Business
‘Stopping Forex Rate Fluctuations’ll Rebound Equities’
Capital market operators said that investors would continue to shy away from equities unless the fluctuations in the foreign exchange market are resolved by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
A cross section of the operators told The Tide source in Lagos that there was an urgent need to stabilise the Forex regime between the licensed Bureau De Change (BDC) and the official rate.
The Tide gathered that on Friday, the naira hit a new low of 516 to the dollar on the unofficial market, versus N305 official rate.
Malam Garba Kurfi, the Managing Director, APT Securities and Funds Ltd., Lagos, said the worsening negative macro-economic indices was a threat to investors’ confidence.
Kurfi stated that the cost of doing business would continue to rise, occasioned by the challenges in Forex market.
He reiterated that this was responsible for the rising inflation and interest rates which had impacted negatively on all sectors of the economy.
The Chief Operating Officer, InvestData Ltd., Lagos, Mr. Ambrose Omordion said that the purchasing power of majority had been weakened due to steady increase in the prices of commodities, thereby affecting equity investment.
According to him, people can only invest when they have enough savings.
Omordion said that the nation’s equities had closed negatively for three consecutive weeks due to low investors’ confidence.
He, however, expressed optimism that the market might witness mixed performances this week due to Nigerian Breweries 2016 audited results being expected to hit the market.
Meanwhile, a turnover of 1.07 billion shares worth N8.61 billion were exchanged by investors in 14,486 deals last week.
This is in contrast to the 1.05 billion shares valued at N8.03 billion transacted in 13,586 deals in the corresponding week.
The Financial Services Industry led the week’s activity chart by 930.38 million shares worth N5.70 billion traded in 8,759 deals.
The sector thus contributed 86.70 per cent and 66.24 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.
The Consumer Goods sector followed by 52.48 million shares worth N1.99 billion exchanged in 2,513 deals.
cent or N3.56 to close at N38.39 and Beta Glass grew by10.22 per cent or N3.38 to close at N36.45 per share.
Conversely, Vitafoam topped the losers’ chart in percentage terms by 13.04 per cent or 30k to close at N2 per share.
Fidson Healthcare trailed with a loss of 11.40 per cent or 13k to close at N1.01 while Nigerian Breweries declined by 8 per cent or N10 to close at N115 per share.
Business
Food Vendors, Others Relocate To New Site At PH Airport
The raging controversy between the Port Harcourt International Airport Management and restaurants/canteen operators and theirallies over relocation has been brought under control, as the operators have commenced relocation to their structures at the new site.
Recall that there had been serious feud over a directive by the Manager of the airport, Mr. Michael Area, for food vendors and their allies to relocate to the new site.
They insisted that the new site was too distant and hence, would negatively affect patronage from customers, with possible loss.
They further also insisted that it wouldcost them much money to put up another structure, given the economic situation in the country, since the airport management did not build any structure for them, apart from providing the empty land they have to also pay for.
The situation had led to flexing of muscles, which made the Airport Manager to order for sealing of all shops, resulting in scarcity of food, as airport users could not find a place to eat, apart from the only Genesis fast food spot available.
As at last Friday, The Tide observed that most of the food vendors had transferred their structures to the new place, and had started doing business there already.
Meanwhile, customers have started settling down at the new location as they were seen patronising shops for foods and drinks, in spite of the distance.
Few of the remaining structures at the old site, The Tide further gathered, will also be removed as quickly as possible, and the owners are making efforts to get funds for the job to be done.
One of them, Mrs Aka Love explained that she was going to relocate to the new place before the end of March.
Currently, business activities at the old site have come to null, as the place which was usually a beehive of food, drinks and relaxation, has completely winded down.
By: Corlins Walter
Business
MOWCA Strengthens Maritime Crime Prevention
Secretary General of the Maritime Organisation of West and Central Africa (MOWCA), Dr. Paul Adalikwu, has stepped up interaction with the United States Government to lift restrictions placed on some member countries allegedly implicated in illicit shipping activities.
Adalikwu, who led a delegation from the MOWCA Secretariat to the US Embassy in Abidjan for a first leg of the strategic consultation aimed at promoting seamless participation of MOWCA countries in international trade within the global maritime space, reiterated the organisation’s commitment to the best ethical and lawful maritime practices.
Addressing the U.S Ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire, H.E Mrs Jessica Davis Ba, the MOWCA SG stated the organisation’s interest in promoting the International Ship and Port facility Security (ISPS) code which aims at enhancing security of vessels and their ports of call.
He expressed the commitment of MOWCA in promoting environmentally friendly, safe and cost effective shipping without any encumbrance that may limit the economic potential of member countries.
Dr Adalikwu recalled that at the instance of the U.S. Department of State invitation, MOWCA participated in the 2023 Registry Information Sharing Compact (RISC) Conference in Larnaca, Cyprus, on February 28–March 1, 2023, and a virtual meeting held on June 6 2023, with Mrs Jennifer Chalmers, Officer in change of Counterproliferation Initiative.
He recalled The U.S. DOS willingness to support MOWCA’s effort for preventive maritime security through the establishment of the Center for Information and Communication (CINFOCOM) with the aim to ensure a maritime situational awareness domain within MOWCA’s member states’ waters.
He added that MOWCA under his watch is committed to training and retraining of maritime practitioners and experts to enhance the human capital capabilities of member states.
The CINFOCOM will help prevent transnational crimes committed at sea like sanctions evasion by North Korea and other state actors, who exploit poor enforcement due diligence by ship open registries to circumvent United Nations and U.S. trade restrictions.
By: Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos
Business
Nigeria’s Public Debt Hits N97.3trn – DMO
The Debt Management Office (DMO) has hinted that Nigeria’s public debt increased by 10.7 per cent from N87.87 trillion in the third quarter of last year, to N97.34 trillion as at December 31, 2023.
DMO, in an update data released last Friday, said the increase in the debt stock was largely due to new domestic borrowing by the Federal Government to part finance the deficit in the 2024 Appropriation Act and disbursements by multilateral and bilateral lenders.
The office noted that the N97.3 trillion public debt comprises of domestic debt of N59.12 trillion and external debt of N38.22 trillion. The sum of $3.5 billion was used to service external debt during the review period.
“Nigeria’s Public Debt Stock as at December 31, 2023 was N97.34trillion or $108.229 billion. This amount comprises the domestic and external debt stocks of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN), the 36 States Governments, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
“There was an increase of N9.43 trillion over the comparative figure for September, 2023, which was largely due to new domestic borrowing by the FGN to part finance the deficit in the 2024 Appropriation Act and disbursements by multilateral and bilateral lenders.
“At N59.12 trillion, total domestic debt accounted for 61 percent of the total public debt stock, while external debt at N38.22 trillion accounted for the balance of 39 percent.
“Consistent with the debt management strategy, Nigeria’s external debt stock was skewed in favour of loans from multilateral (49.77 percent) and bilateral lenders (14.02 percent) or total of 63.79 percent which are mostly concessional and semi-concessional.
“Whilst the DMO continues to employ best practice in public debt management, the recent and on-going efforts of the fiscal authorities to shore up revenue will support debt sustainability”, DMO stated.
By: Corlins Walter
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