Business
Nigerian Investors Net N966.7bn Gains In Jan
Investors in Nigerian equities netted N966.7 billion as capital gains in the first month of this year. This technically implied that investors had in the first month recouped more than half of the N1.71 trillion lost in 2019.
Benchmark index for the Nigerian stock market at the weekend indicated average return of 7.46 per cent, equivalent to net capital gains of N966.7 billion.
The All Share Index (ASI) – the value-based common index that tracks share prices at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) closed weekend at 28,843.53 points as against the opening index of 26,842.07 points for the year, representing an increase of 7.46 per cent.
This implied a net capital gain of N966.7 billion on 2020’s opening market capitalisation of N12.958 trillion.
The stock market had recorded negative average full-year return of -14.60 per cent for the 2019 trading year, equivalent to net capital depreciation of N1.71 trillion for the year. It had recorded negative average full-year return of -17.81 per cent in 2018.
The January 2020 performance represents a fillip for hard-pressed investors amid expectations that attractive valuations and supportive fiscal and monetary environments could halt consecutive price depreciation at the equities market.
The ASI, which doubles as Nigeria’s sovereign equities index, had closed 2018 at 31,430.50 points, down from 38,243.19 points recorded as closing index in 2017.
While the 2019 pricing performance marked the fifth negative closing in six consecutive years.
After a world-leading positive return of 42.3 per cent in 2017, the market had reversed to negative in 2018 with average full-year return of -17.81 per cent.
Sectoral analysis showed that the overall market performance in January 2020 was driven largely by gains recorded in the industrial goods and financial services sectors. The NSE Industrial Goods Index posted above average return of 14.39 per cent. The NSE Insurance Index appreciated by 4.91 per cent.
The NSE Banking Index rose by 4.75 per cent while the NSE 30 Index, which tracks the 30 largest stocks at the NSE, appreciated by 8.25 per cent, while the NSE Consumer Goods Index and NSE Oil and Gas Index, however, depreciated by 5.79 per cent and 4.19 per cent respectively.
Aggregate market value of quoted equities closed weekend at N14.857 trillion as against the year’s opening value of N12.958 trillion, an increase of N1.9 trillion. The difference between the benchmarked return of ASI and aggregate market value growth was due to the listing of BUA Cement during the month.
Most analysts remained cautious about the short-term outlook for Nigerian equities, after the two-year consecutive decline.
Analysts at United Capital Plc projected that Nigerian equities may deliver a modest average return of some 5.3 per cent in 2020, although the overall market outlook remains susceptible to external shocks and domestic policies.
In its 2020 economic outlook report titled “A Different Playing Field”, United Capital stated that its base case scenario sees equities market returning +5.3 per cent in 2020, driven by local demand for high-quality dividend-paying stocks and increased system liquidity.
The report carefully considered events in the international economic environment, including the effects of the United States-China trade wars on the global economy, as well as piecing together the stance of the world’s biggest central banks from their decisions over the course of 2019.
According to the report, the continued auction of high yield Open Market Operation (OMO) bills to Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) may keep foreign interest in local equity market tepid amid fears of a naira devaluation and confidence deficit in the economy.
The Board stated this in a statement released by its Corporate Communications Directorate to newsmen, recently, during the inauguration of 140 trainees for the Train 7 Project.
The trainees had undergone the Nigerian Content Human Capacity Development (NC-HCD) programme it organised in partnership with the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
The Tide gathered that the training programme was an intensive three-month Advanced NC-HCD Programme for the US$5 billion NLNG Train 7 Project on Bonny Island, Rivers State.
The trainees, The Tide further learnt are graduates in different academic disciplines who have completed a 12-month Basic Training Programme in diverse oil-and-gas-industry-related skill sets and are now set for an on-the-job phase which includes active hands-on participation in operational areas such as Turn Around Maintenance (TAM), Commissioning, and Desktop Programmes.
The Corporate Communications Directorate of the NCDMB told The Tide that in November 2024, a set of 331 trainees under Batch A of the NLNG T7 HCD Training Programme began capacity development in facility management, engineering, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Health Safety and Environment (HSE), Quality Assurance and Quality Control, as well as welding and fabrication.
According to the Board, additional 77 trainees under Batch B of the same Training Programme began capacity development in data analytics and supply chain management among several other fields relevant to the operations of the oil and gas industry.
While addressing the trainees and trainers who were drawn from the Oil and Gas Trainers Association of Nigeria (OGTAN), Management Personnel of the NCDMB and NLNG, the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr Felix Omatsola Ogbe, said the Advanced NC-HCD training is more than a milestone.
“The NC-HCD training programme is an expression of the collective commitment of the Board and the NLNG to nurturing world-class Nigerian professionals who will shape the future of our oil and gas industry.
“The Board has remained steadfast in its conviction that Human Capital Development is a critical investment in the sustainability and competitiveness of Nigeria’s oil and gas value chain”, the NCDMB boss said.
He said the situation has resulted in widened knowledge gaps and operational challenges.
As a globally regulated sector, he said it was important that stakeholders put measures in place to attract the talents required to move the industry forward.
Keyamo, therefore, called on stakeholders in the industry to be deliberate in identifying, encouraging, nurturing and harvesting young talents to ensure a sustainable supply of manpower to the aviation sector.
Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection of the FAAN, Mrs Obiageli Orah, in a release made available to aviation correspondents, noted that the Minister deemed it necessary to attract the right quality of human resources required to move the sector forward.
“As a globally regulated sector, it is important that stakeholders put measures in place to continually attract the right quality and quantity of human resources required to move the industry forward.
“It is important to note that organising training programmes are avenues through which we can breed, nurture, and harvest such human resources.
“One of the critical challenges facing the industry is the ageing and retiring workforce, leading to widened knowledge gaps and operational issues.
“Training programmes, I believe, is among other things designed to make aviation appealing to the younger generation, while encouraging them to develop interest in taking up a career in the industry”, the statement stated.
Meanwhile, some aviation stakeholders have expressed concerns of countless young Nigerians who seek to make their mark in aviation, tourism, and the wider transport ecosystem but often face steep barriers to entry.
According to them, lack of access, limited mentorship, financial constraints, skill mismatches, and systemic gaps, among others, have posed some constraints to them.
The Tide gathered that by the appointment, Ogbe becomes Nigeria’s representative on the Board of the 18-member continental body, which has its headquarters at Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo.
Ogbe was picked for this role by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, who doubles as the Chairman of the NCDMB Governing Council.
The notice of the Executive Secretary’s appointment was conveyed in a congratulatory letter signed by the Director of Support Services, APPO, Mrs. Philomena Ikoko, on behalf of the Secretary-General of the organisation, Dr. Omar Farouk Ibrahim.
She applauded the NCDMB boss on the confidence reposed in him by the Minister, expressing her belief that he would make immense contributions to the development of the African oil and gas industry.
Mrs Ikoko stated that Ogbe was joining the Executive Board of APPO at a challenging time for the oil and gas industry, especially in Africa.
“Your appointment is a major call to duty for Nigeria and the continent. The secretariat will give you the support you will need to make a success of your assignment”, she said.
According to a statement by the Directorate of Corporate Communications and Zonal Coordination, the NCDMB played key roles in catalysing the operations of APPO and the development of local content in Africa.
The statement added that the board was providing institutional support and mentorship to several oil producing countries in their formulation of local content policies.
“The NCDMB initiated the African Local Content Roundtable (ALCR) and hosted the inaugural edition in Yenagoa, Bayelsa state, in June 2021, and the event was attended by key officials of APPO and other oil industry players.
“The idea for the Africa Energy Bank (AEB) was mooted by NCDMB’s officials at the event, as one of the strategies that would accelerate the growth of the African oil and gas industry and deepen local content.
“The Board also collaborated with APPO to host subsequent editions of the African Local Content Roundtable (ALCR), including the 2023 edition held at Abuja.
“The Africa Energy Bank, which APPO is setting up at Abuja, is aimed at pooling financial resources needed to fund big-ticket oil and gas projects across the continent, and bridge funding challenges currently impeding the development of the sector”, the NCDMB’S said.
Meanwhile, the APPO Secretary-General has said the Africa Energy Bank seeks to fund oil and gas projects across economies in Africa and help to plug critical financing gaps that exist through the continent’s over reliance on financiers from the West.
He added that each APPO member country is expected to raise $83 million with an objective of raising $5 billion capital for the establishment of the Bank.
The Tide learnt that recently Nigeria, Angola and Ghana have contributed their share capital for the African Energy Bank, which represents 44 percent of the trio’s contributions to the minimum capital that is required from oil producing countries in the continent.
It would be recalled that at the Nigerian Oil and Gas Opportunity Fair (NOGOF) held recently, the NCDMB’s Scribe confirmed that the agency was part of key institutions that pooled resources for the formation of the Africa Energy Bank.
Ogbe announced that the Bank will open for business before the end of the 2nd quarter of this year, 2025, expressing hope that it will create more funding availability for local oil and gas projects and companies.
Similarly, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, had stated at the Offshore Technology Conference that Afrexim Bank has already raised $19billion for the take-off of the Africa Energy Bank.
According to him, $14 billion out of the funds represents the bank’s financial exposure on African oil and gas projects, with the additional $5 billion as take-off capital.