Category: Capital Market

Access Bank and AfriGOpay have reached working agreements on a partnership aimed at boosting Nigeria’s payment ecosystem.

AfriGOpay is a financial services platform affiliated with the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) and the vehicle for the launch of first Nigerian national domestic card designed to meet the needs of the Nigerian payment industry.

The scheme championed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) will provide innovative  solutions to users of financial services in Nigeria, Africa, and across the global markets.

Speaking on the partnership, Deputy Managing Director, Retail Banking, Access Bank, Victor Etuokwu said it was exciting that Access Bank, Nigeria’s largest retail bank with over 60 million customers, is the first financial institution in Nigeria to successfully issue the first live card of the Nigeria’s National card scheme- AfriGO.

According to him, the launch of AfriGO is another milestone in the development of a vibrant and rapidly expanding payments industry as consumers demand value in real time, not just transactions.

“With AfriGO, we can provide valuable card benefits, robust loyalty rewards, and a compelling incentive to utilise electronic payments rather than cash. The AfriGO Card has additional benefits because it is designed to facilitate the growth of Nigeria’s payment ecosystem, thereby supporting more tailored payment services. It will strengthen payment security, expand financial participation, guarantee data sovereignty, eliminate FX dependency, and provide Nigerians with several other benefits. Cardholders will enjoy increased affordability and more flexible payment options,” Etuokwu said.

Senior Retail Advisor, Access Bank, Robert Giles, explained that the national card scheme operates locally, tailored to the specific needs of the country.

“We have also recorded successful purchases on POS and ATMs which began on March 14, 2023.  Domestic ownership of a local card scheme eliminates demand on foreign exchange and reduces cost of transacting.  It will also help us partner with local fintechs and payment companies to build solutions on the AfriGO scheme that solve customers’ pain points.

“This comes at a crucial time for the national payments’ infrastructure where demand for convenient alternatives to cash is at a peak. We believe that the AfriGO scheme is a new building block that will support continued progress in the payments system, building on Nigeria’s position as the 6th most developed real-time payments market in the world,” Giles said.

Managing Director, Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), Premier Oiwoh, noted that the payments landscape in Nigeria has continued to evolve via seamless and convenient real-time electronic payment solutions driven by innovation and advancement in technology.

“The launch of our national domestic card scheme AfriGO is very timely; AfriGO will drive our financial inclusion goals amongst many benefits, and we are thrilled that Access Bank is the first bank in Nigeria to issue AfriGO cards to its customers.  Access Bank has demonstrated the much-needed commitment to enhancing financial inclusion, and we urge other financial institutions to commence issuing AfriGO for more accessible and convenient payments for all Nigerians, regardless of their location or financial status,” Oiwoh said.

Executive Director, Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), Aminu Maida pointed out that with technological advancements, there are more options for payments.

He said the recently launched national domestic card scheme, AfriGO gives assured comfort on all financial transactions.

“We are excited that Access Bank is the first to key into our belief of AfriGO’s immense value to the Nigerian financial ecosystem,” Maida said.

President, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Dr. Ken Opara has canvassed a six-point strategy to adapt internal auditing to the fast-paced changing business trends.

Opara was the keynote speaker at the yearly retreat and conference of the Association of Chief Audit Executives of Banks in Nigeria (ACAEBIN), in Ikoyi, Lagos. The theme of the event was “Keeping up with the NextGen in Internal Audit”.

He noted that the theme was apt as the business world is rapidly changing as a result of digitisation.

According to him, the emergence of new technologies, changing behaviours of bank customers, changing regulatory requirements, and evolving business models mean that the traditional methods of internal audit may no longer be adequate. Consequently, it imperative for the 21st century Internal Audit professional to continuously stay ahead of the curve to deliver on his mandate effectively and efficiently by using internal audit companies to stay abreast.

He outlined that in order to keep up with the NextGen, the chief audit executive must have thorough understanding of the next-generation workforce as the entrance of the Millennials and Gen”Z”s into the industry requires the industry and chief audit executive to understand the attitudes, values, and preferences of the workforce of the next generation. This also includes understanding their expectations around technology, collaboration, work life balance, etc.This understanding will help to get the best from them.

He emphasised the need for adoption of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, robotic process automation, and blockchain, which are rapidly transforming the business landscape.

“Internal auditors need to be familiar with these technologies and understand how they can be used to improve audit efficiency and effectiveness. They should be able to analyse large amounts of data, identify patterns and trends, and use data for robust reporting and decision making,” Opara said.

He added that internal auditors need to be agile and able to adapt quickly to changing business needs. This means being flexible and open to new ideas, and willing to learn and develop new skills. It also includes embracing digital transformation and incorporating advanced technologies to automate routine tasks, identify anomalies and patterns, and provide more accurate and timely insights to stakeholders.

“The next generation of internal audit will need to focus more on risk management rather than compliance. With the increased complexity and interconnectedness of business processes, the focus should shift towards pre-mortem analysis, identifying emerging risks, evaluating their potential impact on the organization, and developing strategies to mitigate them.

“The next-generation auditors would need to work closely with other units such as IT, risk management, legal department etc. within the organization, to identify and mitigate risks especially cybercrimes. This collaboration should be extended to business stakeholder to understand their priorities and goals, and jointly come up with solutions to global issues that may affect the practice of Internal Audit.

“Training, upskilling and continuous learning. The internal audit function must have a continuous learning culture. It is important for internal auditors to attend training and developmental programs. As the business landscape is changing digitally and, in all ramifications, the NextGen Auditor must be ahead of the development. This can only be possible through continuous learning,” Opara said.

He said companies must also adopt next generation internal auditing practices because while internal controls and risk management practices can help prevent fraud, audits are critical to detecting fraud that may have gone unnoticed by other internal processes.

According to him, with the increasing complexity of financial transactions and the evolving nature of fraud schemes, traditional audit approaches are no longer sufficient to identify fraud.

“Essentially, next generation auditing practices are the last line of defense against fraud in a bank and technological advancements are needed to protect organisations against such fraud. Therefore, banks should adopt technological advancements in their audit processes which would make tasks such as analyzing vast amounts of data, real-time monitoring, reduced human error and bias more efficient.  By doing so, banks can enhance their ability to detect and prevent fraud, ultimately protecting their customers and shareholders,” Opara said.

He noted the need for internal auditors to deliberately and personally identify initiatives that will make them remain relevant and add value to their organizations as well as the practice of audit.

He explained that keeping up with NextGen in internal audit means embracing technological advancements, noting that the use of technology in internal audit is no longer controversial, it is the way to go.

“There are many factors driving the adoption of tech in internal audit including an increase in the volume of data. According to a 2019 report by the ACCA, it is estimated that over 90 per cent of the world’s data has been generated since 2016, and significant amounts of it are financial data. Other drivers include a shift towards automation and a change in business models as a result of innovation in technology.

“With the increasing use of data analytics, artificial intelligence, automation tools, internal audit professionals must be able to utilize these tools to identify risks and essentially add value to their respective organizations.

“In addition, with increased adoption of technological innovations, businesses should in particular be wary of increased cyber threats which has significantly increased since the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic. For example, according to Businesswire, 81 per cent of global organizations experienced increased cyber threats during COVID-19 and 79 per cent of organizations experienced downtime due to cybersecurity risk during peak season.

“Secondly, keeping up with the NextGen in Internal Audit means, having a deeper understanding of the business domain within which a professional auditor operates. To be effective, internal auditors must have a thorough understanding of their organization’s strategy, operations, and risk landscape. This means working closely with other functions within the organization, such as finance, ICT, risk management, compliance and operations, to gain a holistic view of the business. With this understanding, internal auditors can identify emerging risks and ensure that they are adequately addressed. This puts them at an advantage compared to professionals who have not invested time to understand the domain within which they operate.

“Thirdly, keeping up with the NextGen in Internal Audit means, being adaptable and agile. The ability to respond quickly to changing circumstances is becoming increasingly important in the internal audit profession. Internal auditors must be able to respond quickly to changes in business operations, emerging risks, or changes in regulatory requirements. The ability to work in an agile manner, with a focus on continuous improvement, is becoming an essential skill for NextGen internal auditors. According to PWC, 2018 Tangible results from agile auditing have included a 20 per cent time saving on regulatory audits and a 10 per cent time saving on less standard audits,” Opara, an executive director at Fidelity Bank, said.

Nigerian equities were almost on a tit-tat trading pattern as investors weighed dividend expectations against accrued capital gains and the overall outlook ahead of the change of government.

With nearly one decliner for every advancer, benchmark indices for the Nigerian equities market at the weekend indicated marginal average decline of 0.04 per cent, equivalent to net capital depreciation of N13 billion.

Trading pattern at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) indicated a mix of profit-taking and bargain-hunting, with investors realigning their portfolios on the heels of the increase in Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The apex bank had last week’s Tuesday announced increase in MPR by 50 basis points to 18 per cent.

Market analysts expected the increase to impact on dividend expectations in the new business year.

Managing Director, Arthur Steven Asset Management, Mr. Olatunde Amolegbe, said the increase in MPR could lead to higher finance costs for firms, which might cause profit squeeze.

According to him, with an expectation of a drop in the profit, investors would most likely ease up on the equities market with the expectation that yields will adjust upwards.

“However, if inflation is still not arrested, investors would most likely come back to the equities market as the only known hedge against inflation. In the fixed income market, we expect bearish trading to continue in the short term since the effective inflation adjusted return is still negative despite this increase in MPR,” Amolegbe said. 

The All Share Index (ASI)- the value-based common index that tracks all share prices at the Exchange, dropped from its week’s opening index of 54,915.61 points to close weekend at 54,892.53 points. Aggregate market value of all quoted equities also declined from its opening value of N29.916 trillion to close weekend at N29.903 trillion.

The negative overall market position was driven by losses suffered by large and mid-cap stocks, especially within the industrial goods and consumer goods sectors.

The NGX 30 Index- which tracks the 30 largest quoted companies, dipped by 0.16 per cent during the week. The NGX Consumer Goods Index recorded the highest depreciation of 0.74 per cent. The NGX Insurance Index dropped by 0.53 per cent. The NGX Industrial Goods Index dipped by 0.49 per cent while the NGX Oil and Gas Index closed flat.

Meanwhile, the NGX Banking Index rose by 0.93 per cent. The NGX Pension Index- which tracks stocks that meet the guidelines for investment of pension funds appreciated by 0.16 per cent while the NGX Lotus Islamic Index- which tracks stocks that meet Islamic investment rules, also closed positive with average return of 0.23 per cent for the week.

There were 28 gainers to 27 losers during the week compared with 19 gainers and 47 decliners recorded in the previous week.

NCR Nigeria recorded the highest loss, in percentage terms, with a drop of 18.69 per cent to close at N2.35. Ikeja Hotels trailed with a loss of 18.25 per cent to close at N1.03. International Breweries lost 6.45 per cent to close at N4.35. Cadbury Nigeria dropped by 5.83 per cent to close at N11.30 while Multiverse Mining and Exploration declined by 5.80 per cent to close at N3.25 per share.

On the positive side, Sunu Assurances Nigeriarose by 9.09 per cent to close at 48 kobo. LASACO Assurance followed with  a gain of 7.14 per cent to close at N1.05. NPF Microfinance Bank rose by 6.94 per cent to close at N1.85. Geregu Power added 6.25 per cent to close at N323 while Transcorp Hotels rallied 6.15 per cent to close at N6.90 per share.

Total turnover stood at 1.689 billion shares worth N11.066 billion in 14,019 deals as against 853.745 million shares valued at N11.841 billion traded in 18,543 deals two weeks ago.

The healthcare sector led the activity chart with 1.086 billion shares valued at N1.627 billion traded in 267 deals; thus contributing 64.32 per cent and 14.70 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively. The financial services sector followed with 379.556 million shares worth N4.547 billion in 6,711 deals while the conglomerates sector placed third with a turnover of 89.526 million shares worth N131.231 million in 534 deals.

The three most active stocks were Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals Plc, Transnational Corporation Plc and United Bank for Africa Plc, which altogether accounted for 1.248 billion shares worth N2.347 billion in 1,102 deals, contributing 73.89 per cent and 21.21 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

Analysts at Afrinvest Securities said they expected investors to cherry-pick on fundamentally sound tickers with history of attractive dividend payout ratios.

Analysts at Cordros Securities said they expected “cautious trading” that dominated last week to persist in the week ahead, as investors will likely be swayed by corporate actions as more companies release results.

“Nonetheless, we advise investors to seek trading opportunities in only fundamentally justified stocks as the weak macro story remains a significant headwind that could result in persistently weak sentiments,” Cordros Securities stated.

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) plans to launch Non-Depository Receipts (NDR) to further deepen the Nigerian capital market.

Divisional Head, Capital Markets, Nigerian Exchange (NGX), Mr Jude Chiemeka, said NDR would grant the Nigerian investing public access to financial instruments listed on an offshore exchange and provide investors with access to alternate investment schemes.

“With this initiative, asset managers will sponsor this instrument offshore, convert the receipts and sell off in our local market,” he explained. “In the end, we are not only enabling exposure to foreign exchange, but we are also preparing a marketplace with a broader spectrum of participants,” Chiemeka said.

He said the NDR would further complement NGX’s growing status as an internationally competitive market noting that the NGX had partnered with other stock exchanges like the London Stock Exchange (LSE) to offer dual listings to corporates and increase the size of the market where investors can invest in a broader-based market.

According to him, NGX had also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LuSE) to aid the cross-issuance and listing of green bonds.

He added that the NGX is working with the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) to improve on secondary listings that will develop private market utilisation of technology.

He outlined that the NGX had  last year got an approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on its technology board listing rules, with the aim of encouraging investments in indigenous technologically inclined companies within Nigeria and across Africa by providing greater visibility to these companies.

Chiemeka spoke during a fireside chat themed “Investor sentiment on Nigeria: success and challenges”, at the Nigeria Risk Summit in Lagos.

“In recognising the importance of investor education to a healthy market, NGX had partnered the IFC and Islamic Development Bank to train capital market participants on the impact of sustainable and Islamic finance,” Chiemeka sad.

FCMB Group Plc, the holding company for First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited and other subsidiaries, has launched its N300 billion capital raising programme with the successful completion of the first tranche of the multi-tranche programme.

In the maiden issuance under the N300 billion programme, FCMB issued N20.69 billion perpetual fixed-rate resettable NC5.25 additional tier 1 capital subordinated bonds. The bonds were issued at a coupon rate of 16 per cent per annum.

According to the group, the offer was well received by the market, with active participation from a diverse range of investors.

The group indicated that the net proceeds will be invested in(First City Monument Bank Limited to enhance the bank’s tier 1 and total capital adequacy ratios.

FCMB noted that its AT1 issuance was the first non-sharia local currency AT1 instrument issued in Nigeria.

Chapel Hill Denham Advisory Limited and FCMB Capital Markets Limited acted as the issuing houses to the series 1 bond.

FCMB had, in early 2022, raised N30 billion through commercial paper (CP) issuance. It was issued under the bank’s N100 billion CP issuance programme.

The net proceeds of the CP issuance was used to support the bank’s short-term financing requirements.

African Development Bank (AfDB) had earlier approved a loan of $50 million for First City Monument Bank (FCMB) to channel to Nigerian enterprises and women-empowered businesses in the agribusiness, manufacturing, healthcare and renewable energy sectors.

Thirty per cent of the funds, which were intended to mitigate effects of the challenging COVID-19 environment, were earmarked for underserved women-empowered businesses.

In addition, the bank was expected to provide a technical assistance grant of $200,000 through its Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) initiative supported by the Women Entrepreneurship Finance Initiative. The grant complemented the loan by enabling FCMB to provide non-financial services, including training, and to strengthen its monitoring and reporting functions.

Small- and medium-sized firms account for up to 80 per cent of employment in most African countries and women-empowered businesses typically face a considerable financing gap. The Nigerian economy has been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, and falling crude oil prices have had a ripple effect on the wider economy.

AfDB noted that the project aligns with the objectives of AFAWA, which aims to improve gender inclusivity by improving access to finance for women entrepreneurs.

According to AfDB, the project also advances the bank’s ten-year strategy and is consistent with three of its high-five strategic priorities:  industrialize africa, feed africa, and improve the quality of life for the people of Africa. It also aligns with the Nigeria Country Strategy Paper 2020-2024.

The AfDB is an implementing partner of the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative, a groundbreaking partnership housed in the World Bank Group that aims to unlock financing for women-led businesses in developing countries.

Trading is a challenging industry, and the majority of newcomers lose money. In fact, a banner about the proportion of traders who lose money must be displayed on the websites of many forex brokers in Europe.

These figures are actually not at all small. They might even be frightful to look at. Therefore, we will examine some of the most common explanations for why more than 90% of novice traders lose money in trading in this piece.

The majority of forex dealers mistakenly believe that their mistakes are fundamental and make them repeatedly. I’ve listed these mistakes below; if you stay away from them and embrace the reality of forex trading, you can succeed and succeed big.

Let’s start by examining the most typical mistakes.

Buying achievement

There are a lot of vendors in the forex market who will guarantee you untold riches in exchange for a few hundred dollars and sell you a useless course with no track record. Guess what?
The overwhelming majority are worthless, have no actual track record (a hypothetical one is not worth the paper it is written on as it is done in hindsight knowing the closing prices), and depend on exaggerated advertising and lies to prey on the reader’s greed and naivete.

. Making use of inefficient tools
Fibonacci and the Elliott wave are these instruments’ two rulers. Both people believe that markets are logical, yet this is not true.
If they were, there wouldn’t be a market because everyone would be aware of the price beforehand, as any student in a classroom knows. Because it is founded on human ideas and because people DON’T reason logically or in accordance with scientific theories, a market is what it is.

Trading days

The time frame is too condensed. There is always randomness in short-term volatility, and it is impossible to forecast support and resistance within a few hours or a day. Why not just toss a coin?

Have you ever seen a day trader with a proven track record of success over the long term? – I haven’t either, so please let me know if you do.

• A lack of self-assurance and self-control
  Even successful traders can fall short of this – To assist you trade through periods of losses, you must have unwavering faith in your system, and seek regulated forex brokers.

The majority of traders are unable to perform this, which is the HARDEST aspect of trading.

Working diligently and smart is the key to success, and doing so will pay off handsomely.

Accept the fact that you must create a mindset to deal with an entity that is all-powerful; the market price is correct, so only you can be incorrect.

Accept this truth and learn to trade it.
It will occasionally make you look foolish, but if you recognize its power, abide by its guidelines, and consider trading as an odds game, you can succeed and succeed handsomely.

Most dealers lose because they are foolish, greedy, stupid, or even all three at once in search of a quick buck.

Get in the proper frame of mind, work hard, know who you are, and comprehend the market.

They have unreasonably high standards.
Believe me, becoming a consistently profitable trader requires a lot of work and ego-crushing losses.

Although there are many ways to shorten the learning curve, there is no way to totally avoid it.

Some inexperienced traders make the error of believing that they must never experience losses in order to be successful. As a result, they put too much pressure on themselves and become angry whenever a trade doesn’t go their way.

You must acknowledge that you will suffer losses if you want to escape their fate. You will go through drawdowns and losing streaks, which will undoubtedly make you feel awful.

The Board of Tourist Company of Nigeria (TCN) Plc has suspended the extraordinary general meeting of the company scheduled for the weekend after a shareholder obtained a court order to stop the meeting.

TCN owns Federal Palace Hotel & Casino, a luxury hotel based on Victoria Island, Lagos.

The meeting, which was scheduled for last Friday at Federal Palace Hotel, was suspended due to an order of interim injunction from the Federal High Court, which was served on the company.

In suit FHC/L/CS/260/2023 – Omamo Investments Corporation v. The Tourist Company of Nigeria & Others, the plaintiff had sought and obtained court order to halt the meeting.

Oma Investments holds 18.1 per cent material equity stake in TCN, the third largest equity stake. Sun International holds the largest equity stake of 49.3 per cent. Associated Ventures International controls 18.7 per cent equity stake while Ikeja Hotel, another quoted company holds 12.2 per cent. 

“Consequently the notice of any subsequent EGM would be circulated to the shareholders of the company subject to the outcome of the hearing and determination of the motion for injunction,” the company stated.

The Board of TCN had called the EGM to seek shareholders’ approval for the restructuring of the company.

According to the notice, the directors were seeking shareholders’ authorisation to “consider, negotiate, agree and implement all such options for the restructuring of the statement of financial position of the company, including by way of an asset sale, share sale or such other capital injection that would maximise the interest of stakeholders inclusive of shareholders, creditor, employees, government, community and others”.

The meeting was also supposed to empower the board “to take all such actions and do all such acts, deeds, and things as they deem necessary to give effect” to the first resolutions, “including executing or authorising the execution of relevant documents and appointing any required professional adviser; and that all actions previously taken by the directors in that regard be and are hereby ratified”.

TCN has struggled in recent years with sluggish sales and higher expenses.

Full-year report of the company for the year ended December 31, 2022 showed that turnover rose marginally from N3.08 billion in 2021 to N3.98 billion in 2022. However, the company recorded operating loss of N677.4 million in 2022, as against N709 million in 2021. Loss before tax rose from N2.33 billion in 2021  to N3.2 billion in 2022. After taxes, net loss increased from N2.33 billion in 2021 to N3.21 billion in 2022.

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) had placed TCN on delisting watchlist. According to the company’s record, on July 1, 2015, the NGX had notified the company of its intention to delist TCN due to the free float deficiency.

A board resolution was passed on July 13, 2015 authorising the delisting, and communicated in a letter to the NGX on July 20, 2015. The company sent a reminder to the NGX on April 27, 2016, but NGX responded on May 31, 2017 that the delisting had been placed on hold until the governance problems at Ikeja Hotel Plc have been resolved.

The board of the company stated that it would consider its options when the Ikeja Hotel Plc’s governance issues have been resolved, but assured that it would co- operate fully with the NGX on the way forward.