Category: Equities

Polaris Bank has been adjudged the leading bank with the best digital platform and support for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME).

Polaris Bank’s home-grown digital bank, VULTe was awarded as the Best Digital Bank at both BusinessDAY’s Banks And Other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards and The Nigerian Fintech Awards 2022. This is the second  time the bank will be winning the same BAFI award.

In the last 12 months, VULTe which hitherto catered more to individual customers, now has enhanced capabilities to render seamless self-services to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), high net worth, and retail customers.   With this, over 40 million MSME operators in Nigeria could  now access collateral-free loans for personal and business purposes; where eligible entrepreneurs and SME operators could apply and get up to N20 million in a space of five minutes without visiting the bank in person.

The Nigerian Fintech Awards is Nigeria’s biggest and most recognised Fintech award.

In the citation of Polaris Bank’s VULTe read by the organisers of The Fintech Awards 2022, VULTe was preferred ahead of others in its competitive set on certain key parameters.

These include convenience, intuitiveness, trust and efficacious management system.

“For a digital bank that provides convenient account opening in minutes, intuitive loan application,  scheduled payments, personal digital card management,  trustworthy security,  and personal finance management, VULTe by Polaris Bank is hereby declared the winner of the Best Digital Bank category,” the organisers announced.

BAFI Awards organisers stated that the awards selection and review committee voted Polaris Bank’s VULTe the winner having outperformed its industry peers, like ALAT and OneBank across eight metrics for consideration.

The metrics included; strength of strategy for attracting and gaining digital customers, accelerated user engagement, success in getting clients to use digital offerings, growth of digital customers, and platform security.

Other metrics were the breadth of product offerings for retail and corporate clients, evidence of tangible benefits gained from digital initiatives and web/mobile site design, intuitiveness and functionality.

At the same BAFI Awards Polaris Bank was declared ‘MSME Bank of the Year’ ahead of FCMB and Fidelity Bank in what the organisers described as the bank’s expansive impact on MSME operators across Nigeria.

Polaris Bank in May this year launched a N1 billion fund for MSMEs in partnership with Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) in what the bank explained was aimed at providing the much-needed funding to create wealth and empower entrepreneurs and players within the MSME space in Nigeria, starting with Lagos.

Polaris Bank has committed multibillion  financing to MSME operators across sectors, health inclusive among other incentives, like moratorium on facilities granted to cushion the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on businesses.

President, PEARL Awards Nigeria, Mr Tayo Orekoya, has commended the resilience of the Nigerian capital market despite the tough macroeconomic outlook.

He pointed out that despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on corporates and its  indelible economic scars from which most organisations are yet trying to get outside the woods, several  other corporates have seized the initiatives provided by the economic challenges to latch unto opportunities availed by the situation.

“The performance of our capital market in the first three quarters of year 2022 has been impressive. Against the volatility experienced across global markets, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) maintained its positive momentum in the first nine months of the year, gaining 4.15 trillion thus outperforming global markets.

“Market capitalisation which opened in 2022 at N22.297 trillion gained 8.63 per cent to close at N26.451 trillion as at 30th September, 2022. Also, the NGX All-Share Index which opened at 42,716.44 points closed at 49,024.16 basis points appreciating by 14.8 per cent. However, investors in the market have equally witnessed double digit inflation, forex scarcity as well as uncertainty in the global markets,” Orekoya said.

According to him, in order to assure the depth, growth and sustainability of the markets, all major stakeholders including government, regulatory authorities and market players must  continue to strive towards achieving market growth, stability and innovativeness.

Orekoya spoke in Lagos at a media briefing to announce the forthcoming awards for best-performing companies by PEARL Awards.

FBN Holding Plc and Total Energies Marketing Nigeria Plc led the nominations for the forthcoming PEARL Awards that measure yearly performance at the NGX with three nominations apiece.

FBN Holdings is a candidate for the sectoral leadership award in the financial services sector, where it is in contention with Access Holdings Plc and United Capital Plc for the award.

It also got a look-in in the market excellence awards for highest dividend cover in the year under consideration. The nomination is shared with Guinness Nigeria and Transnational Corporation Plc

The third nomination of FBN Holdings is in the corporate fovernance award along with Total Energies and Marketing Nigeria Plc and United Capital Plc.

For Total Energies & Marketing Nigeria Plc apart from the corporate governance pick, it is  also in contest for the sectoral awards for the oil and gas which nomination is shared with Seplat Energies Plc and Conoil Plc. The third mention it has in the 2022 nomination for the PEARL Awards is the nomination for the hghest net asset ratio award, which it shares with SFS Real Estate Investment Trust Plc and Seplat Energy Plc.

Other top nominees include Nestle Plc, Dangote Cement Plc, United Capital Plc, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Nigeria Breweries Plc, Learn Africa Plc, CWG Plc, Nigeria Aviation Handling Co. Plc, Courteville Business Solutions Plc among others.

According to Orekoya,  as in the past editions of the Awards,  the winner for each of the awards category will be announced at the 2022 Awards Nite event.

He however added  that plans are afoot to comprehensively restructure the Awards to cover other market players and allied organizations including registrars, fund managers, portfolio advisers and fintech companies.

“Details of other far reaching structural changes that would be implemented would be announced in due course, as part of efforts to sustain the impact, relevance

and credibility of the Awards in our contribution to the vibrancy, growth and development of the Nigerian capital market.

”The 2022 Awards Nite which is being packaged as the 25th year edition, promises to be as glamorous, and very likely more, as previous editions. The event is being packaged with special features and innovations to be a remarkable night of excellence and glamour, where captains of commerce and industries and major stakeholders of our economy will savour the joy of rewarding excellent operational performance of quoted companies and other capital market players in Nigeria,” Orekoya said.

Nigerian equities traded almost flat yesterday as the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) hosted a special ceremony to mark the reopening of its trading floor and the 30th anniversary of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS).

The main trading floor- the hub of physical activities at the Exchange; was closed in the wake of the COVID-19 global pandemic.

President, Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers ( CIS), Mr Oluwole Adeosun, yesterday commended the investments in technology that had made seamless remote trading possible in the past 32 months.

He promised that the institute would continue to cooperate with NGX Group in its new structure noting that the institute and NGX have a longstanding relationship in the quest to develop the Nigerian market.

“A lot has been achieved from the initial foundation built by NGX for CIS. For 32 months, we have been trading seamlessly remotely due to the investments NGX made. We the operators express gratitude to the Exchange and believe we are definitely poised to achieve more together onward,” Adeosun said.

Benchmark indices at the NGX showed a marginal gain of 0.001 per cent as large-cap gainers counterbalanced underlying bearish trading.

The All Share Index (ASI) marginally increased by 0.001 per cent to close at 44,269.43 points as against its opening index of 44,269.18 points. Total market capitalisation of all quoted equities listed on the NGX closed flat at N24.112 trillion. Total turnover stood at 103.266 million units valued at N2.14 billion in 3,206 deals.

The performance showed that gains in Access Holdings, Zenith Bank and United Capital proved strong enough to balance the losses in Geregu Power, Oando and  AIICO Insurance.

On market performance for this week, United Capital Plc said “despite the rebound recorded last week, we retain a near-term expectation of persistent sell pressure in the Nigerian equities market and thus recommend the market is only good for investors with patient capital. We advise speculators to trade with caution.”

As measured by market breadth, market sentiment was negative, as 18 stocks lost relative to 11 gainers. Royal Exchange recorded the highest price gain of 9.72 per cent to close at 79 kobo per share. Cutix followed with a gain 6.83 per cent to close at N2.19. United Capital went up by 5.73 per cent to close at N12.00 per share. Linkage Assurance went up by 2.56 per cent to close at 40 kobo, while Trans-Nationwide Express appreciated by 2.50 per cent to close at 82 kobo per share.

On the negative side, Learn Africa led the losers’ chart by 9.52 per cent to close at N1.52 per share. Cornerstone Insurance and R.T Briscoe Nigeria followed with a decline of 9.09 per cent each to close at 40 kobo and 30 kobo respectively. FTN Cocoa processors lost 8.82 per cent to close at 31 kobo while Caverton Offshore Support Group shed 8.05 per cent to close at 80 kobo per share.

Zenith Bank topped the activity chart with 15.126 million shares valued at N301.366 million. Geregu Power followed with 11.10 million shares worth N1.203 billion. Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) traded 8.871 million shares valued at N156.016 million. FBN Holdings (FBNH) traded 7.388 million shares valued at N73.695 million while Access Holdings transacted 5.757 million shares worth N46.636 million.

At the closing gong ceremony to commemorate CIS’s 30th anniversary alongside the reopening of the trading floor of the market, Chairman, NGX, Abubakar Mahmoud, lauded the institute for its contribution to upholding integrity and ethics in the capital market while promoting and protecting the interests of the stockbroking community.

He also thanked stockbrokers for their cooperation with NGX, attributing the successful record of trading with zero downtime to a combination of NGX’s investment drive in technology and the collective agility and collaboration between the Exchange and the stockbroking community.

“Thirty years of excellence is no small feat and at the Exchange, we recognise the significance of CIS to the capital market as it engenders commitment to the highest standards of service and professionalism. Its advocacy initiatives and support for the stockbroking and investment practice in Nigeria is notable and worthy of celebration.

“Moving forward as the Exchange, we plan to leverage our shared history and cordial relationship with CIS to further drive growth and value creation in the capital market. NGX wishes the Institute many more years of excellence as it continues to markedly enhance the Nigerian capital market and the broader economy” Mahmoud said.

Chairman, NGX Group, Alhaji Umar Kwairanga noted that it was to the credit of NGX, NGX Regulation, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS), NGX Group and the stockbroking community that trading flowed seamlessly during the forced closure period.

“I also know how physical interactions matter to us brokers and will continue to make sure that we see the impact of us coming back to the trading floor.

“We are also marking this alongside the ceremony commemorating our 30th anniversary and I hope that this is just the beginning of greater collaboration between brokers, NGX Group as a whole and the capital market,” Kwairanga said.

Chief Executive Officer, NGX, Mr Temi Popoola said NGX would continue to support the initiatives of the institute and cooperate for the further advancement of the capital market.

The Federal Government yesterday opened application list for the November 2022 tranches of its monthly retail bond issuance, otherwise known as Federal Government of Nigeria Savings Bond (FGNSB).

The Debt Management Office (DMO), which oversees government’s debt issuance and management, is offering two tranches of FGNSBs with two-year and three-year tenors. The November 2022 issuance is the 65th tranche of the savings bond, introduced in 2017.

The government is offering the two-year sovereign retail bond at a coupon of 12.492 per cent with maturity on November 16, 2024.

It is also simultaneously offering three-year FGNSBs at a coupon of 13.492 per cent with maturity on November 16, 2025.

Minimum subscription to the pro-low savers bonds is N5,000 with maximum subscription per subscriber capped at N50 million. Application list for the bonds closes on Friday November 11, 2022.

The FGNSBs are designed to have most of the features of the existing sovereign bond but with  other benefits to the bondholder, including low amount of minimum subscription, listing on stock exchange and trading on the bonds.

It will also be backed by the full faith of the Federal Government of Nigeria and is therefore deemed risk-free.

The coupon is paid on a quarterly basis, providing investors with a regular stream of incomes.

The FGNSB was introduced in 2017 as a mass instrument for nationwide mobilization of savings and investments. Minimum subscription to the FGNSB is usually N5, 000 while the bond pays coupon or interest rate on a quarterly basis.

Usually, the minimum subscription to the bonds, offered at N1,000 per unit, is N5,000 or five units and in multiples of N1,000 thereafter, subject to a maximum subscription of N50 million.

GTI Securities Limited, one of the authorised distribution agents for the FGNSB, had explained that the savings bonds help to deepen national savings culture while providing opportunity to all Nigerians irrespective of income level to contribute to and benefit from national development.

According to the stockbroking firm, FGNSB enables all Nigerians opportunity to participate in and benefit from the favourable returns available in the capital market.

GTI Securities noted that the savings bonds are acceptable as collateral for loans by banks and can be sold for cash in the secondary market before maturity.

The bonds are usually listed on the stock exchange for trading, thus providing liquidity for investors who want to exit before maturity.

Savings bonds are good for savings towards retirement, marriage, school fees and house projects among other targets while assuring on its safety as the bonds are backed by the full faith and credit of the Federal Government of Nigeria.

Nigeria’s apex capital market regulator, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has decried the upsurge in activities of fraudulent finance and investment schemes, known as Ponzi schemes.

Deputy Director and Head External Relations Department of the SEC, Mr. Mohammed Waziri said that the menace of Ponzi scheme has been prevalent in recent times especially with the use of social media.

He however assured that SEC is committed to ensuring that Nigerians do not continue to lose money to these illegal operators.

He said that SEC is ready to collaborate with relevant stakeholders in its drive to ensure that illegal fund managers are not allowed to thrive in the country.

Waziri spoke during a meeting with Crime Reporters Association of Nigeria yesterday in Lagos.

”There has been an upsurge in the activities of these illegal fund managers and this has led to Nigerians losing their hard earned monies to these schemes. We will continue to educate and enlighten Nigerians on the need to patronage only operators that are registered by the Commission. There are numerous products in the capital market that Nigerians can patronise and get the benefits of their investemnts.

“The list of all registered capital market operators can be found on the SEC website and those are the people members of the public should do business with. Anyone coming to you promising unreasonably high return on investment and is not registered with the Commission, we are urging Nigerians not to patronage those people.

“Ensure that they are registered with the Commission and also check that they are registered for that specific function they are marketing to you. On its part, the SEC ensures that only fit and proper persons are allowed to operate in the capital market,” Waziri said.

He noted that the Nigerian capital market is still evolving hence the need for all hands to be on deck to educate and guide investors which will in turn aid investor protection.

“At the SEC, we try to ensure that people play by the rules in a bid to making our market safe and fit for investment. We all know that it is only when investors trust our market that they will bring n their money, and this is one of the things we try to do at the Commission” Waziri said.

Waziri commended CRAN on its efforts in educating and enlightening the investing public especially on the danger of Ponzi schemes and added that more still needs to be done.

In his remarks, President of CRAN, Mr. Olalekan Olabuto expressed the readiness of the Association to partner with the SEC to further develop the economy of the country.

“We are available to provide assistance where necessary to the Commission in its quest to rid our financial space of Ponzi schemes and as well as educate Nigerians on the dangers of patronising such schemes,” Olabuto said.

Nigerian equities reversed to the negative yesterday as profit-taking transactions overwhelmed the market.

The All Share Index (ASI) declined by 46.32 basis points, representing a dip of 0.10 per cent to close at 44,236.70 points. The aggregate market capitalisation of all quoted equities lost N25 billion to close at N24.095 trillion.

The downturn was impacted by losses recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, amongst which are; Geregu Power, Unilever Nigeria, Nigerian Breweries, Multiverse Mining and Exploration and Fidson Healthcare.

As measured by market breadth, market sentiment was negative as 20 stocks lost relative to 12 gainers. UACN Property Development Company (UPDC) recorded the highest price gain of 9.09 per cent to close at N12.45 per share. Trans-Nationwide Express followed with a gain 8.82 per cent to close at 74 kobo. Champion Breweries rose 7.81 per cent to close at N3.45 per share.

Japaul Gold & Ventures went up by 7.69 per cent to close at 28 kobo while Cutix appreciated by 4.88 per cent to close at N2.15, per share.

On the other hand, Prestige Assurance led the losers’ chart by 9.80 per cent to close at 46 kobo per share, per share. Caverton Offshore Support Group followed with a decline of 9.38 per cent each to close at 87 kobo.

SUNU Assurance lost 8.57 per cent to close at 32 kobo per share. Unilever Nigeria lost 8.29 per cent to close at N9.95 while Multiverse Mining and Exploration shed 8.23 per cent to close at N4.24, per share.

The total volume traded increased by 38.5 per cent to 215.154 million units, valued at N1.906 billion, and exchanged in 3,389 deals. Access Holdings topped the activity chart with 112.334 million shares valued at N892.561 million. Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp) followed with 16.068 million shares worth N16.713 million. Sterling Bank traded 12.257 million shares valued at N16.641 million.

Fidelity Bank traded 9.291 million shares valued at N38.190 million while Zenith Bank transacted 7.191 million shares worth N142.829 million.

The NAOC Joint Venture (JV) made up of Oando Plc, Agip and the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company Ltd (NPDC), has delivered food and essential commodities to 260 communities affected by flood in Rivers Bayelsa, Delta and Imo states.

As a way of assisting the victims, Oando and its JV partners delivered food and essential goods such as beds and non-perishable food items, including bags of 50kg rice, bags of 100kg garri, cartons of tomatoes, vegetable oil, beverage drinks, milk and noodles as well as mattresses, blankets and mosquito nets.

Oando stated that the  donation was grounded in its belief that it must continue leaving positive and measurable imprints in the environments in which it operates. In dire situations like this, and with a burdened government, the private sector must rise to the occasion to support the government in providing relief to victims.

Speaking on the donation to flood victims, the JV expressed its empathy with the host communities, saying the gesture was to reinforce the existing collaborative relationship that had existed with the communities.

The communities of the area, represented by the traditional ruler and Prime Minister of Ogbaland, Louis Iyasira, expressed appreciation to the JV for the timely support.

This was not Oando’s first experience regarding supporting victims of disasters like flooding. In 2020, the company provided clothing for over 2000 gdisplaced families in host communities as well as food and non-perishable items.

This year, following the Oyo state church massacre, Oando employees partnered with the Red Cross to facilitate blood donation from its employees to bridge the blood supply gap for victims.

Dangote Industries Limited yesterday launched a new capital raising exercise, seeking to raise about N112.4 billion in long-term debt capital.

Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), the investment holding company of Africa’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, open application list for the second tranche of its N300 billion bond issuance programme with a target to raise N112.416 billion under this tranche.

The capital raising, being raised through DIL’s special purpose vehicle, Dangote industries Funding Plc, is being undertaken through a book building method; a specialised offering method targeted at high networth investors and investment firms.

Application list for the Series 2 Fixed Rate  Senior Unsecured Bonds opened yesterday and is scheduled to close on Monday, November 7, 2022. Minimum subscription is N10 million.

Dangote will use the net proceeds of the bond issue to part-finance capital cost items for the Dangote Petroleum Refinery Project.

Dangote is offering a 10-year bond with a pricing or coupon range of between 15.50 and 15.75 per cent.

DIL is one of the leading, diversified and fully integrated conglomerates with operations in Nigeria and Africa across a wide range of industries, including cement, sugar, salt, condiments, packaging, energy, fertiliser and petrochemicals.

The group’s core business focus is to provide local, value-added products and services that meet the “basic needs” of the African populace through the construction and operation of large-scale manufacturing facilities in Nigeria and across Africa.

The group stated that its focus is on building local manufacturing capacity to generate employment, reduce capital flight from Africa and increase local value additions.

Through its subsidiaries, Dangote Industries has 11 distinct business lines, with the cement, sugar and salt businesses currently contributing a majority of its earnings. These subsidiaries are industry-leading players with strong brand values, underpinned by a long operational track record, diverse customer base, ongoing investments in capacity expansion and control over their respective value chains.

The group also has two project companies, Dangote Oil Refining Company Limited (a 650,000 b/pd integrated crude oil refinery and petrochemical plant, which is expected to be Africa’s largest oil refinery) and Dangote Fertiliser Limited (which is expected to be Africa’s largest granulated urea fertiliser manufacturing facility, with a production capacity of up to 2.8 Mtpa), who (together with Dangote Industries) will serve as co-obligors on the offer.

Dangote Industries is currently rated AA+ by GCR and AA (ngr) by Fitch Ratings and plans to utilise the net proceeds from the Series 2 bond issuance to part-finance the capital cost items for the Dangote Petroleum Refinery Project which is currently scheduled to commence operations in the first half of 2023.

The new majority core investor, Preline Limited, yesterday announced the completion of its mandatory tender offer (MTO), buying about 0.10 per cent additional shares from minority shareholders.

In a regulatory filing, Preline Limited stated that it had completed acquisition of 1.3 million ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N13.50 per share. The acquired shares amounted to 0.10 per cent of the total issued shares of the downstream oil company.

The MTO was triggered by the acquisition of the majority equity stake in Eterna by Preline Limited. The MTO was in accordance with Part XII, Section 131(1)(a) of the Investment and Securities Act (No. 29 of 2007) (ISA) and Rule 445 of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Rules & Regulations.

Read Also: Eterna commits to deepening gas utilisation

Preline had acquired 60.98 per cent equity stake in Eterna Plc. Preline had acquired 794.970 million ordinary shares in Eterna, representing a 60.98 per cent equity stake from the diverse major investors in Eterna.

Some major shareholders of Eterna had opted to sell their equity stakes in the oil and gas company, aggregating their shareholdings for transfer to Preline.

Incorporated as a limited liability company in 1989, Eterna became a public limited liability company in 1997 and had its shares listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in August 1998