The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) has announced that it will host the 2022 Market Recap and 2023 Outlook event on Wednesday, 25 January 2023.

NGX Market Recap and Outlook is an annual event designed to review market performance in the preceding year and present expert predictions for the Nigerian capital market and the broader economy, for the New Year. The event will bring together an audience of market practitioners, investors, analysts, government officials, regulators, media and other key stakeholders. Interested parties can register for the event at https://ngxgroup.com/ngx2023outlook/.

The NGX 2022 Market Recap and 2023 Outlook event, which will be headlined by Temi Popoola, Chief Executive Officer, NGX and supported by the NGX Executive Committee, will also feature a presentation on “Global Markets Outlook for 2023 and Opportunities in the Nigerian Capital Market” from Simon Kitchen, Managing Director-Head of Strategy at EFG Hermes Research.

A statement made available to BusinessUpdate by the Head, Marketing and Corporate Communications, NGX Group, Clifford Akpolo said the event will provide participants with insights into the global and domestic capital markets and help enhance the Nigerian capital market’s positioning to attract domestic and foreign inflows as the Exchange looks to further improve the depth of liquidity available in the market.

NGX, the sustainable exchange championing Africa’s growth, is dedicated to providing valuable insights and information to its stakeholders as part of its commitment to enhancing financial literacy and inclusion, and stimulating the growth of the Nigerian capital market.

The Debt Management Office (DMO) has raised N615.557 billion through Sukuk for the rehabilitation and construction of new roads across the country in four years.

The Director-General of DMO, Ms Patience Oniha, made this known in her presentation titled: “Nigeria Public Debt – Some Considerations,” at the Capital Market Correspondents Association of Nigeria (CAMCAN) 2022 conference in Lagos.

Oniha said that a total of N615.557 billion had been raised through Sukuk from September 2017 to December 2021.

She noted that N365.557 billion of which had been deployed for the construction of 1,881km of roads and six bridges.

“The last Sukuk issued in December 2021 targets 71 road projects,” Oniha said.

She listed some of Sukuk funded projects as the reconstruction of Bida-Lambata road in Niger State, rehabilitation of Lagos-Ota-Abeokuta road in Lagos and Ogun states and rehabilitation of Enugu-Port Harcourt road section III Enugu-Lokpanta, in Enugu State.

Others are the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Enugu-Port Harcourt dual carriageway section II Umuahia-Aba in Abia State and rehabilitation of Kano-Katsina road Phase I, Kano State, among others.

A Sukuk is an Islamic financial certificate, that complies with Islamic religious law commonly known as Sharia.

It involves the means by which corporations or governments raise capital and the forms of investments that are made in accordance with Shariah.

She also said that a total of N25.69 billion had been raised through sovereign Green bonds from December 2017 to June 2019.

The director-general said that the funds had been deployed to seven selected projects in various sectors including renewable energy, agriculture, water, transport and afforestation.

Speaking on purpose for borrowing, Oniha said that governments borrow to finance budget deficits, finance specific projects and refinance maturing debt obligations.

T

he Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX says its Chief Executive Officer, Mr Temi Popoola, has been elected to the Executive Committee of the African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA).

ASEA, the continent’s prime association of securities exchanges was established in 1993 with the mandate to develop its members’ markets, promote the capital market business and provide a platform for networking.

At the association’s Annual General Meeting and Conference in Abidjan, Cote D’ Ivoire on 7 December 2022, Popoola was elected into the executive committee in a process that saw the Chief Executive Officer of the Botswana Stock Exchange, Thapelo Tsheole and the Chief Executive Officer of the Rwanda Stock Exchange, Pierre Celestine Rwabukumba also elected as President and Vice President of ASEA respectively.

Popoola appreciated the representatives of the member exchanges for their confidence in selecting the committee members and thanked the immediate past president, Dr Edoh Kossi Amenounve for his service to the association. “I also appreciate the Group Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Exchange Group Plc, Mr Oscar N. Onyema OON for his support during my election to the committee and his efforts on ASEA’s initiatives during his time as leader of the association. As the president of ASEA between 2014 and 2018, he championed the initiation and development of the African Exchanges Linkage project which is now being officially launched and will aid the pooling of liquidity across exchanges on the continent.”

Popoola added, “ASEA as the premier association of securities exchanges in Africa is tasked with the duties of promoting the capital markets of its members at the global level and foster capital inflows into Africa capital markets. At NGX, we will continue to collaborate with other ASEA members on the development of our markets, intelligence and data sharing, and join in advocacy efforts. I am confident that the committee will continue to advance the pan-African agenda, enhance sustainability and capital mobilisation efforts and drive continent-wide financial inclusion for the development of our continent.”

It was also the official launch of the AELP, an innovation by ASEA done in partnership with African Development Bank (AfDB) and aimed at facilitating cross-border trading among seven participating Exchanges and select broker firms. According to ASEA, AELP will aggregate live market data from seven stock exchanges representing 2,000 companies with about $1.5tn in market capitalisation. It will enable brokers to access information, see market depth and liquidity of the foreign market of interest.

AELP’s phased rollout will be funded by a grant from Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation Fund (KOAFEC) according to a statement from ASEA. Edoh Kossi Amenounve, ASEA’s outgoing President said in the statement, “With AELP, we are entering a new era of African capital markets where all our members will gradually transact cross-border trades from one African securities exchange to another. This project represents a great opportunity for investors and issuers across the continent.”

NGX was announced as one of the participating exchanges with FBN Quest Securities Limited, Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers, CardinalStone Securities Limited, Chapel Hill Denham, Cordros Securities Limited and RMB Stockbrokers participating as securities dealers from Nigeria.

As Nigeria grapples under a debt burden and cost of borrowing, the FMDQ Securities Exchange Limited says it is working towards the launch of Exchange Traded Derivative (ETD) products that will enable the government raise funds at a cheaper cost. 

Mr Oluwaseun Afolabi, the Head, Market Architecture, FMDQ Securities Exchange Limited, said this at the 2022 Capital Market Correspondents Association of Nigeria  (CAMCAN) annual conference in Lagos.

Afolabi said the exchange was also working towards ETD products referencing sovereign securities such as the Federal Government of Nigeria Bonds and Treasury Bills to aid hedging and risk management by investors in these securities.   

“A useful benefit of these ETD products is that they could help spur investors’ interest in the underlying sovereign securities thereby possibly reducing the government’s cost of capital. 

“The Nigerian debt market organised by FMDQ Exchange is fairly developed enough to facilitate the raising of debt capital by the government and corporate issuers.   

“The FMDQ Exchange markets facilitate the issuance and secondary market activity in a range of debt securities, as well as having the optimised matrix of financial market intermediaries/participants and most importantly supported by robust financial market infrastructures (FMIs) across the secondary market value chain,” he said.

On how the FMDQ has helped in deepening the Nigerian debt market, Afolabi said that the company in its capacity as a market organiser and self-regulatory organisation, has over the years pioneered and led various initiatives geared at deepening and promoting liquidity in the Nigerian debt markets. 

These initiatives, he said, range from those targeted at spurring activity in the primary markets for money market debt securities such as Commercial Papers (CPs) and facilitating the issuance of short-term bonds.

Afolabi added that the company engage in secondary market initiatives such as market making, securities valuation, benchmark development and administration and expansion of the bouquet of debt securities and other financial instruments onboarded on the Exchange.   
“FMDQ Exchange is at the forefront of regulatory advocacy and stakeholder engagements targeted at driving collective action by all relevant stakeholders towards deepening the Nigerian debt market.

“This is evidenced by its activities and collaboration with various financial market regulators such as the Securities and  Exchange Commission, Central Bank of Nigeria, the Debt Management Office (DMO), and the National Pension Commission on various initiatives and programmes focused on developing the Nigerian debt markets.  

Speaking on the success and acceptability of CPs in the country, Afolabi noted that CPs have become acceptable in the Nigerian financial market as evidenced by the milestones recorded by FMDQ Exchange in the Nigerian CP market.  

“Since the entry of FMDQ Exchange into the CP market, the Nigerian CP market has grown from near zero levels about a decade ago in terms of capital raised to a market where about N3.17 trillion has been raised via CP issuances since the entry of FMDQ Exchange to date.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reassured it is commited to driving the debt market-enabling environment to boost investors’ participation.

The Director-General, SEC, Mr Lamido Yuguda, stated this at the Capital Market Correspondents Association of Nigeria (CAMCAN) annual workshop held in Lagos.

The theme of the workshop was: Nigeria’s Public Debt and the Capital Market.

Yuguda who was represented by the Executive Commissioner, Operations, SEC, Mr Dayo Obisan, said the apex capital market regulating body is engaging the Minister of Budget and Finance, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, to create a level-playing field for debt market.

“By nature, the debt instrument is low risk,” he said.

Yuguda said that the commission would continue to fulfil its mandate of protecting investors and creating an enabling environment for market operators.

The Divisional Head, Business Support Services, Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), Mrs Irene Robinson-Ayanwale, in her goodwill message, commended CAMCAN for selecting the theme for the 2022 workshop.

Robinson-Ayanwale said the debt capital market is dear to the Exchange.

She acknowledged the support the Debt Management Office (DMO) has granted to the Exchange over the years.

“Exchange always visits the DMO for different proposals and they are always granted. We hope the joint collaboration and support will continue because it is very key to the debt capital market,” she added.

Mr Charles Egbunonwo who represented the Chairman, Association of Securities Dealing Houses of Nigeria (ASHON), Mr Sam Onukwue, said the theme selected was a topical issue in Nigeria’s economy.

According to him, “We are all aware of what is happening in terms of revenue and growing debts level in the economy.”

Also speaking, the 1st Vice President, the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), Mr Oluropo Dada, who represented the President, Mr Oluwole Adeosun, noted that there was nothing wrong with government borrowing.

In his words, “If the government does not borrow again, how do I sustain my profession? We have issuers that secure these securities and trading platforms.

“Without trading platforms, we can’t have stockbrokers. So, there is nothing wrong in government borrowing. The issue all around the world is whether these debts are sustainable.

“If our debt-to-GDP is doing well, what about service ratio to revenue that is over 90 per cent? What happened to the GDP?

“We seem to be comparing ourselves to big economies and the market capitalisation of five companies in the US is larger than the entire GDP of Africa.

“Why are we comparing ourselves to bigger economies? We cannot compare ourselves to the US and other bigger economies because there are some fundamental issues. The fundamental issue is the role of government to provide an enabling environment.

“Provide infrastructure, security among other things. If the government does not solve the issue of enabling the environment, it will be difficult to solve our problem of revenue and debt service.”

The Director General of the Debt Management Office (DMO), Ms Patience Oniha, will lead other market regulators to discuss the prospects of Nigeria’s public debt at the 2022 annual workshop of the Capital Market Correspondents Association of Nigeria (CAMCAN).

The workshop scheduled to hold on December 3, 2022 at Orchid Hotels, Ajah, Lagos, is being organised by the association as part of its efforts to contribute to the development of the country’s capital market and economy.

The theme of the programme is: “Nigeria’s Public Debt and the Capital Market,” and the Director-General of the DMO, Oniha is the guest speaker.

The workshop will be declared open by the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr Lamido Yuguda, who will be the special guest of honour, while the Chief Executive Officer of the NGX Exchange, Mr Timi Popoola, the guest of  honour, will give more details how the exchange is  positioning itself as the  Africa’s investment window.

The apex regulatory institutions in the Nigerian Capital market expected to grace the event include SEC Nigerian Exchange Ltd., NGX, FMDQ Exchange Ltd., as well as other market operators.

The Managing Director/CEO, FMDQ Exchange, Mr Bola Onadele, will bring perspectives on how the potential in the debt capital market can be unlocked to grow the economy.

Other dignitaries expected at the forum are: Chairman of Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria (ASHON), Mr Sam Onukwue and President of Chartered Institutes of Stockbroker (CIS), Mr Oluwole Adeosun. 

Also expected to herald the workshop are, the DMD UBA Group, Mr Muyiwa Akinyemi and the TGI Group, amongst others.

The Guest Speaker, Oniha, will also throw more light on the high-yielding opportunities in the Nigerian debt space, and how the country and corporates could tap into the opportunities that abound in the local market for infrastructure development funds.

Equally,  she is expected to further unveil opportunities for retail investors in debt investing, as well as the commitment of government in ensuring sound policies, and environment towards enhancing a vibrant local debt market.

In her 14 years at the DMO, Oniha spearheaded the introduction of benchmark bonds to develop the domestic bond market in order to improve liquidity and create a sovereign yield curve where the public and private sectors can access long-term funds to finance Nigeria’s growth and development.

Oniha led the successful issuance of Nigeria’s debut USD500 million Eurobond in January 2011 as a new source of funding for the Federal Government, as well as the first 30-year-tenor Eurobond in the International Capital Market which represents the first by a sub-Saharan country other than South Africa, and established the basis for long-term infrastructure funding for Nigeria.

She was also responsible for the inclusion of FGN Bonds in the J.P. Morgan Government Bond Index – Emerging Markets (GBI–EM) in October 2012, which made Nigeria the second country in Africa, after South Africa, to have its local currency sovereign bond included in the Index.

The inclusion of FGN Bonds in this Index attracted foreign investors to the domestic bond market as a whole. This was followed by the inclusion of FGN Bonds in the Barclays Capital Emerging Markets – Local Currency Government Bond Index (EM – LCBI) in March 2013.

While at the DMO, Oniha was also appointed the Head of the Efficiency Unit at the Federal Ministry of Finance.

To execute the mandate of the unit, which was to moderate the government’s overhead expenditure and generate savings from the procurement process, Oniha introduced a number of initiatives.The initiatives included issuance of seven circulars to control expenditure on specific overhead items and negotiation of discounts with airlines.

These delivered savings estimated at N17 billion to the government. She was working on the introduction of new processes for payment and procurements when she was appointed Director-General of the DMO with effect from July 1, 2017.

Under her leadership, Nigeria issued its debut N100 billion Sovereign Sukuk in 2017, and with her at the helm of affairs, Nigeria has successfully issued four tranches of the Sovereign Sukuk in 2018, 2020 and 2021, raising over N612 billion in proceeds for construction and rehabilitation of roads and other infrastructural projects across the six geo-political zones of the country. 

Oniha obtained a B.Sc. Economics, (First Class Honours) from the University of Benin in 1983 and secured  an M.Sc. Finance from the University of Lagos in 1985.

She  became a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria in 1990 and a Fellow of the institute in 2008.

She is  an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria.

The Apex regulatory institution in the Nigerian Capital market, the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC; the Nigeriian Exchange Ltd, NGX, the Debt Management Office, DMO, as well as Market Operators such as Cowry Assets Ltd. are set fot the Finance and Business Online Publishers, FiBOP, workshop slated for Thursday, November 17, 2022.by 10.00am at the Airport Hotels, Ikeja, Lagos
According to the organizers, all is now set for a robust discuss on the theme of the workshop; ‘ Hanessing Fintech for Capital Market Growth and Development”

The discuss will focus on the deployment of Fintech services in Nigeria for Capital Market sustainability and growth.

In a statement, President of FiBOP, Charles Onwuatogwu, said the choice of the topic is borne out of the need to further deepen and enhance the efficiency of the Nigerian capital market, boost earnings of investors and operators as well as draw attention to other challenges and benefits of deploying Fintech services to boost activities in the Nigerian capital market.

“There is no doubt that the market is facing a lot of challenges at this critical time, hence the import of Fintech in addressing such problems as unclaimed dividends which today stands above N1.8billion, and similar other issues.’

“Moreover, the need to attract more Fintechs to the capital market has become highly imperative in view of the increasing deployment of technology in virtually every facet of life as well as the need to further deepen the market by getting a larger number of our teeming youths to become interested in the capital market.” He said

Dignitaries expected to grace the event include; the Director General Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, Lamido Yuguda,, Director General Debt Management Office, DMO, Patience Oniha and the Managing Director/CE, Cowry Assets Management, Johnson Chukwu

Others are; Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Umar Danbatta, Group CEO Nigeria Exchange , NGX, Oscar Onyema, CEO, FMDQ, Bola Koko, Managing Director CSCS, Haruna Jalo-Waziri, captains of industry, CEOs of quoted companies and shareholder groups among others.

FiBOP is the foremost Association of seasoned online publishers in Nigeria, formed with a view to contributing to the economic growth and development of Nigeria through informed, analytical and balanced reportage of events and activities in the economy.

All is now set for second in the series of Finance and Business Online Publishers (FiBOP) capacity building workshop on deployment of Fintech services in Nigeria for economic growth.

The latest workshop with the theme; ‘Harnessing Fintech for Capital Market Growth and Development’ is scheduled to take place on Thursday November 17th, 2022 at Airport Hotel Ikeja, Lagos by 10.00 am

In a statement, president of FiBOP, Charles Onwuatogwu, said the choice of the topic is borne out of the need to further deepen and enhance the efficiency of the Nigerian capital market, boost earnings of investors and operators as well as draw attention to the challenges and benefits of deploying Fintech services in the Nigerian capital market.

“There is no doubt that the market is facing a lot of challenges at this critical time, hence the import of Fintech in addressing such problems as unclaimed dividends which today stands above N1.8billion, and similar other issues.’

“Moreover, the need to attract more Fintechs to the capital market has become highly imperative in view of the increasing deployment of technology in virtually every facet of life as well as the need to further deepen the market by getting a larger number of our teeming youths to become interested in the capital market.” He said

Dignitaries expected at the event include; the Director General Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, Lamido Yuguda,, Director General Debt Management Office, DMO, Patience Oniha and the Managing Director/CE, Cowry Assets Management, Johnson Chukwu

Others are; Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Umar Danbatta, Group CEO Nigeria Exchange , NGX, Oscar Onyema, CEO, FMDQ, Bola Koko, Managing Director CSCS, Haruna Jalo-Waziri, captains of industry, CEOs of quoted companies and shareholder groups among others.

FiBOP is the foremost Association of seasoned online publishers in Nigeria, formed with a view to contributing to the economic growth and development of Nigeria through informed, analytical and balanced reportage of events and activities in the economy.

Access Holdings Plc trading as Access Corporation (‘the Corporation’) Tuesday announcds that its wholly owned subsidiary, Access Bank Plc has entered into a binding agreement with Montepio Holding SGPS S.A (‘Montepio’) to acquire a 51% majority shareholding in Finibanco Angola S.A.

Finibanco Angola S.A. (“Finibanco”) is a profitable, well-capitalised full-service commercial bank with over 20 branches and around US$300 million in total assets that has operated in Angola since 2008. The Transaction will be effected via the purchase of existing shares owned by Montepio-the holding company for Banco Montepio, one of Portugal’s well-established commercial banks. 

The Angolan market as the 6th largest economy in Africa and the 7th largest country overall, with a vast and diversified natural resource base and a growing population represents a strong potential for the Bank’s growth aspiration. The Transaction furthers the Bank’s strategy to be Africa’s payment gateway to the world whilst working with other Africa-focused multilaterals to provide robust and efficient payment platforms and ecosystems to serve the continent. The prospective operation is expected to contribute strongly to the Bank’s overall growth path and financial results over the long-term.

Access Holdings company Secretary, Sunday Ekwochi in a statement made available to BusinessUpdate revealed that the Transaction, which is subject to regulatory approvals in Nigeria and Angola is expected to close in the first half of 2023 following fulfillment of customary conditions precedents. It will be consummated at 1.0x tangible book value less pre-agreed adjustments to be determined by a customary completion audit. Upon completion of the Transaction, the Bank is expected to increase its shareholding in Finibanco S.A and has reached certain conditional agreements in this regard.

Commenting on the transaction, Dr. Herbert Wigwe – Group Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation, said:
“At Access, our vision remains clear as and our determination to harness accretive Opportunities within and outside Nigeria is our core strategic focus. Angola represents an opportunity for our shareholders to participate in what we believe will engender stronger value upside as Africa fully emerges. We remain committed to making these disciplined and well-structured investments towards creating a strong, holistic platform that will be competitive, diversified, and compelling for years to come.”

The Corporation shall continue to update the market on the Transaction in line with its disclosure obligations.
    

SUNDAY EKWOCHI
COMPANY SECRETARY
FRC/2013/NBA/0000