Category: Money

Taofik Salako, Capital Market Editor

Analysts are optimistic that year 2020 holds a lot of promise for equity investors and traders, especially given the cocktail of regulations expected to drive investment towards that segment.

The analysts, who spoke during this year’s edition of the INVEST 2020 traders and investors summit, organized by Investdata Consulting Limited in Lagos, with the theme: “Opportunities and Trade Ideas,” looked at the possible impact of dynamics like the relatively low-interest rate, border closure, early assent to 2020 budget, low valuations of companies based on their fundamentals and the banks implementing the 65 per cent LDR at the end of the year on the economy and equity prices.

The speakers discussed the expected impact of the various initiatives and opportunities they offer investors in various sectors of the economy and how investors should position to take advantage of the current low prices of equities in the Nigerian market.

READ ALSO: Stockbroking firms, NASD partner on market development

They also noted the quest for strategies to improve revenue through taxation, attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) as a major focus of the Federal Government, which will indirectly increase liquidity around the market arena, thereby enhancing portfolio value.

Engr. Ekwueme Mike Anyadibe, Head, Fixed Income Sales at TRW Stockbrokers Limited, for example, took participants through trade ideas that support their different investment goals. He harped on the implication of the expected bear-run in the fixed income market occasioned by the Central Bank of Nigeria’s recent directive in Q1 2020.

Taofik Salako, Capital Market Editor

Stockbrokers have been urged to deepen their knowledge of data analysis to enable investors identify major risk factors in each quoted company.

Commenting on one of the major challenges to investment in securities  in Nigeria,  a leading investment analyst and Chief Executive Officer, Ademola Omolehinwa and Company, Mr Ade Omolehinwa lamented the dearth of data that reveal risk factors of quoted companies in Nigeria.

Omolehinwa, who made a comprehensive presentation on “ Securities Analysis and Valuation in the Capital Market “ at the Third Stream of the Executive Conversion Programme of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers ( CIS), yesterday in Lagos, explained that inability to identify the major risk factors which he technically called beta factors was a major impediment to investment in the quoted companies in Nigeria.

According to him, in the developed economies, a potential investor can easily buy data of a quoted company and identify its risk factors as a basis for decision to invest hugely in such a company.

“Comprehensive data analysis to show risk factors of a company is lacking in Nigeria although few companies that are rating agencies do a little bit of such. Can we easily get beta factors of our quoted companies in Nigeria? In developed economies, one can buy data of a company and identify its major risk factors. What obtains in those economies is that companies’ data are analyzed alongside with the performance of the economy,” Omolehinwa said.

He noted that once the risk factors of a company are identified, it becomes easier to analyze the stream of expected return and required return from the company.

“These are important data for investment decision. We expect our stockbrokers to develop capacity in this area,” Omolehinwa said.

Past President of CIS, Mr Mike Itegboje who made presentation on “Overview of the Financial Markets and Institutions” explained that relevant information on the quoted companies would attract informed retail investors, institutional and foreign ones into the market.

Taofik Salako, Capital Market Editor

Stockbroking firms and NASD OTC Securities Exchange Plc have commenced talks on strategic partnership in the area of trading in securities and market development.

Stockbroking firms, under the auspices of Association of Securities Dealing Houses of Nigeria (ASHON) met with the management of NASD to discuss various issues including product development, the need for more engagement of NASD with stockbrokers, compliance officers, risk managers and other key market participants, involvement of stockbrokers in NASD’s various committees and regular quarterly meeting between the two institutions among others.

Chairman, Association of Securities Dealing Houses of Nigeria (ASHON), Chief Patrick Ezeagu said the association’s engagements with all exchanges and trade points in Nigeria were in order to expand the scope of operations and the income stream of stockbrokers.

According to him, the association is extending its partnership initiative to include other markets outside Nigeria as evident in its participation in the formation of the African Stockbrokers and Securities Dealers Association (ASSDA) which is part of the African Linkage Project.

“We want to formally engage the management of NASD on how we can improve and streamline our relationship through regular discussion with the utmost aim of improving the market. The 4th Industrial Revelation is powered by Fintech and there is a need for us to be ready for its disruptive tendencies,”  Ezeagu said.

Managing Director, NASD OTC Securities Exchange Plc, Mr Bola Ajomale explained that the partnership between ASHON and NASD was long overdue.

According to him, the equity market is threatened and constantly dwindling due to the fact that the world is changing, as such more firms should be encouraged to come to the market.

“Emphasis should be on growth in the business. The growth is in finding companies and bringing them to the market. There is a new portal being introduced which has the capacity to take care of this new line of thought and it is expected to come on stream soon. The portal will be introduced formally to ASHON members. It was advised that we should encourage the members of ASHON to look at other markets like FMDQ since the wealth the traders we make will cascade to the NASD,” Ajomale said.

He pointed out that in recognition of the large size of fixed income market and its importance, the NASD is set to introduce a new commercial paper trading initiative which is currently going through the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for approval.

“On the Pension Industry, NASD has started engaging participants and it is expected that Pension Fund Administrators will start trading in the NASD platform by the year 2020. We are working on creating an index in conjunction with S&P on five top players in the market and on this index a fund can be created. NASD usually holds analysts calls where companies come to explain their figures and performance. We want stockbrokers to always attend,” Ajomale said.

Taofik Salako, Capital Market Editor

Nigerian equities continued on the positive side on Thursday as investors stepped up bargain-hunting ahead of the end of the business year. Average return stood at 0.51 per cent, equivalent to net capital gain of N66 billion.

Aggregate market value of all quoted equities at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) rose from its opening value of N12.758 trillion to close at N12.824 trillion. The All Share Index (ASI)- the common value-based index that tracks share prices increased from 26,434.00 points to close at 26,569.80 points. Average year-to-date return moderated to -15.46 per cent while average month to date stood at -1.60 per cent.

Read Also: Two AEDC investors in equity, ownership tussle

All sectoral indices closed positive with the exception of the NSE Industrial Goods Index, which declined by 0.81 per cent. The NSE Consumer Goods Index rose by 1.19 per cent. The NSE Banking Index appreciated by 1.10 per cent. The NSE Insurance Index rose by 0.34 per cent while the NSE Oil & Gas Index inched up 0.15 per cent.
There were 17 gainers and 13 losers. Presco led the gainers with a gain of N3.60 to close at N41.45. Nigerian Breweries followed with a gain of N1.45 to close at N52.70. Guaranty Trust Bank rose by N1 to close at N29. Dangote Sugar Refinery added 90 kobo to close at N16 while Cadbury Nigeria appreciated 85 kobo to close at N9.90.
Total turnover however declined by 77.38 per cent to 319.69 million shares valued at N3.07 billion in 2,503 deals.
On the negative side, Union Bank of Nigeria led the decliners with a drop of 30 kobo to close at N6.30. Cutix declined by 14 kobo to close at N1.35 while Lafarge Africa and Unilever Nigeria dropped by 10 kobo each to close at N13.50 and N18.40 respectively.

“We expect the bullish performance to be sustained in the subsequent session however, we maintain our bearish outlook in the near term,” Afrinvest Securities stated.

Collins Nweze

WINNERS have emerged in the National Company of the Year  (NCOY) competition sponsored by First Bank of Nigeria Limited.  Taidob College Abeokuta, winners of the 2019 NCOY organized by Junior Achievement Nigeria and sponsored by First Bank of Nigeria Limited on Friday 6 December 2019, represented Nigeria in Ghana at the 2019 African Company of the Year competition.

Taidob College left Ghana with four awards in the keenly contested competition, comprising representatives from 10 other Junior Achievement member countries in Africa.

Speaking on their performance, Folake Ani-Mumuney, Group Head, Marketing & Corporate Communications, First Bank of Nigeria Limited said “the youngsters from Taidob College have indeed made Nigeria and Nigerians proud.

Winning four various awards is a recognition of the viability of the innovative solutions designed to save lives. The impact of their innovation – the Gas Leakage Detector – would go a very long way at solving the problem of fire outbreaks due to gas leakages in homes, offices, and industries. We congratulate Junior Achievement Nigeria on the strides achieved in Ghana”.

Collins Nweze

NIGERIAN Breweries Plc has unveiled the Maltina 1000 Smiles Campaigns across the country. Maltina also released the 1000 smiles captured during its  ‘1000 Smiles’ campaign tour across Nigeria.

Launched in partnership with media entrepreneur and blogger, Noble Igwe, the campaign was relaunched in August 2019 with the ‘Happiness Team’ – which includes the Maltina brand team and celebrity blogger; Nobe Igwe – visiting several Nigerian cities including Wadata, Nnewi, Keffi, Abuja, and others to share happiness with consumers.

According to the Portfolio Manager, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Ngozi Ngonadi-Nkwoji, “A smile has the potential to change moments in people’s lives, can improve the moods of those that we meet daily, and can inspire communities – thereby changing the world one person at a time. We believe that smiles can inspire the world, which influenced our mission to share happiness, while also emphasizing Maltina’s position as the No.1 nourishing malt drink, specially made from natural ingredients to give the complete richness of malt to Nigerians”.

“Regardless age, gender, or background, the ‘Maltina 1000 Smiles’ campaign was an opportunity to share exciting experiences with many consumers that we met, giving us a chance to create happy moments and share happiness,” she said.

By Collins Nweze

ACCESS Bank Plc has reiterated its support for one of Africa’s biggest art and culture festival, Born In Africa (BAFEST).

The stage is all set for BAFEST, a one-day event created to showcase Africa’s talent and creativity in Music, Film, Fashion and Art. The festival, which is the brainchild of Africa’s largest financial institution, Access Bank, is billed to kick off at 9 am on the December 15 at the Eko Atlantic City, Victoria Island Lagos.

Commenting on the upcoming festival, Amaechi Okobi, Group Head, Communications & External Affairs at Access Bank Plc explained that “Access Bank is proud to be projecting the best of African creativity through BAFEST. This crowns all our efforts aimed at changing the negative narrative associated with Nigeria and Africa. Our line of events partnerships such as the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon, Art X Lagos, The Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF), and the likes all aim to showcase the continent in good light as well as to project it as a hub for entertainment and creativity.”

This year’s BAFEST edition themed “More for Culture” combines all elements of art (Music, Film, Fashion and Creative Art) and is aimed at projecting and celebrating the true unbreakable African spirit, while shining a positive light on the richness of the African culture and unparalleled dynamism of her creativity.

The daylong event will kick off with the fashion, art and film park, where various artists, fashion designers and filmmakers will showcase their works. The Nigerian Film industry will also be adequately represented, as short films, feature-length films and Accelerate Filmmaker project films will be screened during the festival. Some of the films to be featured include; Short Films like Black Monday by Adetola Films, Blast by Tosin Ibitoye, Last by Olabisi Akinbinu, and Scars by Miriam Dera. The festival will be concluded with a music concert featuring Africa’s biggest music talents.

The music concert will feature an impressive lineup of the biggest talents in the African creative industry. Africa’s finest music artists such as Burna Boy, Tiwa Savage, Niniola, Patoranking, MI, 9ice, Ice Prince, Naira Marley, Sheyi Shay and Fireboy as well as other phenomenal acts will be gracing the stage. Not leaving out other facets of the creative industry, some of Africa’s most prolific models, fashion designers and filmmakers will also be present, exhibiting their works.

Collins Nweze

THE financial markets have huge impacts on the lives of individuals and government and should be developed to promote desired growth and development, President, Financial Markets Dealers Association (FMDA) Mrs. Adetoun Dosunmu has said.

Speaking during the financial markets conference organised by the Financial Markets Dealers Association (FMDA)  in Lagos, she explained that though it is not everyone that plays in the financial markets, the result of trading in these markets can be seen and felt by every participant in economic life—individuals, businesses, and government. The conference held in Lagos focused on the theme: “The Nigerian Financial Market – An Agent for Growth and Development’.

Dosunmu said those trading in financial markets influence economic and social life in one way or another. She said that countries with better-developed financial systems enjoy faster and more stable long-run growth and development.

Read Also: Financial markets: No dull moments in 2017

“Evidence from  recent empirical  studies suggests  that  deeper, broader,  and better  functioning  financial markets  can stimulate  higher  economic  growth  and  development,” she said.

The event, attended by government officials and private sector operators , was meant to promote the development of the Nigerian financial market and drive growth of the economy.

It was attended by experts from the private and public sectors including regulators who provided insights into how the Nigerian financial markets as well as the SME sector can help achieve and drive growth of the Nigerian economy.

She said that FMDA is committed to ensuring the growth of a safe and efficient market in Nigeria as well as  a strong and reliable partner to Nigerian market participants and institutions now and in the years ahead.

Also speaking, Deputy Director, Policy Advocacy, Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), Abayomi Salami, said there is a strong correlation between economic prosperity and ease of doing business.

“Reforms in the past 12 months showed that starting a business has witnessed 26 pr cent reduction in cost of registering a business with time to register a business dropping from 14 to two days. Obtaining certified true copies of title documents of a property has dropped from five days to half a day and conducting a search from seven days to one day,” he said.