Business News
Mobile Internet Subscribers hit 114.7m, as 9mobile and Glo drop yet again
Data from NCC reveals that the total number of Mobile Internet Subscribers in Nigeria hit 114.7 million in February 2019.
The total number of Mobile Internet Subscribers in Nigeria reached 114.7 million in February 2019. This is revealed in the latest internet subscribers data released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on its official web page.
According to NCC, total mobile internet subscribers increased by 1% month-on-month. Specifically, in the month of January, mobile internet subscribers stood at 113.8million, while increased to 114.7million in February 2019.
MTN maintains highest subscribers, controls 41% market share
According to the data, MTN recorded the highest number of mobile internet subscribers in February.
For the month, MTN recorded a rise in internet subscribers to 46.5 million, up from 45.9 million in January and 43.9 million in December 2018. This represents a slow rise of 1% growth rate month-on-month, compared to 4.63% recorded between December 2018 and January 2019.
Also, analysis of the data shows that MTN controls over 41% of the total market share for internet subscribers.
Similarly, Airtel ranks as the second highest mobile internet subscribers in Nigeria. It controls 27% of the total market share. As at January 2019, Airtel has 30.5 million mobile internet subscribers. However, the total number of Airtel subscribers increased to 30.8 million.
9mobile and Glo witnessed a decline in internet subscribers yet again
An earlier article by Nairametrics reported that both 9mobile and Glo witnessed a decline in the total number of internet subscribers in January 2019. But the latest NCC report has revealed that there was a decline in the total internet subscribers for both 9mobile and Glo for the month of February.
In February, 9mobile’s internet subscribers decreased marginally to 9.80 million as against 9.88 million in January. The NCC data also revealed that Glo’s mobile internet subscribers decreased marginally to 27.4 million as against 27.6 million in January and 28million in December 2018.
SMILE controls 81% of Subscribers on VoIP, while NTEL is nosediving
Data on Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) subscribers shows that SMILE controls over 81% of VoIP internet subscribers in Nigeria. In January, total internet subscribers using SMILE increased to 295,443, up from 288,388 in January 2019.
However, NTEL continues to witness a decline in internet subscribers, as the total number of internet subscribers using NTEL fell to 66,585, from 69,785 in January.
Since August 2018, total subscribers on NTEL have been falling. In August 2018, total subscribers on NTEL stood at 91,048 while it has dropped to 66,585 in February 2019, indicating a 23.3% decline within the last 8months.
Business News
REMINDER: FGN Ijara Sukuk Bond auction closes on 2nd June 2020
Proceeds from the Ijara Sukuk Bond auction will be used solely for the construction and rehabilitation of key roads across the six geopolitical zones of the country.
The Debt Management Office (DMO), on behalf of the Federal Government, has reminded the general public that the offer for subscription to the N150 billion FGN Ijara Sukuk Bond will close on Tuesday June 2nd, 2020.
The offer for subscription was announced some days ago by the DMO, as Nairametrics reported. Below are the details of the offering.
The Auction: N150, 000,000,000 – Rental Rate of 11.20% per annum IJORA SUKUK FGN JUNE 2027 (7-Yr Opening)
Arranger: FBNQuest Mechant Bank Limited and Lotus Financial Services Limited.
Opening Date: May 21, 2020
Closing Date: June 2, 2020
Settlement Date: June 9, 2020
Summary of the Offer
Instrument Type: Ijarah (Lease) Sukuk
Issuer: FGN Roads Sukuk Company 1 Plc. on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Units of Sale: N1,000 per unit subject to a minimum Subscription of N10,000 and in multiples of N1,000 thereafter.
Rental Payment: Payable Half Yearly.
Redemption: Bullet repayment on the date of maturity
Use of Proceeds: Proceeds will be used solely for the construction and rehabilitation of key roads across the six geopolitical zones of the country.
(READ MORE: FG impounds aircraft for illegal flight operations)
About Sukuk bonds
Sukuk is derived from the word Sakk, which can be translated to mean legal instrument, deed, and cheque. Sakk can also mean to strike a deal on a paper document.
The origin of Sukuk dates to 7th century AD, where the first Sukuk transaction took place in Damascus, Syria in the Great Mosque of Damascus (Umayyad Mosque).
Since Islam prohibits usury – collecting interest from your loans – interest-based bonds are banned in Muslim nations.
Difference between Sukuk and regular bonds
Sukuk indicates ownership of an asset. The assets that back Sukuk are compliant with Shariah. In other words, such assets adhere to the Islamic prohibitions on gambling, alcohol, tobacco, narcotics, and adult entertainment products and services.
Sukuk notes pay a fixed percentage return as a profit-sharing percentage of the underlying assets’ revenues.
Regular bonds, on the other hand, pay a fixed rate of return as interest (coupon) semi-annually or annually.
Business News
Just In: PPPRA reduces petrol price to N121.50 per litre
“After a review of prevailing market fundamentals in the month of May and considering marketers realistic operating costs as much as practicable, we wish to advise of a new PMS guiding pump price…”
The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) has announced a new retail price band for oil marketers.
In a circular dated May 31st, as seen by Nairametrics, the downstream regulator said oil marketers are now expected to sell petrol within the price range of N121.50 and N123.50. Part of the circular said:
“Please recall the recently approved pricing regime which became effective March 19, 2020, and the provision for the establishment of a monthly price band within which petroleum marketers are expected to sell PMS at the retail stations.
“After a review of prevailing market fundamentals in the month of May and considering marketers realistic operating costs as much as practicable, we wish to advise of a new PMS guiding pump price with the corresponding ex-depot price for the month of June 2020, as follows; price band N121.50 – N123.50 per liter.”
Details later…
Business News
Hedge funds, institutional investors rush to own stakes in Bitcoin
Hedge funds are firms that offer alternative investments to a specific type of investors (high net worth individuals), in a bid to protect their investment portfolios from market uncertainty, while generating positive returns regardless of market sentiments.
With global economic uncertainty gradually becoming a daily norm, institutional and hedge funds around the world have been rushing to have a stake in crypto assets which all have been outperforming other financial assets in 2020).
Just recently, a popular hedge fund based in New York –Grayscale Investments –caught the investment world by surprise by buying up Bitcoin (BTC) at a great rate in recent months.
Lennard Neo, the head of research at Stack Funds, told Cointelegraph that institutional investors have been seeking for other options, not just to provide returns, but also to hedge their existing portfolio from downside risks. Neo said:
“Similar to Grayscale, Stack has seen an uptick in investors’ interest — almost double that figures of pre-crash in March — in Bitcoin. I would not say they are ‘gobbling up BTC’ blindly but cautiously seeking traditional structured solutions that they are familiar with before making an investment.”
(READ MORE:The Empirical Truth about an average Nigerian’s price point)
In addition, Paul Cappelli, a portfolio manager at Galaxy Fund Management, explained in detail the reasons for this demand. According to him, “we’re seeing increased interest from multiple levels of investors’ wealth channels, independent RIAs, and institutions.
“The recent BTC halving came at an interesting time amid the COVID-19 outbreak and the growing unease about quantitative easing. He noted: “It clearly demonstrated BTC’s scarcity and future supply reduction as concerns deepened around unprecedented stimulus by the Fed with the CARES Act.”
Also, Michael Sonnenshein, the Managing Director of Grayscale Investments, explained briefly why his firm uses Bitcoin as an option in hedging its firm’s portfolio position.
“All three are facing issues this time around. Bitcoin has emerged as an alternative hedge, operating independently of the dramatic monetary policies enacted by central banks,” he said.
What you need to know about Hedge Funds
They are firms that offer alternative investments to a specific type of investors (high net worth individuals), in a bid to protect their investment portfolios from market uncertainty, while generating positive returns regardless of market sentiments.
