CADBURY, GUINNESS plunge amid profit-taking at Nigeria’s stock market
The Nigerian insurance sector; repositioning for efficiency
Buhari orders MDAs to grant FIRS access to their systems
Buhari reappoints Bala Usman as MD of NPA, reconstitutes the Board
Covid-19: Africa records higher death rate than the global rate
Malabu Oil Scandal: Prosecutors demand JPMorgan documents
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Oil prices tumble on fears that energy demand is dropping
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Japaul Gold slumps by 30%, after rallying to 52-week high of N1.67 on Monday
Emefiele – “We Have Firepower and Ammunition To Defend The Naira”
A new term in economics has been coined
Nairametrics| The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, has said that the apex bank is currently practicing a ‘managed float regime’ of the Naira. He went on to assure Nigerians that this regime will continue as the foreign reserves, which he said has hit $31 billion, has provided the CBN with adequate ‘firepower’.
Here is the CBN Governor in his boisterous best.
On influencing the new FX Window for Investors
“Indeed with the kind of firepower that we have, we are also going to play in that market to ensure that as the prices move on based on the managed float regime that we run, that we should be able to control the price based on willing buyer and willing seller basis,” he said.
On the success of his interventions
“Central Bank has been involved in some form of intensive interventions in the foreign exchange market and this has fortunately resulted in a downward trend in the parallel market price of foreign exchange from as higher as N525 to as low as N370. Right now it hovers between N370 to N380.” Emefiele pointed out.
Predicting that we’ll be out of recession
“We have started to see a downward trend even in prices of goods and commodities and you have also must observe that inflation is also trending downward as confirmed by NBS. We are very much optimistic that by the end of the second quarter very latest third quarter this year, we should be out of the recession that we are in right now.” he is quoted as saying by Guardian.
Finally, on Firepower and Amunition
“I think it’s an opportunity for me to say that we are going to continue this intervention because the reserve looks very good as I speak to you our reserve stands at above $31 billion and that provides us enough of firepower or ammunition to be able to defend the currency and we will do so with all intensity to ensure that foreign exchange is procured by everybody.” he said.
CADBURY, GUINNESS plunge amid profit-taking at Nigeria’s stock market
With 50 losers to 14 gainers, sectoral indices closed mostly negative, as the NSE Insurance Index led the decliners with 6.70%.
Nigerian stocks ended the fourth trading session on a bearish note. The All Share Index closed south, dropping by 0.12% to close at 41,099.15 index points.
Year-to-date return and market capitalization settled at 2.06%, and N21.49 trillion respectively.
- A total volume of 1.12 billion units of shares, valued at N6.39 billion exchanged hands in 7,404 deals. TRANSCORP (-9.38%) finished the most traded shares by volume, while GUARANTY (-0.15%) topped by value at N2.04 billion.
- With 50 losers to 14 gainers, sectoral indices closed mostly negative. The NSE Insurance Index led the decliners with 6.70%.
- The NSE Consumer Goods and Banking Indexes trailed distantly, down by -0.30% and -0.23% respectively.
- On the flip side, the NSE Industrial & Energy Indexes advanced marginally by +0.27% and +0.15% respectively.
Top gainers
- NNFM up 10.00% to close at N9.68
- CHAMPION up 9.88% to close at N1.78
- NCR up 9.65% to close at N2.84
- WAPCO up 5.47% to close at N27.95
- ARDOVA up 3.54% to close at N20.45
Top losers
- MRS down 9.82% to close at N12.4
- CADBURY down 9.72% to close at N9.75
- FLOURMILL down 2.77% to close at N31.6
- GUINNESS down 2.37% to close at N18.5
- DANGCEM down 0.21% to close at N234
Outlook
Nigerian stocks ended the last trading session of the week on a negative note amid soaring oil prices prevailing at the U.S trading session.
- The market struggled to close in the positive territory as profit-taking was seen on stocks across the board.
- Nairametrics expects you to seek the advice of a certified stockbroker or financial advisor in choosing stocks to buy, as some Nigerian stocks exhibit cyclic return.
The Nigerian insurance sector; repositioning for efficiency
For the industry to thrive, the regulators may also need to deepen micro insurers’ activities in the Nigerian economy.
The Nigerian Insurance sector is critical to propelling income equality and reducing the poverty level of any society, but the industry’s performance has continued to drag amid many factors, such as; low underwriting capacity of players, lack of trust by consumers, poverty and the inadequacy of distribution infrastructure.
These factors have jointly contributed to the abysmal level of insurance penetration – the proportion of insurance business to the gross domestic product over the years.
The Nigerian Insurance sector remains largely underdeveloped with Insurance penetration still at c.0.5% to GDP. The sector which contracted by 18.67% y/y in the Q3 GDP report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is set for a deep recession in 2020.
The covid-19 pandemic effect has increased health, travel, and business disruption claims. These claims, coupled with underwriters’ inability to write risks in Q2 and the tapered household income should amplify the sector’s expected recession.
In a bid to rid the sector of these known drags, the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), the primary regulator in the industry launched its recapitalization exercise in May 2019. The plan’s proponents intend to improve the industry’s minimum paid-up capital in each business segment, thereby solving premium flight issues that have continued to plague the industry.
Following the lingering impact of coronavirus, the deadline was adjusted from June 2020 to December 2020 to implement Phase I of the project while the deadline for the second phase’s performance was moved to September 2021. Some players have called for an extension of the regulator’s deadline given the impact of Covid-19 on their businesses.
However, most of the industry’s bellwethers have entirely shored-up their minimum paid-up capital to the required level. In our view, firms that are yet to meet the required capital threshold may likely lose out on the opportunities available on the supply side of the market.
Furthermore, for the industry to thrive, the regulators may also need to deepen micro insurers’ activities in the Nigerian economy.
CSL Stockbrokers Limited, Lagos (CSLS) is a wholly owned subsidiary of FCMB Group Plc and is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Nigeria. CSLS is a member of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
Buhari orders MDAs to grant FIRS access to their systems
Buhari has directed all government agencies and business enterprises to grant FIRS access to their systems for a seamless connection.
President Muhammadu Buhari has announced that he has directed all government agencies to grant the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, access to its system for effective service delivery.
The President also stated that the FIRS fully deploying automation is in line with international best practices.
This was disclosed by the President in a social media statement on Thursday.
READ: FG receives N144 billion in dividends from NLNG in 2020
“We must use technology to plug all revenue loopholes,” Buhari said.
“To this end, I have directed all government agencies and business enterprises to grant FIRS access to their systems for seamless connection. FIRS must fully deploy automation, in line with international best practices,” he added.
READ: How President Buhari plans to boost Power supply, job creation in 2021
What you should know
- Nairametrics reported that the FIRS announced that it generated N4,952,243,711,728.37 as tax revenue in the 2020 fiscal year. This is about 98% of the tax target of N5.076 trillion that was set for the FIRS by the Federal Government.
- The FIRS also announced the creation of 35 new Tax Audit Units to combat illicit financial flow across the country.
