₦airaland Forum

NSE Revokes Licences of 39 Stockbroking Firms (SEE LIST)
https://businesspost.ng/2018/12/28/nse-revokes-licences-of-39-stockbroking-firms-see-list/

One-Year T-Bills Yield Gains 0.02% to Settle at 17.35%
https://businesspost.ng/2018/12/28/one-year-t-bills-yields-gain-0-02-to-settle-at-17-35/

Shareholders Meet January 29 to Approve Delisting of Newrest ASL
https://businesspost.ng/2018/12/28/shareholders-meet-january-29-to-approve-delisting-of-newrest-asl/

Notore Chemical Declares 123% Loss in FY 2018 as EPS Drops 123%
https://businesspost.ng/2018/12/27/notore-chemical-declares-123-loss-in-fy-2018-as-eps-drops-123/

Diamond Bank Appoints Dele Babade as Acting Chairman
https://businesspost.ng/2018/12/27/diamond-bank-appoints-dele-babade-as-acting-chairman/

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

A frontline socio-political pressure group known as Enugu Youth Coalition has condemned in its strongest terms the recent attack on the campaign office of a factional governorship candidate of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state which led to the destruction of two branded campaign buses belonging to 'Buhari/Osinbajo Campaign' team in the state.

In a statement released to newsmen in Abuja on Sunday night, the group blamed the attack on the inability of the party in the state to manage its internal crisis properly.

The coalition further suggested that members of APC which have formed the habit of bringing the state to public ridicules because of its past 'Mafia-like' operations in the state could be the brain behind the latest attack.

In lieu of such suggestion, the group wondered why a political party that seeks to represent the people could chose the season of Advent; a time the entire state is waiting for the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ to violently express their political anger?

The statement signed by Dr. Edwin Obune, national coordinator of the coalition urged security agencies in the state to do thorough investigations and publish the names of culprits so that citizens of the state will know their true enemies.

For giving the state a Christmas gift of violence instead of peace, joy and happiness which yuletide season symbolizes, we therefore ask the electorates to outrightly reject APC in next year's governorship election in the state.

https://businesspost.ng/2018/12/24/group-slams-apc-over-destruction-of-buhari-osinbajo-campaign-buses/

Rates to Crash as N1.4tr Hits Market This Week
https://businesspost.ng/2018/12/24/rates-to-crash-as-n1-4tr-hits-market-this-week/

NSE Okays Listing of 11.9m Shares of CCNN After Merger With Kalambaina Cement
https://businesspost.ng/2018/12/22/nse-lists-11-9m-shares-of-ccnn-after-merger-with-kalambaina-cement/

T-Bills Market Close Bearish as CBN Relaxes OMO Sale
https://businesspost.ng/2018/12/22/t-bills-market-closes-bearish-as-cbn-relaxes-omo-sale/

eTranzact Seeks Fresh N7b to Remain Competitive
https://businesspost.ng/2018/12/21/etranzact-seeks-fresh-n7b-to-remain-competitive/

T-Bills Yields Settle at 15.40% After 0.09% Rise
https://businesspost.ng/2018/12/21/t-bills-yields-settle-at-15-40-after-0-09-rise/

Moody's Assigns Provisional (P)B2 Rating to Access Bank
https://businesspost.ng/2018/12/20/moodys-assigns-provisional-pb2-rating-to-access-bank/

NSE Approves Delisting of Great Nigeria Insurance
https://businesspost.ng/2018/12/20/nse-approves-delisting-of-great-nigeria-insurance/

Neimeth Pharmaceuticals Offers Shareholders Bonus Share
https://businesspost.ng/2018/12/20/neimeth-pharmaceuticals-offers-shareholders-bonus-share/

Access Bank Obtains Regulatory Approval for N75b Rights Issue
https://businesspost.ng/2018/12/19/access-bank-obtains-regulatory-approval-to-issue-n75b-rights-issue/

By Dipo Olowookere

Stock market indices were weakened on Wednesday as President Muhammadu Buhari presented his government’s budget estimate for the 2019 fiscal year.

In his budget christened Budget of Continuity, Mr Buhari, during the presentation to a joint session of the National Assembly, said a total of N8.83 trillion is expected to be used in the coming year.

In reaction, the stock market suffered a decline as a result of the losses posted by some large cap equities on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

The poor performances of Seplat, Dangote Cement and some other stocks dragged the market down by 0.35 percent, leaving the year-to-date loss at 19.71 percent.

While Seplat depreciated by N38.80 percent to settle at N555.20k per share, Total Nigeria went down by N3 to finish at N195 per share.

Also, Dangote Cement crashed by N3 to end at N186 per share, Mobil Oil Nigeria had its share value reduced by N2 to quote at N168 per share, while Julius Berger depreciated by 90 kobo to close at N20.10k per share.

On the flip side, Nestle Nigeria topped the gainers’ chart with N20 added to its share price to close at N1470 per share.

Forte Oil grew by N2.35k to end at N26.20k per share, while Nigerian Breweries appreciated by N1.80k to quote at N78.50k per share.

Furthermore, Stanbic IBTC went up by 45 kobo to close at N46 per share, while Flour Mills rose by 35 kobo to settle at N21.85k per share.

During trading yesterday, the volume of shares transacted reduced by 36.43 percent to 201 million units from 316.2 million units, while the value went down by 19.49 percent to N4.1 billion from N5.1 billion.

Zenith Bank dominated the activity chart on Wednesday with a turnover of 51.9 million shares transacted for N1.2 billion.

It was followed by Lafarge Africa, which sold 38.7 million units worth N457.3 million, and FBN Holdings, which transacted 15.9 million shares valued at N120.4 million.

GTBank exchanged 12.3 million equities for N427.6 million, while Fidelity Bank sold 9.6 million shares worth N18.4 million.

A look at the major market indices showed that the All-Share Index (ASI) declined by 109.21 points to settle at 30,704.98 points, while the market capitalisation went down by N39 billion to finish at N11.216 trillion.

https://businesspost.ng/2018/12/20/stock-market-weakens-by-0-35-as-buhari-presents-2019-budget

T-Bills Yields Slightly Rise by 0.05% as OMO Records Low Sales
https://businesspost.ng/2018/12/20/t-bills-yields-slightly-rise-by-0-05-as-omo-records-low-sales/

Ecobank Denies Manipulating Figures to Boost Financial Results
https://businesspost.ng/2018/12/19/ecobank-denies-manipulating-figures-to-boost-financial-results/

Shareholders Give Condition to Approve Diamond Bank, Access Bank Merger
https://businesspost.ng/2018/12/19/shareholders-give-condition-to-approve-diamond-bank-access-bank-merger/

CBN Sustains Pressure on System Liquidity with N25b OMO Sale
https://businesspost.ng/2018/12/19/cbn-sustains-pressure-on-system-liquidity-with-n25b-omo-sale/

By Dipo Olowookere

Shares of Guinness Nigeria Plc on Monday closed flat on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Business Post reports.

This occurred after the brewery company was lambasted last weekend for using an uncouth language on the presidency and interfering in local politics.

Last Friday, a debate was held for the vice presidential candidates of five of the political parties contesting in the 2019 elections.

The debate, which took place at the Transcorp Hilton Abuja, had Mr Ganiyu Galadima of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN), Mrs Khadija Abdullahi of the Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN), Mr Yemi Osinbajo of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Peter Obi of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Mrs Umar Getso of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) participating.

During the exercise, which was aired live on local television stations from 7pm, a member of President Muhammadu Buhari Media Team, Mr Johannes Tobi, reacted to the figures quoted by candidate of the opposition party, PDP, on Twitter, which Guinness Nigeria, through its official Twitter handle, violently responded to, calling the presidency “goat.”

“I knew this PDP man, Peter Obi, would start with lies and contrived data,” the presidency posted on Twitter and when Guinness Nigeria was to respond to this, it said, “Shut up your dirty mouth goat.”

This generated reactions on social media over the weekend, with many lambasting the company for interfering in politics.

Most companies try to stay away from local politics so as not to get in trouble when an opposition finally clinches power like it happened in 2015 in Nigeria when the present government snatched power from the PDP at the polls.

On Saturday morning, the company managing the official Twitter handle of Guinness Nigeria apologised for the offensive response to the presidency’s view of local politics.

“Good morning everyone. My name is Oduntan Odubanjo, the Commercial Director of Terragon Ltd, managers of Guinness Nigeria Twitter handle.

“I hereby apologise without reserve for the offensive tweet earlier sent in error from the Guinness Nigeria Twitter handle to Johannes Tobi.

“The message has absolutely nothing to do with Guinness Nigeria and was not sent or authorised by the company. This is a full and unreserved apology to Johannes Tobi for the unwarranted message and also to our client, Guinness Nigeria, for the embarrassment caused by this matter.

“The offending tweet was sent entirely in error by a team member who will have no further access to the Guinness Nigeria account. Please be assured that appropriate learnings have been taken from this incident and proper internal measures are being taken to address this incident.

“We thank you for your acceptance of these sincere regrets and apologies,” the statement by Terragon Limited read.

On Monday, shares of Guinness Nigeria on the local bourse remained at the level it finished last Friday, N73 per unit.

Business Post reports that the investorstraded a total of 109,887 units of the brewery giant’s equities on the floor ofthe exchange yesterday in 23 deals valued at N8 million.

https://businesspost.ng/2018/12/18/guinness-nigeria-shares-trade-flat-after-attacking-presidency/

Diamond Bank, Access Bank Merger and the Big Obstacle
https://businesspost.ng/2018/12/18/diamond-bank-access-bank-merger-and-the-big-obstacle/

Guinness Nigeria Shares Trade Flat After Attacking Presidency
https://businesspost.ng/2018/12/18/guinness-nigeria-shares-trade-flat-after-attacking-presidency/

Access Bank Offers Diamond Bank Shareholders Juicy Package
https://businesspost.ng/2018/12/17/access-bank-offers-diamond-bank-shareholders-juicy-package/

N498b Maturing Treasury Bills to Boost Liquidity
https://businesspost.ng/2018/12/17/n498b-maturing-treasury-bills-to-boost-liquidity/

Access Bank Finally Acquires Diamond Bank
https://businesspost.ng/2018/12/16/access-bank-finally-acquires-diamond-bank/

CBN Remains Adamant to Hike Rates to Boost OMO Sales
https://businesspost.ng/2018/12/15/cbn-remains-adamant-to-hike-rates-to-boost-omo-sales/

Seyi Bickersteth: For or Against Diamond’s Minority Shareholders?
https://businesspost.ng/2018/12/14/seyi-bickersteth-for-or-against-diamonds-minority-shareholders/

Stockbrokers Must Not Guarantee Clients Return on Investment–SEC
https://businesspost.ng/2018/12/11/stockbrokers-must-not-guarantee-clients-return-on-investment-sec/

Heirs Holdings Secures $600m Loan for Energy Investments
https://businesspost.ng/2018/12/12/heirs-holdings-secures-600m-loan-for-energy-investments/

Investors Should Plan for Market Volatility in 2019—Report
https://businesspost.ng/2018/12/13/investors-should-plan-for-market-volatility-in-2019-report/

Diamond Bank Shareholders Panic Over New Revelation
https://businesspost.ng/2018/12/11/diamond-bank-shareholders-panic-over-new-revelation/

T-Bills Yield Slightly Rises by 0.01% as CBN Mops up N296b
https://businesspost.ng/2018/12/14/t-bills-yield-slightly-rises-by-0-01-as-cbn-mops-up-n296b/

Nigeria’s latest Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) for the third quarter of 2018 has shown a four point decline to 118, while Ghana’s CCI for the same quarter has risen five points to 113, all in all a fairly stable picture for West Africa, a new report by Nielsen Africa has revealed.

In terms of Nigeria’s performance, Nielsen Sub Saharan Africa MD Bryan Sun noted that, “The combined effects of the slowdown in economic growth, the strain of continued high inflation, and the current political climate with the upcoming elections, have led to a drop in consumer confidence in Nigeria.

“Consumer wallets are currently very stretched, with consumers struggling to make ends meet. The sentiment around minimum wages being too low, has also taken its toll on confidence levels and is being reflected in consumers’ spending habits.”

Nigerian consumers who say now is a good or excellent time to purchase what they need or want has declined to 43% (down from 48% in Q2’18). This declining sentiment is also reflected in their views around job prospects, which has dropped five points, compared to the last quarter, to 56% who view them as excellent or good and 37% who view job prospects as not so good or bad.

Looking at whether Nigerians have spare cash, a majority of 55% said yes, up one point from the previous quarter. In terms of what their spending priorities are once they meet their essential living expenses, the highest number 76% would put their spare cash into savings, followed by 71% on home improvements and 64% investing in stocks and mutual funds.

Growing positivity in Ghana

While Nigeria showed a slight slump in confidence; Ghana’s CCI figure has risen to 113, up from 108. Commenting on the reasons for this Sun says; “A slight respite in inflation and better performance by the industrial and export sector, plus the government’s focus on job creation has led to a slight boost in consumer confidence in Ghana. Given the upturn, consumers have become slightly more open with their wallets and are more willing to spend.

Where the upturn in sentiment is clearly reflected, is within Ghanaian consumers’ immediate-spending intentions, which has increased from 34% in the previous quarter, to 48% who say now is a good or excellent time to purchase what they need or want” reports Sun.

This positive sentiment is also reflected in Ghanaians’ job prospects, which has increased 10 points to 64% who view them as excellent or good and a 10 point decrease to 29% who think their job prospects are not so good or bad. The sentiment around the state of personal finances has taken a slight hit. Ghanaians who think the state of their personal finances would be excellent or good over the next year dropped three points to 76% whereas 18% think that the state of their personal finances is not so good or bad.

A savings mindset

Looking at whether Ghanaians have spare cash to spend, there is an almost even split of 53% between those respondents who said yes versus 47% who said no. Looking at what their spending priorities are once they do have spare cash, the highest number 75% would put it into savings, 74% would invest in stocks and mutual funds and 68% would spend on home improvements. Elaborating on these results, Sun says: “Both Nigeria and Ghana, despite the fluctuation this quarter, fall on the positive side of the consumer confidence spectrum, as reflected by a CCI score of above 100. There’s potential for growth in both countries and with the right investment and focus, they still prove to be promising prospects for the continent.”

https://businesspost.ng/2018/12/13/nigerian-consumer-wallets-under-pressure-report/

T-Bills Market Bearish as Lending Rate Hits 70.92%
https://businesspost.ng/2018/12/12/t-bills-market-bearish-as-lending-rate-hits-70-92/

By Dipo Olowookere

Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State for the 2019 governorship election, Mr Jimi Agbaje, has promised to look at other ways to boost the economy of the metropolis.

Speaking recently at the launch of his campaign, Mr Agbaje said he will look critically into his blue economy policy to make more money for the state.

According to him, this he would do by making money out of what Lagos is massively blessed and surrounded with, lagoon, to create several job opportunities for residents.

“I have not jettisoned my blue economy agenda for Lagos. When I am elected as Governor of Lagos State by His grace, I will make efforts to commercialise our waters.

“There are several ways Lagos can make money from the abundance of water it is surrounded with. I will open the water transport system, which will boom the lifejacket manufacturing sector, boat-making sector, fishery and many others businesses that have connection with water.

“You can see that the blue economy has not been tapped into in Lagos State, but I promise to make this industry the next oil industry,” Mr Agbaje said while answering one of the questions asked by a journalist at the event.

On power generation, the PDP candidate said 1000 megawatts of electricity would be targeted in four years to muscle up and boost the economic fortune of the people. He said the plank of his health care programme would be built around health insurance schemes.

He also promised to restore the glory and standard of education in the state by providing more accessible to quality education as opposed to the current ineffective system.

“I am running a believable administration and I am in the race for service not for self. They are in politics for themselves.

“They have said that I am their ‘customer’. But I want to tell them that the customer is the king and he is always right.

“By March 2019, the rest will be history because thiselection will be decided by the people of Lagos who yearn for freedom, and notby political parties,” he told the enthusiastic supporters.Mr Agbaje also used the opportunity to introducehis deputy, Mrs Haleemat Oluyemisi Busari and promised that they would “carrythe load together” instead of the culture of making the deputy a “spare tyre”.

Mr Agbaje will contest for the Lagos State top job with candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Babajide Sanwoolu.

https://businesspost.ng/2018/12/11/agbaje-vows-to-turn-lagos-waters-to-money/

Investors Snub OMO Auction as CBN Fails to Hike Rates
https://businesspost.ng/2018/12/11/investors-snub-omo-auction-as-cbn-fails-to-hike-rates/

C&I Leasing Reduces Share Capital by 75% to 404.3m Shares
https://businesspost.ng/2018/12/10/ci-leasing-reduces-share-capital-to-404-3m-from-1-6-billion/