A total of N99.94bn was pulled out by foreign investors from the Nigerian stock market in the first four months of this year as foreign involvement plunged to a four-year low in April. The foreign portfolio investors injected N 78.31bn into the market from January to April this year, according to data from the Nigerian Exchange Limited. Foreign portfolio investment outflow includes sales transactions or liquidation of portfolio investments through the stock market, while the FPI inflow includes purchase transactions on the NSE (equities only), according to the bourse. The NGX, in its latest domestic and foreign portfolio report, said…
Author: Temitope N.
Bank customers using the unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) payment channels will now pay a flat fee of N6.98 per transaction — replacing the current N4.89 session billing structure. Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) on Friday commenced the implementation of the new charges. The implementation of the new billing structure comes more than two months after mobile network operators (MNOs) announced plan to suspend USSD services over N42 billion debt owed by financial service providers. However, the suspension of the service was halted following intervention of Isa Pantami, minister of communications and digital economy. Following the minister’s intervention, the MNOs and…
Nigeria has missed its target of achieving 80 per cent financial inclusion of its adult population by 2020, a new report says. According to a report by the Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access (EFInA), 36 per cent of Nigerian adults (38 million adults), remained completely financially excluded at the end of 2020. In 2019, the country had targeted through the National Financial Inclusion Strategy reducing financially excluded adults to 20 per cent. However, data from the report “Access to financial services in Nigeria survey” showed that only 64 per cent of Nigerian adults were financially included by the end of…
Tuesday through Friday, Nigerian equities posted minimal gains, helping the week return 1.23 per cent, but growth for the quarter and for the year so far remains negative, with investor confidence in the market too low to bring back activity to its pre-pandemic levels. Foreign investors’ interest in Nigerian stocks substantially wore out in 2020 as April’s record oil crash staunched the flow of petrodollars into Africa’s biggest crude producer, which relies on the commodity for about 90 per cent of its foreign exchange earnings, making it hard for international investors to cash out. Foreign capital inflow to the Nigerian…
The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday urged parents to vaccinate their teenagers against Covid-19, citing a rise in the number of adolescents hospitalized with the disease in March and April. “I am deeply concerned by the number of hospitalized adolescents and saddened to see the number of adolescents who required treatment in intensive care units or mechanical ventilation,” CDC director Rochelle Walensky said in a statement that accompanied a new study on teen hospitalizations. Walensky implored parents to talk with teens about the importance of continuing to wear masks and “encourage them to get…
Environmental and development experts have provided insights on how drylands can contribute to the growth of agriculture and the larger economy in Africa. The experts spoke at the first-ever digital Global Landscape Forum (GLF) conference held between June 2nd and 3rd. The major theme of the conference focused around Africa’s drylands and integrative restoration practices. While delivering a keynote speech on Africa’s perspective on ecosystem restoration at the conference, the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification(UNCCD), Ibrahim Thiaw, explained that drylands are significant to economic growth in countries across Africa, Mr Thiaw also debunked misconceptions he…
Insecurity in the country and other macroeconomic challenges, coupled with uncertainty in the global economy, may continue to take a toll on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), as investors, having lost N796 billion in May, might experience similar losses this month. Specifically, the market capitalisation of listed equities, which opened the month of May at N20.830 trillion, depreciated by N720 trillion to close at N20.034 trillion as of May 31, 2021. The All-share index equally declined by 1,363.9 points or 3.5 per cent from 39,801.78 to 38,4437.88 points. The depreciation in market capitalisation value is despite impressive earnings and dividend…
The manufacturing sector and household users of electricity in the country can significantly reduce energy consumption, improve productivity and profitability, reduce pollution and cost of goods if adoption of energy efficiency is prioritized. With the development, energy experts, who gathered in Abuja, at an event organised by the Nigerian Energy Support Programme (NESP) linked the dismal contribution of the manufacturing sector to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to energy challenges. They insisted that while the over 2,800 manufacturing companies scattered across 10 sectorial groups in the country contributed less than 4 per cent to the GDP, about 80 per…
Capital market experts have rated the country’s democratic regime as one that has failed to create a competitive edge for the domestic investment market. Assessing Nigeria’s unbroken democracy since 1999, the stakeholders argued that the era delivered less than expected in terms of stimulating growth. They said the application of democratic practice has been below par. Vice President of Highcap Securities Limited, David Adonri, said Nigeria has suffered three severe recessions within the past 22 years, noting that the economy is largely import-dependent. Adonri said the parlous state of Nigeria’s infrastructure reflects inappropriate macroeconomic policies. He noted that the economy…
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) says $40 billion investment is needed to accomplish the nation’s gas plan. Yusuf Usman, chief operating officer for gas and power at NNPC, made this known at a virtual forum on Wednesday. President Muhammadu Buhari launched the ‘Decade of Gas in Nigeria’ on March 29, an ambitious plan by Nigeria to entirely power its economy with gas by the year 2030. Buhari said the declaration of the decade of gas will set the tone for the development of the gas industry in the next ten years. Speaking at the forum organised by the Association…