NSE ASI Appreciates 0.03% As Seplat Leads Dangote Cement, Stanbic On Gainers Chart

The equities market closed on Tuesday a positive note, as NSE ASI appreciated by 0.03% to close at 23,834.87basis points, compared with the 0.37% depreciation recorded previously. Its Year-to-Date (YTD) returns currently stands at -16.78%

The marginal appreciation recorded in the share prices of Dangote Cement, UBA, Access Bank, Stanbic IBTC Holdings, PZ Cussons and Dangote Sugar were mainly responsible for the marginal gain recorded in the value of the Index.

The total value of stocks traded on the floors of The NSE today was N2.41bn, down by 52.67% from N5.10bn traded yesterday. The total volume of stocks traded was 313.67mn in 3,451 deals.

The three most actively traded stocks were: UBA (123.03mn), Sterling Bank (50.10mn) and Zenith Bank (33.37mn). The most actively traded sectors were: Financial Services (290.31mn), Consumer Goods (9.63mn) and Conglomerates (3.90mn).

Market breadth closed negative as SEPLAT led 22gainers against 17 losers topped by Glaxosmith at the end of today’s session- an improved performance when compared with previous outlook.

Market turnover closes positive as volume moved up by 19.56% against 8.70% uptick recorded in the previous session. UBA, Sterling Bank and Zenith bank were the most active to boost market turnover. Zenith Bank and Guaranty top market value list.

Sterling Bank leads the list of active stocks that recorded impressive volume spike at the end of today’s session.

Altogether, a total of 313,677,000 shares worth N2.411billion exchanged hands in 3,451deals.

SEC takes e-dividend registration sensitisation campaign to Lagos

Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) is set to commence another round of sensitization campaign on e-Dividend registration which is currently on-going in the country.

This next campaign is scheduled for Lagos from February 8-11, 2016 beginning with a three-day Road Show to be rounded up with a Town Hall meeting on the last day.

Last month, the Commission embarked on a robust campaign to sensitize members of the investing public on the on-going e-dividend registration and other initiatives that have commenced as a result of implementation of the Ten (10) year Capital Market Master Plan. The aim is to eradicate the difficulty encountered by retail investors in claiming their dividends.

The SEC last year July, in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) launched the e-payment platform and advised investors and all shareholders in the capital market to approach their banks/registrars to obtain an e-Dividend Mandate form for immediate processing and upload to the e-Dividend Mandate Management System (e-DMMS).

CBN bemoans banks excessive investment in government securities

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has accused commercial banks of excessive investment in government securities rather instead of extending credit facilities to the real sector of the economy.

In a document obtained from the CBN website, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the apex bank, chaired by its Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, recently discouraged commercial banks operating in the country over there persistent investments in Federal Government Bonds and Treasury Bills on the heels risk-free investment and high returns.

The CBN governor urged DMBs to improve lending to the real sector and explore ways of incentivizing lending to employment- and growth-generating sectors, particularly Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

He noted that harmonization of monetary with fiscal policies is prerequisite for resolving the nation’s economic problems, as regards steering the economy away from oil dependency.

Kerosene subsidy: Marketers may sell above N200/L

 Following the removal of subsidy on household kerosene, there are growing fears that marketers will sell the scarce commodity as high as N250 per litre in some locations in the country, even as government suggested open market price of N83/L.

Some of the marketers and dealers who spoke to Sweetcrude disclosed that prior to the new price announced by the Federal Government, they sold the product  between N100 and N150/Litre, but with the new price, they will sell at even higher prices.

Most of the filling stations visited in Abuja, the Federal Capital, claimed they have not yet purchased new stock since the announcement, while those that had the product were selling at N120/L.

For instance, Forte Oil in Central Area District, Area 3, said the last time they had the product was three months ago, Total in Area 11 and Area 3, said theirs was last sold two months ago, while all the private stations visited in the same areas did not have the product also.

Commenting on the price hike, ActionAid Nigeria, an anti-poverty agency, argued that this will further worsen the poverty situation in the country.

According to the Country Director, ActionAid, Ms. Ojobo Atuluku, the Federal Government’s decision to remove subsidy on kerosene signifies a continuation of a worrying trend of regressive policies that are emanating in recent times.

She noted that the product is mostly used by the poor who have no other means of preparing their meals and lighting up their homes in the face of unreliable electricity.

Some consumers who commented on the issue like Mrs Hadijat Bello, who resides in Apo Dutse in Abuja, said there is no significant impact from the price hike since she normally bought the product at N110/L even while it was supposedly being subsidised.

Similarly, Aisha Jubril, said she had never bought the product at the regulated price of N50/L and wondered how much marketers will now sell the product at N83/L.

No subsidy paid in January— Kachikwu

 

THE Minister of State for Petroleum/Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Dr. Ibe. Kachikwu, yesterday said the Federal Government did not pay any subsidy on petroleum products in January 2016.

He also stated that the country would save $1 billion (N200 billion) from the newly introduced  Direct-Sale-Direct-Purchase, DSDP, arrangement in Nigeria’s crude oil for products transaction which is to commence  next month.

Kachikwu stated these when he appeared before the House of Representatives’ Ad-Hoc Committee set up to investigate the NNPC’s offshore processing and crude swap arrangement for the period from 2010 to date.

He explained that the DSDP was adopted to replace the Crude Oil Swap initiative and the Offshore Processing Arrangement so as to introduce and entrench transparency in the crude oil for product transaction by the corporation in line with global best practices.

The Direct Sale-Direct-Purchase alternative allows for the direct sale of crude oil by NNPC as well as direct purchase of petroleum products from credible international refineries.

Under the old order, crude oil was exchanged for petroleum products through third party traders at a pre-determined yield pattern.

Kachikwu stated that the DSDP option eliminated all the cost elements of middlemen and gave the NNPC the latitude to take control of sale and purchase of  crude oil transaction with its partners, adding that the initiative would save one billion dollars for the Federal Government.

He said: “When I assumed duty as the Group Managing Director of NNPC, I met the Offshore Processing Arrangement (OPA) and like you know, there is always room for improvement.

“I and my team came up with the DSDP initiative with the aim of throwing open the bidding process. This initiative has brought transparency into the crude-for-product exchange matrix and it is in tandem with global best practices.”

He further stated that the DSDP initiative whittled down the influence of the minister in the selection of bid winners as it allowed all the bidders to be assessed transparently, based on their global and national track records of performance before the best companies with the requisite capacities are selected.

Customs warns against export of prohibited wood products

THE Tin-Can Command of the Nigeria Customs Service,(NCS) has said that only semi-treated and fully processed wood products will be allowed through its command as export.

Speaking with stakeholders in Lagos recently, the Customs Area Comptroller of the Tin-Can Island Command, Mr. Yusuf Bashar said that it had to sensitize the trading public particularly exporters on the need to ensure that only exportable wood products are brought in to the port adding that anything short of what the law permits will be confiscated.

Bashar also said that the command had to bring in officials of the Federal Environment Protection Agency, (FEPA) to assist the Customs in explaining and showing to exporters the difference between treated and untreated wood products.

He explained that exports do not attract any duty adding that in the light of falling oil price, the government is trying to encourage Nigerians to export as much as they can with a view to earn more foreign exchange.

“It is an incentive to encourage export because it is assumed that money will come to government based on exportable products from Nigeria most especially now that Nigeria is having issue with crude oil.

“Price per barrel is going down, it is our major foreign exchange earner so Nigerians must be encouraged to export as much lawful products as possible.

“At a point, we asked ourselves how we can encourage exports from our end, we thought that the best way to do that was to sensitize the people and tell what exports are allowed by law.

“We took wood products as the first item amongst exportable products because it attracts a lot of attention.

“The need for the campaign became imperative due to the seeming confusion emanating from the export of wood products .

“So we met exporters of wood products, freight forwarders of wood exporters, our own Customs personnel and any interested members of the public and let them know the categories of wood that are lawfully exportable”he said.

NBS says Investment inflows declined by N2.18tn in 2015

The National Bureau of Statistics says investment inflows into the country dropped by $11.1bn (N2.18tn) from $20.75bn in 2014 to $9.64bn at the end of the 2015 fiscal year.

The bureau, in its capital importation report in Abuja, blamed the development on both external and internal factors.

For the external factors, the report explained that while the country had between 2012 and 2014 experienced high increase in the level of investment inflows owing to its inclusion in the JPMorgan Bond Index, such could not be achieved in 2015.

Nigeria was removed from the index last year due to what was described as lack of liquidity in the system for foreign investors as a result of scarcity of foreign exchange.

For internal factors, the bureau said the tougher economic environment in the country was responsible for the drop in investments.

The NBS said in each of the consecutive quarters of 2015, there had been a large annual drop more than what was recorded in the previous period.

For instance, it said in the third and fourth quarters, capital inflows were respectively 58 per cent and 65 per cent lower than in the same quarters of 2014.

The report stated that the sum of $2.74bn was invested in the economy between July and September last year, while the balance of $1.55bn was invested in the economy in the last three months of 2015.

The report read in part, “The total value of capital imported into Nigeria in the third quarter of 2015 was $2.74bn, up by 3.07 per cent from the preceding quarter. This was followed by a total of $1.55bn in the fourth quarter, a decline of 43.34 per cent from levels recorded in the previous quarter.

“The total for 2015 was recorded at $9.643bn. This represents a 53.53 per cent fall on the previous year when the total was $20.750bn. Each consecutive quarter of 2015 saw a larger annual fall than the previous; in the third and fourth quarter, capital inflows were respectively 58.00 per cent and 65.40 per cent lower than in the same quarters of 2014.”