NSE index rises 0.44%, as Access Bank, Nestle, Transcorp gain

 

Trading on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) closed Friday on a positive note as the all share index (ASI) rose by 0.44 per cent at 29,878.33 basis points on attractive price sales, while market capitalization improved by N44.82 billion to close at N10.24 trillion.

Five of the nine NSE sector indices recorded gains today as the lotus Islamic Index rose 2.5 per cent to close at 2,164.48 points followed by the Consumer Goods Index which appreciated by 2.1 per cent to close at 752.78 points

The Oil and Gas index also increased by 1.5 per cent to close at 334.35 points while NSE 30 Index improved by 0.6 per cent to close at 1,345.32 points

The NSE Pension Index also gained 0.5 per cent to close at 878.07 points.

Conversely, The NSE Industrial Index led the sectoral losers by 0.23 per cent loss to close at 2,229.47 points trailed by the NSE insurance index with a decline of 0.22 per cent to close at 133.60 points.

While NSE Alternative Securities market index decreased 0.21 per cent to close at 1,207.64 points, despite impressive H1 results released this week by Sterling Bank Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc. And Access Bank Plc, the NSE Banking Index lost 0.4 per cent to close 295.07 points.

Market breadth was negative with 16 gainers to 27 losers.

Access Bank led the equity gainers with a 9.84 per cent or 42 kobo increase to close at N4.69 per share, Nestle Nigeria Plc. followed with a gain of 9.52 per cent or N83.98 to close at N965.98 per share.

Transnational Corporation of Nigeria rose 7.76 per cent or 17 kobo to close at N2.36 while Paint and Coatings Manufacturers appreciated by 4.76 per cent or 5 kobo to close at N1.10 per share.

Skye Bank also added 4.74 per cent or 9 kobo to close at N1.99

On the other hand Nigeria-German Chemicals Plc topped 27 equity losers with a loss of 9.63 per cent or 55 kobo to close at N5.16 per share. FCMB Group Plc declined by 5.58 per cent or 13 kobo to close at N2.20 per share

Ikeja Hotel Plc., Costain Plc and Etranzact Plc. dropped 5 per cent each to close at N2.85, 57 kobo and N3.42 per share respectively.

Naira Appreciates Against Dollar, Exchanges at N208/$

The Naira on Friday, regained its strength and appreciated to N208 to the Dollar in the parallel market, compared with N212 it traded for on Thursday.

The British Pound Sterling and the Euro also traded at N330 and N230, respectively, at the parallel market on Friday.

The official interbank exchange rate, however, remained at N197 to the Dollar.

According to Mr Olufukeje Adegbeye, a Wealth Manager, the fluctuation of the Naira is due to the global devaluation of the dollar and recent monetary policies of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

He says the businessman on the street should be taken into consideration, "some of our manufacturers still depend on the importation of raw materials for their operations.

He also said that the CBN, through its policies, has created avenues for the cross border smuggling of foreign currencies, especially the dollar.

Nigeria earn N2.5 trillion from oil export in 3 months

Nigeria earned N2.512 trillion from the export of petroleum products in three months, between April and June 2015, according to data released Wednesday, by the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS.

The NBS, in its Foreign Trade Statistics for the Second Quarter of 2015, also stated that Nigeria recorded total merchandise trade of N4.372 trillion and a trade surplus of N1.4 trillion in the month under review.

It is instructive to noted that the amount the country earned from petroleum products sale in the second quarter of 2015, was 56.8 per cent of the country’s N4.49 trillion 2015 budget.

Also the amount earned from the export of petroleum products accounted for 57.5 per cent of Nigeria’s total merchandise trade and 87.3 per cent of total export.

In its classification of petroleum products export in the period under review, the NBS data revealed that the country exported petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals and crude oil valued at N2.121 trillion; liquefied natural gas valued at N260.7 billion, while liquefied petroleum gas and other gaseous hydrocarbons valued at N66.41 billion was also exported.

Others are: liquefied propane — N43.88 billion, partially refined oil including crude oil having gone primary refinement —N13.577 billion and liquefied butanes — N6.15 billion.

Specifically , giving a breakdown of Nigeria’s merchandise trade, the NBS stated that Nigeria’s total export stood at N2.879 trillion, while total import stood at N1.49 trillion, thereby, leading to a trade surplus of N1.39 trillion.

The value of total merchandise trade, according to the NBS, was 0.5 per cent less than the total of N4.393 trillion recorded in the first quarter of 2014 and 34.3 per cent or N2.287 trillion less than the amount recorded in the second quarter of 2014.

In addition, the report stated that at N2.879 trillion, Nigeria’s total export appreciated by 8.0 per cent or N214.1 billion when compared with the value of exports in the first quarter of 2015, while it represented a decline of N1.8 trillion or 38.5 per cent when compared with total exports of N4.682 trillion recorded in the second quarter of 2014.

Continuing, the report stated that, “Other products exported by Nigeria include vehicles, aircraft and parts thereof; vessels among others at N250.6 billion or 8.7 per cent; Vegetable Products at N36.7 billion or 1.3 per cent, and Prepared foodstuffs; beverages, spirits and vinegar; tobacco at N24.6 billion or 0.9 per cent of the totals respectively.”

Furthermore, the report stated that Nigeria’s major export destination was India, with export trade of N406.1 billion or 14.1 per cent of total export.

Other top export destinations in the period under review were: Spain, Netherlands, South Africa and Brazil with N297.4 billion or 10.3 per cent, N296.3 billion or 10.3 per cent, N240.9 billion or 8.4 per cent and N147.8 billion or 5.1 per cent of the total exports respectively.

In the area of imports, the report said, “The value of Nigeria’s imports stood at N1.493 trillion during second quarter 2015, a decrease of 13.6 per cent from the value of N1.728 trillion recorded in the preceding quarter.

“Year-on-year, analysis showed that import trade was lower by N484.0 billion or 24.5 per cent.

“Nigeria imported goods mostly from China, United States, India, Belgium and Netherlands, which respectively accounted for N336.5 billion or 22.5 per cent, N143.6 billion or 9.6 per cent, N115.4billion or 7.7 per cent, N83.4 billion or 5.6 per cent and N80.9 billion or 5.4 per cent of the total value of goods imported during the quarter.”
Source: GhanaWeb

Shell lifts force majeure on gas supplies to Nigeria's NLNG

Shell said on Friday that its Nigerian joint venture lifted its force majeure on natural gas supplies to the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Co (NLNG) after repairing a pipeline.

The force majeure was put in place on Aug. 4 after the company discovered a leak on the Eastern Gas Gathering System (EGGS-1).

"The leak was caused by a crude theft connection, apparently installed by people who thought the line was transporting crude oil," a spokesman for Shell said in an emailed statement.

States get FG bonds to offset bank loans

RISING from its 60th meeting yesterday, the National Economic Council (NEC) confirmed that 11 states have been issued with the federal government bonds to offset loans owed to commercial banks.

The 11 states were among the 22 that applied for the bonds. The Council received briefings on development in the power sector from the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele; Director-General of the Debt Management Office (DMO), Mr. Abraham Nwankwo; Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, (NNPC ), Dr. Ibe Akachikwu Governor of Kwara State, Abdulfatah  Ahmed, disclosed this to State House correspondents after the NEC meeting which was presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the presidential villa, Abuja.

He was joined at the briefing by the Governor of Jigawa State, Badaru Abdullahi, Williie Obiano of Anambra and Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State.

The development followed President Muhammadu Buhari’s approval of plan to restructure states’ bank loans into Federal Government bonds to address fiscal imbalance.

Twenty-two states submitted reports and applied for the restructuring process. The proposal which seeks to convert and restructure the bad loans to bond with the assistance of the Debt Management Office (DMO) is expected have a tenor of between 15 – 20 years.

In a joint briefing, the governors said that the Director General of the Debt Management told NEC members that  it had requested states to reconcile figures with the banks which they have jointly authenticated as at June 30th this year.

As at August 14th, 2015, out of the 22 states that have applied, FGN bonds have been issued in respect of the loans of 11 states. The bonds were issued to 14 banks after submitting the reconciled figures and other required documents for the restructuring.

The governors also said that with this development, the DMO is currently reviewing the additional submissions by states in the second phase of the programme.

Obiano said the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance reported to the Council that the current excess crude proceeds stand at US$2.207 billion as at August 2015.

CBN Releases Guidelines To Allow Nigerians In The Diaspora Register For BVN

The Central bank of Nigeria (CBN) has unveiled the guidelines for the enlistment of Nigerians in the diaspora on the BVN initiative, according to CBN circular released to Nigerian commercial banks.

The development will allow Nigerians in the diaspora, get their BVN numbers without the need to come to Nigeria, albeit only in the following cities — London, Dubai, Leicester, New Delhi, Washington DC, Johannesburg, Shanghai, Guangzhou, New York, Beijing, and Houston.

All that is needed of Nigerians staying abroad who wants to register is to present themselves physically at their bank’s branches/subsidiary, where facilities have been made available. The bank said it will add other cities based on demand.

According to the CBN, “The deployment of scanners and devices to these locations have started in earnest. Nigerian banks abroad are expected to capture necessary data, generate a BVN and communicate same to the customers. Thereafter, the customers are expected to forward  the assigned BVN to their  banks, for linkage with their accounts.”

A web portal to achieve linkage to bank accounts has been developed and deployed, while the process of such linkage will be made available by the Nigerian interbank Settlement System(NIBSS) to all those enrolled abroad.

There had been anxiety over the fate of Nigerians in the diaspora as regards registration and acquisition of BVN.

The other option is through a contractor — Online-integrated solutions (OIS), engaged by CBN to record necessary data, and give out BVN numbers, but at a fee of £30 to the customer.

The BVN, an initiative by the CBN to identify bank customers was initially slated to close on June 30, but was later postponed to October.

NNPC To Explore Community-Based Pipeline Policing

The Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, expresses the Corporations’ commitment to tackling oil theft

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) says the Corporation may settle for the option of community-based policing to protect the vast artery of oil and gas pipeline network across Nigeria.

The decision of the Corporation was made known by the Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, at a meeting with the Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ambassador Perry John Calderwood held  at the NNPC Towers in Abuja on Friday,

Dr. Kachikwu pledged to give a lot of attention to the perennial menace of pipeline vandalism and oil theft.

Pipeline Protection Format

In a statement issued after the meeting by the spokesman for the Corporation, Ohi Aligbe, the NNPC boss said that in the months ahead, the Corporation would initiate discussions with community leaders and interest groups with a view to fashioning a workable community oriented pipeline protection format, with less emphasis on the use of brute force to secure the lines.

On the state of the refineries, Dr. Kachikwu solicited for support from Canadian companies and service providers, stating that Nigeria could make do with Canada’s vast experience in refining and expertise in oil and gas operations.

In his response, Ambassador Calderwood said the Canadian government and business entities were willing to work with the NNPC in growing the Nigeria oil and gas industry to enviable heights.

Nigerian stock index falls 4-1/2 month low, naira firms

Nigerian stocks fell to a four and half months low on Monday, undermined by heavyweight cement and energy firms, while the naira currency firmed on the parallel market on weak demand.

The local bourse index declined 2.59 percent to 29,909 points, its lowest since March 25, with Dangote Cement , which accounts for a third of market capitalisation, and energy firm Seplat fell 5 percent apiece to 171.48 naira and 270.75 naira each.

Nigeria’s stock market, which has the second-biggest weighting after Kuwait on the MSCI frontier market index, fell for the sixth consecutive day as investors switched funds to shorter-dated money market instruments with higher yields.

Four Mills of Nigeria shed 4.96 percent to 26.63 naira, Nigerian unit of South Africa’s Standard Bank Stanbic IBTC fell 4.98 percent to 18.88 naira and beverage maker Cadbury was down 4.98 percent to 31.64 naira.

On the foreign exchange market, the naira traded at 217 to the dollar in the parallel market, better than the 221 it closed last Friday amid improved dollar liquidity as central bank sustained its dollar sales in the market, traders said.

The central bank increased the frequency of dollar sales to the bureau de change operators two weeks ago to twice-weekly from the usual once a week previously in a move meant to increase liquidity in the market and support the local currency.

Traders said many people are no longer willing to hold dollars after the central bank banned dollar cash deposits in dollar accounts held locally by bank customers.