Respite for Investors as Year-end Rally Pushes Market Capitalization Up by N612billion
2,839 BDC Operators Meet Recapitalization Deadline
In a circular released over the weekend, the CBN said the BDCs have complied with new N35 million capitalization requirements and another N35 million cautionary deposit stipulated for operators.
The apex bank had in June 2015, announced a new minimum capital requirement of N35 million for the operation of BDCs, up from the N10 million it was previously.
The new capital base, is contained in a new guideline for the industry backed by the CBN Act of 2007 and the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act 2004 (BOFIA). Both statues, stipulate a non-refundable application fee of N100,000 and non-refundable licensing fee of N1 million.
The circular, which will come into effect this month, orders retail money exchanges to deposit a mandatory cautionary deposit of N35 million in an account with the CBN, in addition to a minimum capital requirement of N35 million.
The new guideline said no person should carry on the business of BDC in Nigeria, except with the prior authorisation of the CBN. It also stipulates that a BDC shall be construed as any company that is licenced to carry on small scale foreign exchange business in Nigeria and whose sole object is the carrying on of such business on a stand-alone basis.
It said the application for BDC licence shall be processed in two stages, namely: approval-in-principle (AIP) and final licence.
Stock Market Index Wraps Up 2015 With 3.11% Gain
The Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, closed the year 2015 on a positive note as lead indicators increased by 3.11 per cent.
The All Share Index soared 864.42 points higher to close at 28,642.25 points compared to 1,014.59 points gained previously to close at 27,777.83 points, while market capitalization added N297.3 billion to close at N9.9 trillion compared to N351.5 billion added previously to close at N9.6 trillion.
The day’s gains were sustained by ample increases in Sectoral indices as they all closed positive with the exception of the NSE ASeM Index which closed flat.
The NSE Consumer Goods Index topped the sectoral indices with an increase of 5 per cent due to gains recorded by Nigerian Breweries which added 9.68 per cent or N12 to close at N136 per share and Nestle which also grew by 4.24 per cent or N35 to close at N860 per share.
Market breadth likewise closed positive with 33 gainers pitched against 6 losers. Top three gainers for the day were Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc., which increased by 10.20 per cent or 35 kobo to close at N3.78 per share followed by Transnational Express Plc., which added 9.71 per cent or 10 kobo to close at N1.13 per share, while Nigerian Breweries Plc., gained 9.68 per cent or N12 to close at N136 per share.
On the other hand, Cadbury Plc topped the losers chart with a decline of 4.99 per cent or 90 kobo to close at N17.15 per share, followed by Cutix Plc., which depreciated by 2.92 per cent or 5 kobo to close at N1.66 per share, while Skye Bank Plc., dropped 2.47per cent or 4 kobo to close at N1.58 per share.
At the end of the day’s transactions, investors on the Nigeria Stock Exchange had in 2,160 deals exchanged a total of 252.2 million shares valued at N3.9 billion in contrast to a total of N1.4 billion shares worth N1.95 billion exchanged in 2,559 previously.
LCCI Predicts Tough Business Environment in Nigeria for 2016
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has expressed concern about the current state of the Nigerian economy and the consequences of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s foreign exchange policy over the last few months.
In an appraisal conducted by the LCCI of the Nigerian economy in 2015 last week, it concluded that private operators in many sectors recorded losses of over N1.5trn last year as a result of scarcity of forex, especially during the last six months.
The Chamber, in a statement, bemoaned the unfriendly business environment in the country in 2015, saying it undermined the capacity of investors to maximise abundant business opportunities, in Africa’s largest economy.
“With drastic fall in oil price, heavy fuel subsidy bill, nearing N1trn in 2015, wide spread insolvency among state governments across the country, increasing sovereign debt and debt service obligation of N1.3t in 2016, the financial crisis may linger in the new year,” it predicted.
The statement or economic review and projection into the year 2016 signed by the Director General of the chamber, Mr. Muda Yusuf, described the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) forex restrictions policy in 2015 as one of the “costliest” policies in Nigeria in the recent years.
On business environment in 2015, Yusuf expressed concern over the deplorable state of roads leading to the Lagos ports (Apapa and Tincan Island), saying, “these ports account for over 60 percent of the cargo coming into the country and an estimated 70 percent of customs’ revenue. The poor state of the roads has multifarious effects on the private sector, economy and the citizenry.”
NNPC Made N14.3 Billion Loss in November 2015
Monthly reports on the operational and financial dealings of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, has revealed that the corporation recorded a loss of N14.3 billion in the month of November 2015.
The November loss came from the NNPC’s operating revenue after subsidy for the months of October and November 2015, which were N173.56 billion and N155.10 billion respectively.
This represents 56.72 percent and 50.68 percent, respectively, of the Corporation’s monthly budget.
The report also shows that the Corporation incurred operating deficits of N12.22 billion and N14.29 billion in the months of October and November 2015, respectively, as against the monthly budgeted surplus of N38.91 billion.
It further stated that the country’s refineries in Warri, Port Harcourt and Kaduna operated at zero capacity utilisation in the month of November.
The company said its total export proceed of $402.55 million was recorded in November 2015, with proceeds from crude oil export sales amounting to $296.99 million or 73.78 percent of the dollar payment compared with 72.97 percent contribution in the previous month of October.
It continued that gas export sales and Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas feedstock amounted to $105.53 million, which represents a 26.22 percent contribution compared with 18.97 percent contribution in the prior month of October.










