, are now applicable to all Other Financial Intuitions (OFIs) in the country. As a result, the apex bank said enforcement of Section 3.1 (a) of the extant guidelines on CRMS that captures the “submit before disbursement” requirement shall apply to all OFIs on August 1, 2022. The central bank gave the directive in a circular address to all OFIs, dated May 24, 2022, which was signed by its Director, Financial Policy and Regulation Department, Chibuzo Efobi. This Day
ECONOMY
CBN retains 5% interest rate for power sector, others
Sequel to its development finance initiative, the Central Bank of Nigeria has agreed to leave interest rates at five per cent per annum for critical sectors and manufacturing industries until March 2023. The decision followed the resolution of the Monetary Policy Committee to increase benchmark interest rate to 13 per cent from 11.5 per cent. Rate increases of this nature often lead to increases in lending rates across the various sectors of the economy. The CBN said, “The MPC is of the view that rates on the development finance initiatives of the Bank should remain at five percent till March 2023.” The five per cent per annum interest rate is a form of subsidy for industry players who originally ought to pay an interest rate of nine per cent. But such rates may rise as high as 20 per cent per annum at commercial banks. Punch
Nigeria, others face high risk of food crisis – Report
Nigeria and 44 other countries around the world are severely exposed to the Ukraine war-induced food crisis, a study by Boston Consulting Group, a global management consulting firm, has shown. BCG, in a report titled, ‘The war in Ukraine and the rush to feed the world’, said it explored in detail, the multiple direct and indirect impacts of the turmoil in Ukraine on global food systems. The BCG report, co-authored with Food Systems for the Future, also provided 30 near- and medium-term solutions to help respond to the crisis and improve the resilience of global food systems. It said the affected countries, which were concentrated in Africa, South Asia and Latin America, were hotspots around the world as they endured some of the worst effects of the crisis. Punch
‘81 % of Nigerians lack meaningful internet connectivity’
Only 12.1 per cent of the Nigerian population currently enjoys Internet services (Meaningful Connectivity) quality in the country. This is according to an indepth research by the Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI). A4AI, which explained that 81 per cent meaningful connectivity gap exists in Nigeria, claimed that only 6.6 per cent of the rural population and 16.4 per cent of the urban have good Internet service. This is coming as broadband penetration in Nigeria hits 42.3 per cent , while users increased to 80.7 million in March. The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) statistics, which revealed this, also informed that Internet users via the narrow band also rose to 145.8 million within the same period. Guardian