US Capitol complex temporarily shut down
Champion Breweries gains 32.35% in a week, following Heineken’s indirect acquisition of its shares
Kinyungu Ventures Research calls for changes to cut-and-paste VC strategy in Africa
Flour Mills shares lose N7.4 billion on NSE, as investors book profit
First Bank, Dangote stocks drop, investors lose N39.54 billion
COVID-19 Update in Nigeria
Daily Parallel Market Exchange Rate – ₦470/$1
4 cryptos gain over 400% in a month, far outperforming Bitcoin
Naira remains stable across forex markets as external reserve continues to rise
Oil prices tumble on fears of global economic recovery
Spotlight Stories
Data war: Glo dwarfs MTN, Airtel others in subscribers’ growth over 5 months
It gained 8.302 million data subscribers when it grew from 28.934 million in December 2019 to 37.236 million by the end of May 2020.
No doubt, competition among major internet service providers (ISP) in Nigeria has been intense, as the ISPs ensure that their brands are known as the best, most affordable and fastest in the industry.
From MTN’s Nedu Proposal Data commercial to Airtel’s Data is Life, or Glo’s Emoji campaign and 9Mobile’s Moreblase, more affordable, it is obvious that these TV commercials must have cost the ISPs fortunes, as most of them are Nollywood star-studded.
Despite the intense competition in the last five months (January – May 2020), it appears that one of them has taken others by surprise and attracted more subscribers.
READ ALSO: UBA Records 13% Earnings Growth and Delivers N111billion Profit
According to data released by the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) recently for the period ending May 2020, indigenous mobile telecommunication company, Glo dwarfed other competitors, as it gained 8.302 million data subscribers when it grew from 28.934 million in December 2019 to 37.236 million by the end of May 2020, while MTN gained 4.75 million data subscribers. Airtel, which used to be the second-highest in subscribers growth after MTN, recorded 2.795 million, while 9mobile lost 812,827 subscribers within the same period.
Meanwhile, Nairametrics had reported that the nation’s telecommunication landscape witnessed a high level of competition in terms of data offering in 2019, as operators in the industry intensified their efforts to increase their market share in a fickle industry.
NCC’s data for the period ending December 2019, revealed that Nigeria’s largest mobile telecommunication company, MTN, gained 8.18 million data subscribers, and Airtel successfully edged out Glo in terms of data subscriber numbers, as the telco added 4.06 million subscribers over the indigenous brand.
READ ALSO: $30 billion worth of BTCs disappears forever
Competition between two of Nigeria’s largest data sellers, MTN and Airtel took different turns in 2019, as MTN recovered from the drop recorded during the year.
Glo leads the pack ahead of MTN, Airtel
The competition has taken a new twist so far in 2020 (January – May 2020). Though MTN and Airtel, the two Nigeria’s largest data sellers, have 58.863 million data subscribers and 37.317 million subscribers respectively, Glo, which is the third-largest came from behind to outrun the ‘big players’, as more subscribers opted for the service of the indigenous ISP during the economic lockdown imposed by the Coronavirus pandemic.
What it means: While MTN and Airtel managed to attract only 689,593 and 41,791 subscribers in March and April (Peak of the lockdown) respectively, Glo smiled to the bank, as it attracted new 2.072 million data subscribers within the same period.
In terms of market share, MTN maintains the lead, as it controls 39.61% of the market (May 2020), followed by Glo with 27.12%, then Airtel with 26.83%, and 9mobile with 6.37% within the same period.
Internet quality: Where Nigeria stands in the world
The advent of 4G/LTE in the global telecom industry was accompanied by expectations of fast internet speed. 4G is the fourth generation of wireless mobile telecommunications technology, succeeding 3G. Potential and current applications include amended mobile web access, IP telephony, gaming services, high-definition mobile TV, video conferencing, and 3D television.
However, years down the line, Nigeria is still faced with poor internet quality. In a recent survey conducted on download speed experiences of subscribers across 87 countries including Nigeria, a Network monitoring outfit, Opensignal, concluded that congestion is messing with the user experience. Nigeria ranked 83 out of 87 of the countries surveyed in terms of download speed experience.
READ MORE: RMB aids acquisition of Nigeria’s Lucky pen by South Africa’s BIC
Opensignal stated, “We saw the widest variety of scores of all our award metrics in Download Speed Experience, with average speeds ranging from over 50 Mbps to less than 2 Mbps. There were 13 countries with Download Speed Experience scores over 30 Mbps, while 35 of the 87 markets we measured fell into the 10-20 Mbps range, and 20 scored under 10 Mbps (Nigeria stands at 5.4Mbps).”
While GSM companies continue to jostle for market share, it has often come at the expense of poor service and lack of accountability. Quite frankly, as an average internet user in Nigeria, one is usually left at the mercy of poor mobile internet services which frustrates one into seeking limited alternatives.
Spotlight Stories
First Bank, Dangote stocks drop, investors lose N39.54 billion
The market breadth closed positive as CADBURY led 35 Gainers as against 21 Losers topped by FLOURMILL at the end of today’s session.
Nigerian Stocks ended the first trading session of the week on a bearish note. The All Share Index plunged by 0.23% to close at 41,082.38 index points as against the 0.52% gain recorded on Friday.
- Its Year-to-Date (YTD) returns currently stands at +2.02%. Nigerian Stock Exchange market value stood at N21,49 billion.
- Investors lost N39.54 billion
- Nigerian bourse trading turnover on Monday however printed positive, as volume gained by 10.79% as against -17.64% downtick recorded at the last trading session.
- JAPAULOIL, UNIVINSURE, and TRANSCORP were the most active to boost market turnover.
- The market breadth closed positive as CADBURY led 35 Gainers as against 21 Losers topped by FLOURMILL at the end of today’s session – an unimproved performance when compared with the previous outlook.
Top gainers
- CADBURY up 10.00% to close at N10.45
- BOCGAS up 9.98% to close at N13.77
- LIVESTOCK up 9.95% to close at N2.32
- GUARANTY up 1.82% to close at N33.65
- WAPCO up 0.84% to close at N24
Top losers
- FLOURMILL down 5.49% to close at N31
- FBNH down 3.95% to close at N7.3
- GUINNESS down2.63% to close atN18.5
- NASCON down 1.71% to close at N17.25
- DANGCEM down 1.01% to close at N234.6
Outlook
Nigerian Stocks ended the first trading session of the week on a negative note amid falling oil prices.
- Buying pressure from blue-chip stocks, particularly GTBank, WAPCO could not help the Stock bulls in maintaining their run on the account of profit-taking notice in Dangote, First Bank, and Flour mills.
- 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.
Coronavirus
Covid-19: WHO warns the world faces catastrophic moral failure due to vaccine nationalism
The WHO has said that the prospects of equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines were at serious risk.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said the world is on the brink of a catastrophic moral failure due to the fear of Covid-19 vaccine nationalism by the wealthy countries, while the poor countries are left behind.
This is as the UN health agency revealed that the prospects of equitable distribution of the vaccines were at serious risk just as its COVAX vaccine-sharing scheme plans to start distributing inoculations in February.
According to a report from Reuters, this disclosure was made by the Director-General of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyrsus, at the opening of the body’s Annual Executive Board virtual meeting.
He pointed out that 44 bilateral deals were signed last year and at least 12 have already been signed this year.
What the WHO Director-General is saying
Tedros warned against vaccine nationalism to avoid making the same mistake during the HIN1 and HIV pandemic.
The WHO boss in his statement said,
- “This could delay COVAX deliveries and create exactly the scenario COVAX was designed to avoid with hoarding, a chaotic market, an uncoordinated response and continued social and economic disruption. Such a ‘me-first approach’ left the world’s poorest and most vulnerable at risk.
- “Ultimately, these actions will only prolong the pandemic, countries should avoid making the same mistakes made during the H1N1 and HIV pandemics.’’
He expressed his reservations over the ‘me-first’ attitude of the rich countries and the vaccine manufacturers who prioritize going for regulatory approval in wealthy countries rather than submitting their data to WHO for approval of the vaccines for use globally.
The global scramble for shots has intensified, as more infectious virus variants circulate.
Tedros said more than 39 million vaccine doses had been administered in 49 higher-income countries, whereas just 25 doses had been given in one poor country.
Observers say this board meeting, which lasts until next Tuesday, is one of the most important in the U.N. health agency’s more than 70-year history, and could shape its role in global health long after the pandemic ends.
What you should know
- The WHO and health experts had severally warned against nationalism as a serious threat to the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
- They had called for an equitable distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine amongst all countries globally, as the wealthy nations will still be at risk of the pandemic if the poor countries are still battling with the disease.
Energy
LPG: Nigerians paid more to refill 12.5kg gas cylinders in December
Nigerians paid more money to refill their 12.5Kg gas cylinder in December than they did in November 2020.
The average price for refilling 12.5kg cylinder of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) increased by 1.75% in December compared to the month of November, according to the NBS report for December 2020.
The average cost of refilling the 12.5kg gas cylinder moved from N4,082.97 in November to N4,154.28 in December 2020.
According to the NBS report, the average price for refilling a 5kg cylinder of cooking gas increased by 0.12% month-on-month to N1,949.75 in December 2020 from N1,947.47 in November 2020.
READ: Techno Oil commences mass production of locally-made gas cylinders
Key highlights
- Bauchi (N2,489.12), Borno (N2,396.69) and Adamawa (N2,392.88) recorded the highest average price for the refilling of a 5kg cylinder for Liquefied Petroleum Gas in the month of December 2020.
- Enugu (N1,563.75), Imo (N1,678.89) and Oyo (N1,691.67) recorded the lowest average price for the refilling of a 5kg cylinder for Liquefied Petroleum Gas.
- Delta (N4,838.46), Cross River/Sokoto (N4,800.00) and Akwa Ibom (N4,614.49) recorded the highest average price for the refilling of a 12.5kg cylinder for Liquefied Petroleum Gas.
- While, Kaduna (N3,191.67), Zamfara (N3,462.50) and Niger (N3,500.00) recorded the lowest average price for the refilling of a 12.5kg cylinder for Liquefied Petroleum Gas.
READ: Petrol importation drops by 512 million litres in 3 months
LPG is fast becoming an alternative to firewood and kerosene as a means of cooking for most homes especially in urban areas in Nigeria. LPG is cleaner and more efficient than kerosene in cooking.
The professor
July 16, 2020 at 11:23 am
Thanks for the advert for global comm.
Hope tou were paid well