Category: Investors

Afriland Properties Plc grew its top-line earnings by 19 per cent to N1.9 billion in 2022 as the real estate company assured shareholders of improved returns.

Addressing shareholders at the company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), its Chairman, Afriland Properties Plc, Emmanuel Nnorom, said the company was focused on delivering adequate returns to shareholders, while still growing its retained earnings.

He said the company recorded a strong operating performance, growing its revenue by 19 per cent to N1.9 billion from N1.6 billion in 2021, while its profit before tax rose to N1.8 billion from N1.6 billion the previous year.

The company’s total assets for the year ended December 31, 2022 equally grew by 12 per cent to N19 billion from N17.3 billion in 2021. 

Managing Director, Afriland Properties Plc,  Uzo Oshogwe,  said having a healthy financial statement in the past year was of significance to the company.

“This year is a special one for us as we celebrate our 10th anniversary. Over the years we have remained consistent in our promise to deliver and sustain value through people and projects. Our records speak to notable achievements in the real estate sector and we have remained resilient to record significant milestones. 

“In line with our growth strategy, we plan on commissioning some of our projects this year and believe they will bring real value to investors and stakeholders,” Oshogwe said.  

She spoke on the company’s efforts to ensure environmental sustainability noting that as part of its sustainability efforts, it has focused on increasing efficiency and reducing emissions.

“Our steps to accomplish this include partnering with a recycling organisation to recycle our plastic waste and measure what we generate and recycle each year,” Oshogwe said.

Shareholders expressed delight about the financial performance of the company highlighting increased revenue, and earnings per share as a positive development.

National Coordinator, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), Moses Igbrude attributed the success of the company to the hard work, dedication, and purposeful leadership of the board and executive management of Afriland Properties.

Afriland Properties is a property management, investment, and development company, offering end-to-end services across the real estate value chain, from management to joint-venture investments.  With a portfolio size of over N12 billion and one of the largest land banks in Nigeria, Afriland is pioneering the opportunities presented by an institutional approach to real estate, serving niche markets throughout Africa.

The African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Pan African Payments Settlement System (PAPSS), a major move that is expected to enhance cross-border payments and settlement of securities transactions across Africa.

ASEA is the association of securities exchanges in Africa with the aim of developing member exchanges and providing a platform for networking. ASEA was established in 1993.

Chief Executive Officer, Pan African Payments Settlement System (PAPSS),Mr Mike Ogbalu III,  announcing the ASEA-PAPSS MoU signing on the company’s social media handles, said the partnership would allow investors to buy securities across the continent without any hassle, unlock the flow of capital and enable the deepening of stock exchanges across the continent.

President, African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA), Mr Thapelo Tsheole, said the MoU was a step in the right direction paving way for greater things to happen in Africa.

Stakeholders have commended the move, expressing optimism around the potential gains that could be gleaned from the partnership.

On his Twitter, the Secretary-General at the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) Secretariat, Wamkele Mene, said the continent spends over $19.4 billion a year in payment and settlement.

“The launch of PAPSS would address that and reduce dependence on other currencies making the cost of doing business across the continent cheaper,” Mene said.

Governor, Central Bank of The Gambia and Chairman of the Association of African Central Banks (AACB), Buah Saidy emphasised that stakeholders would not relent until full integration of African financial system are achieved to facilitate trade settlement of transactions between countries.

“PAPSS is billed to transform our payment system platforms, hence revolutionising the way we conduct trade and settlement of our transactions between us,” he said in a statement quoted by The Standard, a Gambian news outfit.

“It is anticipated that PAPSS will boost intra-regional trade between our countries, with payments effected through domestic currencies, while net settlements are in Dollars,” Saidy added.

Recall that PAPSS and Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) recently signed an agreement to facilitate cross-border payments across capital markets within countries enabled under the PAPSS network.

Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Exchange (NGX), Mr Temi Popoola noted that local capital is critical to driving deep, stable and less volatile markets.

“The integration of PAPSS into the African capital market will reduce some of the frictions experienced and deepen capital flows,” Popoola said.

The NGX-PAPSS MoU signing ceremony was attended by the President, Afreximbank, Professor Benedict Oramah and Director-General, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr Lamido Yuguda and Chairman, NGX, Mr. Abubakar Mahmoud, among others.

Mahmoud said investors would enjoy a more efficient and cost-effective way of investing in African securities, thus promoting regional integration and boosting trade flows.

Oramah explained that PAPSS came about as a recognition of the need to integrate payments for goods and services in Africa amid the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).

“Just as we want to ensure smooth settlements for goods, capital market integration is also critical. This is why we collaborated with NGX to facilitate forging PAPSS into the cross-border securities trading framework,” Oramah said.

Yuguda said the signing of the agreement was a significant milestone in line with the revised Capital Market Masterplan.

He assured that SEC would support all initiatives to enhance the integrity and efficiency of the capital market.

Chairman, Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX Group), Alhaji Umar Kwairanga said the agreement would open up new market opportunities to capital market operators across the continent.

Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Exchange Group, Mr. Oscar Onyema said the agreement came at the right time when Africa wanted to accelerate the implementation of AfCFTA.

“It will stimulate the development of intra-African securities trading,” Onyema said.

President, African Securities Exchange Association (ASEA), Mr Thalepo Tsheole called on stakeholders to come together and ensure it is executed across Africa.

He emphasised that using the umbrella of ASEA, with nine exchanges and a market cap of $1.5 trillion, PAPSS could be instrumental to the African Exchanges Linkage Project.

•Equities regain rally with N3b gain

Nigerian equities halted their recent downtrend with a modest gain of N3 billion yesterday as bargain-hunters rallied the market to its first positive closing in recent day.

In a tit-for-tat trading that saw equal number of advancers and decliners, renewed bargain-hunting in many mid-cap stocks boosted the overall market position.

Transactions in the shares of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp) topped the activity chart with 1.602 billion shares valued at N3.092 billion. Transcorp has been the most-sought after company at the stock market in recent days after Lagos businessman and an energy investor, Mr. Femi Otedola, made a move for the conglomerate.

Market sources confirmed that Otedola was behind multi-billion naira equity deals on Transcorp. The high-stake positioning in Transcorp has sent other investors scouting for the shares of the conglomerate.

The management of Transcorp has said it had not received any notification of any material purchase of the conglomerate’s shares, but the management expressed admiration that the group was at the centre of investors’ interests. 

The All Share Index (ASI)- the common value-based index that tracks all share prices at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX),  rose by 11.54 absolute points or 0.02 per cent to close at 51,138.92 points. Aggregate market value of all quoted equities inched up by N3 billion to close at N27.853 trillion.

There were 21 gainers and losers each. Transnational Corporation (Transcorp)  recorded the highest price gain of 9.73 per cent to close at N2.03 per share. R. T. Briscoe Nigeria followed with a gain 9.09 per cent to close at 24 kobo.  International Energy Insurance rose by 7.50 per cent to close at N1.29. Nigerian Aviation Handling Company rallied 5.45 per cent to close at N11.60 while Africa Prudential appreciated by 4.81 per cent to close at N5.45.

On the negative side, Vitafoam Nigeria led the losers’ chart by 8.65 per cent to close at N16.90. Linkage Asurance followed with a decline of 8.33 per cent to close at 44 kobo. Chams Holding Company  went down by 8.0 per cent to close at 23 kobo per share.  Sovereign Trust Insurance lost 6.90 per cent to close at 27 kobo, while Courteville Business Solutions shed 6.67 per cent to close at 42 kobo, per share.

The total volume traded increased by 703.18 per cent to 1.820 billion shares valued at N5.020 billion, and exchanged in 4,669 deals. Livingtrust Mortgage Bank was the second most active stock with 69.974 million shares worth N205.053 million. Fidelity Bank traded 15.974 million shares valued at N82.335 million. Sterling Bank traded 13.538 million shares valued at N19.889 million while United Bank for Africa (UBA) transacted 13.097 million shares worth N102.074 million.

On market outlook, GTI Securities Limited said “the Nigerian equity market gained marginally yesterday. However, Investors are cautious as the market remains uncertain and striving towards recovery. Companies Q1, 2023 performances could be a driver for a positive shift.”

The management of Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), the parent company for the Dangote Group, has said the recourse to the capital market to raise funds for its projects was a deliberate decision to allow Nigerians to be part of the group’s projects.

Speaking against the background of the listing of its N300 billion Series 1 and 2 bondson the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) and FMDQ Securities Exchange (FMDQ Exchange), the holding company stated that the landmark bond issuance by DIL was opportunity for Nigerians to partake as co-financiers of the group’s projects.

DIL, had through its special purpose vehicle, Dangote Industries Funding Plc, raised two tranches of bonds totalling N300 billion, setting a record as the largest aggregate naira-denominated bond to be issued by a company within a year in the Nigerian market.

Group Managing Director, DIL, Mr. Olakunle Alake, said the decision of the company to issue bonds to raise the required capital for part-financing of its 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) Dangote Refinery project was to encourage the participation of Nigerians in the financing of the project. 

According to him, following  the rigorous internal assessment, the management concluded that tapping the local capital markets was inevitable, considering the sheer scale of the project being developed, as well as the market volatility.

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He said while the Dangote Group is not new at raising funds in the local capital market, being a first-time issuer at the holding company level presented a fresh challenge for the company. However, the challenge was one the management was willing to embrace to ensure the desired outcome was achieved.

He pointed out that the net proceeds of the N300 billion bonds would be used primarily for part-financing of the group’s 650,000 bpd refinery project.

“Today, we are delighted to have successfully completed the largest aggregate local currency bond issuance by a corporate in the Nigerian capital markets within a calendar year. The proceeds from the Series 1 and 2 bond issuances were dedicated to part-financing the Dangote Petroleum Refinery Project which is the initiative by the group to establish an integrated petrochemical complex, and the largest single train petroleum refinery in the world,” Alake said.

He noted that the DIL recorded another first through the N187 billion series 1 bonds, under the N300 billion programme, being the largest corporate bond issued in the history of the capital market.

He said the company was pleased to have set the remarkable milestones, showcasing the depth, resilience and liquidity of the domestic capital markets, while reflecting the strong credit quality of the Dangote Group, despite the global market volatility.

He added that the bonds issuances were well-received by the market and recorded participation from a wide range of investors including domestic pension funds, asset managers, insurance companies, and high net-worth investors.

“Indeed, the reception of the market was buoyed by the strategic importance of the project and its expected impact on the Nigerian economy. Overall, we strongly believe the success of the Series 1 and 2 bond issuances further demonstrates investor confidence in our credit story and the appreciation of the work done by the group across several key sectors that are crucial to the development of Nigeria and the continent at large,” Alake said.

He assured that the company would remain resolute in the Nigerian and African story and continue to demonstrate commitment, as one of the foremost pan-African conglomerates, through investments in projects and initiatives that directly improve the quality of lives of Nigerians.

“Indeed, these are very exciting times for us as a business, and so we would continue to welcome opportunities to work with stakeholders in the domestic capital markets towards accelerating the economic activities across Africa, whilst maximising stakeholder returns,” Alake said.

The lead Issuing House for series 1 of the bonds and Chief Executive Officer, of Standard Chartered Capital & Advisory Nigeria Limited, Mrs. Yemisi Deji-Bejide, said Dangote Group had been setting records at the Nigerian market, citing Dangote Cement’s 2022 bond issuance, which was the largest corporate bond issuance at the time.

Deji-Bejide described the success of the transaction as a strong testament to the fact that investors strongly believe in Dangote Group’s credit story and are willing to continue to support the growth of the business.

She added that the issuances demonstrated the depth of the Nigerian capital markets and resilience, despite all the volatility in the global markets and the macro headwinds.

“Lastly and most importantly, investors are keen to support impactful infrastructure projects in Nigeria, as the proceeds of the bond are being used to fund the largest single train refinery in the world,” Deji-Bejide said.

•To drive African expansion

Access Holdings Plc has injected $300 million in capital investment into its flagship subsidiary, Access Bank Plc to boost the bank’s expansion across Africa.

In a regulatory filing at the Nigerian Exchange(NGX) yesterday, Access Holdings stated that the new capital investment will supplement the capital needs of the bank’s African expansion strategy.

The company noted that over the years, Access Bank has made significant strides towards attaining strong market presence in the key trade and payments corridors across the African continent.

The new investment was in the form of a Tier 1 capital qualifying mandatory convertible instrument and is expected to improve the bank’s shareholders funds and total capital ratios. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has approved the investment.

Group Chief Executive, Access Holdings, Dr Herbert Wigwe said as a leading financial institution in the continent, the group remain foresighted in its approach to its growth and capitalisation needs.

“This investment is a capstone initiative following the $500 million Additional Tier 1 capital raised by the bank in 2021 and advances its vision to be the world’s most respected African bank.

“Access Holdings benefits from this non-dilutive approach to raising growth capital as we continue to invest in initiatives geared towards delivering our vision of building a globally connected community and ecosystem inspired by Africa for the world through disciplined growth and diversification,” Wigwe said.

•Boost for commodities trading, crowdfunding, others

The Investment and Securities Bill (ISB), which was passed by the Senate last week, stipulates a minimum jail sentence of 10 years for operators of Ponzi schemes and other illegal, unapproved investment schemes.
The Bill contains a categorical prohibition of Ponzi schemes, illegal investment schemes and other bogus offerings aimed at luring people into unapproved fund or investment management.
The prohibition clause and the stipulation of specific punishment, which are newly included in the body of capital market law, provide the proposed law with a stronger enforcement basis to tackle Ponzi schemes and other bogus offerings.
The ISB, upon harmonisation and assent by President Muhammadu Buhari, is s expected to replace the Investment and Securities Act (ISA) and become the main body of law for the capital market. It will be the operative legal framework for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the apex capital market regulator.
The draft law passed by the Senate also contains new sections on regulation of commodities exchanges, warehouse receipts and other important processes necessary to the development of Nigeria’s nascent commodities trading ecosystem.
Besides, there are several provisions on innovative finances including crowdfunding, private investments and derivatives among others, which are expected to widen the scope and depth of the capital market and bring it at par with global trends in capital formation and distribution.
The proposed law also strengthen the enforcement powers of SEC in line with the requirement of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO)”
The Bill, which is expected to aid the functioning of the capital market and facilitate the ongoing economic diversification in the country among others, had been passed by the House of Representatives last December.
Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, said the proposed law would further protect investors while adequately regulating the market to reduce systemic risks.
“The Bill for an Act to repeal the Investments and Securitas Act 2007 Act No. 29 2007 and enact the Investments and Securities Bill 2023 to service the SEC as the apex regulatory authority for the Nigerian capital market as well as regulation of market to ensure capital formation, to protect investors, maintain fair, efficient and transparent market and reduction of systemic risk and for related matters is hereby passed,” Lawan had said.
Chairman, House of representatives’ Committee on Capital Markets and Institutions, Hon. Babangida Ibrahim had earlier noted that the ISB was capable of transforming the capital market, encourage the influx of foreign investors as well as boost investors’ confidence, among others.
He outlined that the Bill addressed new areas like alternative trading systems, inclusion of National Pensions Commission (Pencom) as part of the board of the SEC, deletion of the provisions on merger control in the current Act and amendment of the criteria of borrowing by sub-nationals.
“We owe a duty to Nigerians and Nigeria to make sure that things work well. In the financial market we have the money market and the capital market. With the challenges facing the money market, the only option left is the capital market. What we tried to do is to build investors’ confidence and ensure that investors are comfortable,” Ibrahim said.
Director-General, SEC, Mr. Lamido Yuguda, who provided additional insights into the Bill, said the proposed law also expands the categories of issuers as a key step towards the introduction of innovations and offerings such as crowd-funding as well as the facilitation of “commercial and investment business activities”, subject to the approval of the Commission and other controls stipulated in the bill.
According to him, the bill expands the definition of a collective investment scheme to include schemes offered privately to qualified investors while minor reviews on various Sections of the law were done to provide greater clarity.
He pointed out that the inclusion of the PenCom on the board of SEC would foster increased collaboration between the two agencies, with a view to encouraging greater investment of pension funds in capital market products and instruments.
He outlined that a new part on the management of systemic risk has been introduced, covering themes such as monitoring, management and mitigation of systemic risk in the Nigerian capital market; arrangements with other regulators relating to information required from entities that are regulated by other regulators; sharing of information between financial sector regulatory authorities or government agencies; and use of a legal entity identifier to provide for proper monitoring of systemic risks.
“Securities Exchanges are now classified into composite exchanges and non-composite exchanges. A composite exchange is one in which all categories of securities and products can be listed and traded. In contrast, a non-composite exchange focuses on a singular type of security or product.
“Furthermore, the duties and responsibilities of Exchanges have been expanded, and the conditions for revocation of registration clearly stated. There are also new provisions on financial market infrastructures such as central counter parties, clearing houses and trade depositories among others,” Yuguda said.
Meanwhile, SEC is prosecuting a firm and its promoters for alleged N2 billion Ponzi scheme.
Justice Inyang Ekpo of the Federal High Court, Court 7, Abuja has set May 4, this year for the commencement of trial of Ovaioza Farm Produce Storage Business Limited along with ImuYunusa and Goodness Omeiza on allegations of operating as fund managers without registration by the SEC.
The SEC had in March, last year sealed up the 27, Abeokuta Street, Garki, Abuja office of the company on suspicions of illegally collecting from the public N2 billion while not registered with the Commission.
In the five-count charge brought against the company and its promoters by the Federal Government, they were alleged to have between 2020 and last year within the jurisdiction of the court committed a felony to wit: with the intent conspired among themselves with their staff to do an illegal act – to lure and offer for subscription an unregistered investment scheme valued at over N2 billion to the unsuspecting public.

The federal government borrowed about N563.4 billion from the domestic capital market at its latest bond auction, continuing the aggressive borrowings that had had characterised the government’s issuances in recent period.

As against its initial offer target of N360 billion, the government allotted bonds worth N563.36 billion at its March 2023 bond auction on Monday.

Transaction report by the Debt Management Office (DMO), the agency that oversees government’s debt issuance and management, indicated that subscription to the N360 billion bond offer was N808.612 billion, 124.6 per cent above initial offer size.

Following the recent trend, the government took advantage of high investors’ appetite for sovereign securities to increase its allotment to N563.359 billion.

At the bond auction, the DMO had offered N90 billion each across four tenors of bonds. The bonds on offer, which were reopening of previous issuances, included the 10-year, 13.9800 per cent February 2028 bond with a previous stop rate of 13.99 per cent; the 15-year, 12.500 per cent April 2032 bond with a previous stop rate of 14.90 per cent; the 20-year, 16.2499 per cent April 2037 bond with a previous stop rate of 15.90 per cent and the 30-year, 14.8000 per cent, April 2049 with a previous stop rate of 16 per cent.

Analysts at Arthur Steven Asset Management, which deals in sovereign securities, said the high subscription rate might not be unconnected with increased liquidity due to the collection of corporate benefits as well as the sell-off at the equities market. 

Analysis of the subscription pattern indicated that the April 2037 instrument was the most desired, which analysts attributed investors’ management of the uncertainty that accompanied Nigeria’s credit downgrade.

The DMO under-allocated the undersubscribed 2028 and 2032 instruments and over-allocated across the 2037 and 2049 instruments, which is 156.49 per cent of the DMO’s intended offer size.

The average stop yield closed at 15.31 per cent, which is three basis points higher than the average stop yield reported in the last month’s auction.

The Federal Government has maintained a trend of raising more than the initial offer size, as investors continued to show preference for sovereign securities.

At the recent auction of Nigerian Treasury Bills (NTBs), investors had staked N906.21 billion on NTBs, more than quadruple of the government’s offer, providing headroom for the government to increase its initial offer by 44.5 per cent.

Closing report on the latest primary market auction of the NTBs conducted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that the government had offered N224.50 billion across three tenors of 91-day, 182-day and 364-day NTBs.

Total subscriptions by investors however peaked at N906.21 billion, an increase of 303.7 per cent on the initial offer size. With the strong liquidity, the apex bank fully allotted its offers of N1.03 billion and N10.55 billion for the 91-day and 182-day NTBs. It increased allotment for the 364-day NTBs from the initial offer size of N212.92 billion to N312.92 billion.

The report showed that stop rates for the 182-day and 364-day cleared higher at six per cent and 10.00 per cent. However, the stop rate for the 91-day tenor cleared lower at 1.44 per cent.

The federal government had raised about N2.13 trillion in new debts from the domestic capital market within the first two months of this year.

Data obtained by The Nation’s Economic Intelligence had shown that the government has stepped up its borrowings across all instruments as risk-averse investors crowded around sovereign debt issuances.

The data indicated that the government raised N2.129 trillion between January and February 2023 through regular bond issuance, the retails savings bonds and treasury bills.

Faced with sovereign downgrades by global rating agencies, with attendant higher risk profile and cost for international debt issuances, there were indications that government might have narrowed down to the domestic capital market to raise N8.8 trillion regular debt component of the 2023’s N10.78 trillion deficit.

A breakdown showed that government raised N1.189 trillion in February, 26.4 per cent above N940.62 billion raised in January 2023.

In January 2023, government raised N662.617 billion through its regular bond auction, N277.468 billion through the Nigerian Treasury Bills (NTBs) and N533.03 million through the Federal Government of Nigeria Savings Bonds (FGNSBs), a retail monthly debt issuance introduced in 2017.

Last month, the government raised N770.56 billion through bond auction, N417.064 billion through NTBs and N1.271 billion through the FGNSBs.  

Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, at the public presentation of the breakdown and highlights of the 2023 budget proposal, said the budget deficit of N10.78 trillion for the year would be financed from domestic loans.

She outlined that the budget deficit would be financed mainly by borrowings including domestic sources, N7.04 trillion; foreign sources, N1.76 trillion, multilateral and bi-lateral loan drawdowns, N1.77 billion and expected N206.18 billion proceeds from privatisation of national assets.

While experts agreed that rising demand for sovereign debts provides government with a comfortable fallback option, many analysts said government’s domestic mop up may crowd out other issuers and raise cost of fund.           

The February 2023 issuances illustrated the crowded demand for sovereign debts. Transactional report for the February 2023 bond auction indicated that the bond auction received a total bid of N992.11 billion, about 176 per cent above government’s offer size of N360 billion.

The government had offered to raise N90 billion each across four tenors of bonds but three of the four bonds were overwhelmingly oversubscribed, providing the government headroom to mop up more funds.

The bid-to-cover ratios for the 10-year FGN FEB 2028, 10-year FGN APR 2032, 20-year FGN APR 2037, and 30-year FGN APR 2049 bonds were 3.29 times, 0.87 times, 3.30 times, and 3.57 times.

The DMO increased allotments across the three oversubscribed bonds, while reducing allotment for the undersubscribed bond.

The government allotted N257.41 billion to investors in the 10-year FGN Feb 2028 bond as against total subscription of N296.214 billion, N51.12 billion to the undersubscribed 10-year FGN Apr 2032 bond, which recorded total subscription of N77.998 billion; N220.56 billion for the 20-year FGN Apr 2037 bond as against total subscription of N296.619 billion and N241.47 billion was allotted to the 30-year FGN AprIL 2049 bond, which had the highest subscription of N321.274 billion. The marginal rates for the bonds were 13.99 per cent, 14.90 per cent, 15.90 per cent and 16.00 per cent.

Analysts at Arthur Steven Asset Management noted that the total subscription of N992.11 billion in February was higher than N805.17 billion total subscription recorded in January 2023, an increase of 23.22 per cent.

Analysts attributed the increase in subscription to increase in liquidity and strategic portfolio positioning for the year.

According to analysts, the subscription for the long-tenored 2049 bond showed that more investors still prefer longer maturities despite the downgrade of the country’s credit rating.

AFEX is raising about N30 billion for advance funding to agro-processors in another major move to unlock the potential of Nigeria’s commodities market.

AFEX, through AFIL SPV Plc- a special purpose vehicle of AFEX Investment Limited (AFIL), is offering Series Asset-Backed Commercial Paper (ABCP) to raise up to N30 billion, in an offering that allows conventional and ethical investors to invest in the issue.

The N30 billion ABCP is being issued under AFIL SPV PLc’s N100 billion ABCP programme, sponsored by AFIL, a capital investment member of the AFEX Group. AFEX Commodities Exchange, the trading platform member of AFEX, is also a co-Guarantor.

According to the issuer, the AFIL SPV Plc ABCP is aimed at catalysing finance for agro-processors in the food, beverage, and poultry sectors through the capital market in ways that ensure a fit in both timeliness of funding and structure of the funds.

The net proceeds of the issuance will be used to provide pre-qualified agro processors with working capital support to enable them purchase commodities required for their production processes at an agreed upon price.

The ABCP Notes will be backed by commodities deposited by the pre-qualified agro-processors with the collateral manager.

The issuance allows Islamic ethical investors to invest in the notes through a murabaha window.

AFIL SPV is offering 179-day commercial papers with effective and implied yields of 14.50 per cent and 13.54 per cent. It is simultaneously 270-day CPs with effective yield of 15.00 per cent and implied yield of 13.50 per cent. Minimum subscription is N5 million.

The ABCP notes will be listed on AFEX Commodities Exchange after the completion of the offer.  

AFEX recently signed a major agreement that may herald trading in future contracts for major local commodities such as cocoa, maize, paddy rice and soybean among others.

The development of exchange-based trading for commodities futures and other derivatives is expected to boost capital formation for the development of the agricultural sector and to deepen the depth of the Nigerian capital market.

Currently, trading on commodities such as cocoa, maize, paddy rice, and others are limited to the spot and over-the-counter (OTC) markets. The spot and OTC markets expose participants to frequent price movements and counterparty risk.

With the futures market, participants can lock in prices and positions of various commodities ahead of time without facing the risk of default by a counterparty.

In furtherance of the commodity futures market, AFEX Commodities Exchange and NG Clearing Limited last November signed an agreement to develop the infrastructure that facilitates trading and central clearing of futures contracts for agricultural commodities.

AFEX Commodity Exchange will serve as the trading venue while NG Clearing will serve as the central counterparty that guarantees the settlement of trades.

A central counterparty is a critical financial market infrastructure that facilitates the clearing and settlement of derivatives and other securities as well as the management of counterparty credit risk.

Chief Executive Officer, AFEX Commodity Exchange, Mr Ayodeji Balogun  said the agreement was part of AFEX’s mission oto be a reference point for commodities in Africa.

According to him, the collaboration with NG Clearing is a new leap for the financial market as it further opens opportunities for generating shared prosperity through the commodity market.

He said AFEX shares a drive with market regulators and other players in the capital market to deepen the market and unlock financing options and alternative investment classes for players in the commodities ecosystem.

“We believe that this would further position the country as a preferred capital destination with a viable path of effectively managing risks in key sectors of the economy,” Balogun said.

Chief Executive Officer, NG Clearing, Mr. Tapas Das, said the partnership with AFEX would usher in a new phase in the development of the financial and agricultural sectors.

“As the central counterparty, we bring confidence and trust to the market as we will be guaranteeing the execution of the trades through our resilient collateral management processes,” Das said.

 He said the collaboration would unlock the untapped potential of commodity derivatives in Nigeria.

The agreement between AFEX and NG Clearing comes at a time when unlocking value in Nigeria’s agricultural sector is at the front burner of government initiatives.

The AFEX market turnover stands at N123.72 billion while NG Clearing earlier facilitated the introduction of equity index derivatives last April, serving as a central counterparty to the NGX Exchange.

Stakeholders should work together to inculcate savings and investment culture in youths from their early years.

This was the conclusion yesterday as the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) led other partners to mark this year’s Global Money Week (GMW).

Participants agreed that stakeholders  must inculcate a culture of saving and investing in young Nigerians.

They said it was important to ensure that young people, from early age, are financially aware, and are gradually acquiring the knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviours necessary to make sound financial decisions and ultimately achieve financial well-being and financial resilience.

NGX, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and NGX Regulation Limited (NGX RegCo) partnered the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to educate over 100 students on GMW’s  theme, “Plan your money, plant your future”.

Divisional Head, Capital Markets, Nigerian Exchange (NGX), Mr. Jude Chiemeka, said there was the need to guide children in their formative years so as to be responsible citizens in the future.

He emphasised that choices they made would have a significant impact on their future.

“We must also recognise that our individual financial health is closely linked to the health of the planet and of society as a whole. The choices we make about how we earn, spend, save, and invest our money can either contribute to or undermine the sustainability of our world.

“As such, it’s essential that we  adopt a responsible and informed approach to financial decision-making that considers the impact of our choices on our environment and society,” Chiemeka said.

He outlined that as part of NGX-led financial literacy initiatives, the Exchange also offer a range of educational resources, including a comic book series named NGX StockTown with the goal of using illustrations to raise the next generation leaders who are financially aware, responsible and skilled economic citizens.

The event, which culminated in a closing gong ceremony, had the overall winners at the quiz, held at the Exchange, close the market by sounding the gong. They were also gifted shares with the first prize winner receiving N80,000 worth of shares while the first and second runner ups won N70,000 and N50,000 worth of shares.

Principal Manager, Market Development Department, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr John Achile and Principal Manager, Head of Advocacy Office, Consumer Education and Evaluation Division of Consumer Protection, CBN, Mr Abubakar Albasu highlighted the importance of market regulation and investors protection.

Head, Market Surveillance and Investigation, NGX RegCo, Mr Abimbola Babalola delivered a presentation on the rudiments of money and the technicalities of the capital market.

Sales Trader, Meristem Stockbrokers, Mr Abdulkareem Kelani and Head, Securities Dealing, APT Securities, Mr Mohammed Jamie also contributed to improving the students’ knowledge capacity about the stock market. Other partners at the event were MinieMoney, AIESEC Lagos and Junior Achievement Nigeria (JAN).

Ambrose Ebuka, an expert forex trader and analyst, has talked about the utilisation of financial markets.

According to him when making an investment, it is crucial to educate oneself on these financial instruments as this will help one assess the suitability of the asset.

“The financial market offers opportunities for traders of all skill levels to profit, including those who lack knowledge and understanding of how it operates. Yet, it is now much simpler to learn about investing in proper ways that will fetch you handsome profits thanks to technology, educational resources, and other tools available online. Stocks, bonds, mutual funds, real estate, precious metals, and cryptocurrencies are the financial vehicles that can spread these rewards.

He added: “Beginners in the financial market may find it intimidating, but with the right direction, it can be a terrific long-term strategy to gain money and accumulate wealth. You can choose from a variety of financial items when investing your money. Stocks, bonds, mutual funds, real estate, precious metals, and virtual currencies comprise the major subcategories.

He also stated that ‘Knowledge, capital, and time are all necessary for effective investing. But why is that significant? you might wonder. Why is this so: Understanding what you want to invest in, how it functions, and the risk/reward ratio are all important.

Any investment needs money because it entails primarily employing money to produce more money. Since assets need time to grow, investors should anticipate timely results. Time is therefore crucial.’

Ambrose Ebuka has hosted seminars in universities across Nigeria and has mentored over 5,000 students online.