CAPITALDIGEST DAILY NEWS, 06 DECEMBER 2021

MONDAY 29/11/2021 – PETROL SUBSIDY: INVEST IN TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE, LCCI TELLS FG The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry has advised the Federal Government to invest in transport infrastructure to ease the pressures on citizens when the subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) is removed. The President, LCCI, Mrs Toki Mabogunje, gave the advice during her welcome remarks at the virtual presidential policy dialogue session on Friday. The Federal Government had announced that petrol subsidy would be removed by July 2022, and that it would give a transport grant of N5,000 each to between 30 million and 40 million poor Nigerians for a duration of 12 months. Mabogunje said, “We are delighted to hear about the proposed removal of fuel subsidy after a long-drawn delay. Beyond the fundamentals that have formed the basis of arguments by major stakeholders, we recommend a corresponding investment in transport infrastructure to ease movement, create more transport choices, and thereby reduce the cost of transportation and logistics. “Secondly, on the subsidy removal, the estimation of investment in palliatives should be compared with investment in transport infrastructure and see which impacts more on the masses.” Mabogunje also urged the federal and state governments to build the capacity of both the public and private sectors in understanding the opportunities in the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement to explore Nigeria’s local comparative advantage within the free area. “We expect states to start the development of their state-wide strategies on exploring the terms of the agreement. The government should also speed up the establishment of proposed Special Economic Zones and industrial hubs to support production for the export markets,” she added.   TUESDAY 30/11/2021 – INVESTORS LOSE N19.49BN ON PROFIT-TAKING IN PRESCO, 20 OTHER STOCKS Trading in the stock market of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) commenced the week yesterday with negative sentiments amid investors profit-taking in Presco Plc and 20 others. Specifically, the NGX All-Share Index (ASI) dropped by 37.35 basis points or 0.09 per cent, to close at 43,270.94 basis points from 43,308.29 basis points. Consequently, the overall market capitalisation value dropped by N19.49 billion to close at N22.579 trillion from N22.598 trillion the market opened for trading this week. Analysing by sectors, the Oil & Gas dropped by 0.6 per cent, Consumer Goods depreciated by 0.2 per cent, and Banking also down by 0.2 per cent indices declined while the Insurance gained 0.8 per cent index was the sole gainer of the day. As measured by market breadth, market sentiment was negative, as 21 stocks lost relative to 14 gainers. AIICO Insurance recorded the highest price gain of 8.57 per cent to close at 76 kobo, per share. LivingTrust Mortgage Bank followed with a gain 7.95 per cent to close at 95 kobo, while Veritas Kapital Assurance went up by 4.76 per cent to close at 22 kobo, per share. Associated Bus Company rose by 3.03 per cent to close at 34 kobo, while Courteville Business Solutions gained 2.56 per cent to close at 40 kobo, per share. On the other hand,UACN Property Development Company (UPDC) led the losers’ chart by 9.92 per cent to close at N1.18, per share. UPDC Real Estate Investment Trust followed with a decline of 9.90 per cent to close at N4.55, while Consolidated Hallmark Insurance lost 7.27 per cent to close at 51 kobo, per share. Regency Alliance Insurance lost 4.76 per cent to close at 40 kobo, while Wapic Insurance and International Breweries shed four per cent each to close at 48 kobo and N4.80 respectively, per share.   WEDNESDAY 1/12/2021 – STOCK MARKET CLOSE LOWER ON PROFIT-TAKING BY INVESTORS The stock market of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) closed on a negative note yesterday on the back of profit-taking by investors. In summary, the NGX All-Share Index (ASI) dropped by 22.89 basis points, representing a decrease of 0.05 per cent, to close at 43,248.05 points. Similarly, the overall market capitalisation declined by N12 billion to close at N22.567 trillion. Sectoral performance on the Exchange was mixed as the Insurance (+1.6 per cent) and Banking (+0.3 per cent) indices gained while the Oil & Gas (-0.4 per cent) and Consumer Goods (-0.2 per cent) indices recorded declines. The Industrial Goods index closed flat. As measured by market breadth, market sentiment remained negative, as 24 stocks lost relative to 12 gainers. AIICO Insurance recorded the highest price gain of 9.21 per cent, to close at 83 kobo, per share. Access Bank followed with a gain 4.40 per cent to close at N9.50, while Wapic Insurance appreciated by 4.17 per cent to close at 50 kobo, per share. Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) went up by 3.73 per cent to close at N8.35, while FCMB Group appreciated by 3.33 per cent, to close at N3.10, per share. On the other hand, UPDC Real Estate Investment Trust led the losers’ chart by 9.89 per cent, to close at N4.10, per share. Ikeja Hotel followed with a decline of 9.63 per cent to close at N1.22, while UACN Property Development Company (UPDC) lost 9.32 per cent to close at N1.07, per share   THURSDAY 2/12/2021 – EXTERNAL RESERVES LOST $610M IN NOV, CBN BATTLES TO SAVE NAIRA The nation’s external reserves fell by $610m last month, figures obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria on Thursday revealed. The reserves dropped to N$41.22bn as of November 29 from $41.83bn on October 29. The CBN also disclosed that at the present level, the external reserves could meet the country’s nine-month import demand. Figures obtained from the apex bank showed that the reserves, which had gained $5bn in October, returned to a downward path in November. The reserves increased from $36.78bn on September 30 to $41.83bn as of October 29. The Governor, CBN, Godwin Emefiele, said, at the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria’s dinner in Lagos, said, “Supported by our demand management policy, in addition to support from the successful issuance of the $4bn Eurobond and the IMF SDR, our external reserves today stands at over $41.4bn, which is enough to support nine months of imports. “This is not just a morale booster for both foreign direct and portfolio investors willing to invest in the economy, but it provides significant fire power to support our domestic industries that need to import critical machines and equipment for domestic production and exports.”   FRIDAY 3/12/2021 – NIGERIA’S ECONOMIC GROWTH SLOWED IN OCTOBER – CBN REPORT The nation’s economic growth slowed in October as the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index rose slightly but remained below the 50-index point benchmark. The Central Bank of Nigeria disclosed this in a report on the recent Monetary Policy Committee meeting. The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, said, “The committee also noted the continued improvement in the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index, which though remained below the 50-index point benchmark, rose to 47.3 index points in October 2021 from 46.6 index points in September 2021. “This improvement indicated a gradual recovery of output growth, driven largely by the increase in new orders associated with rising aggregate demand and upswing in business activities. “The Non-Manufacturing PMI, however, declined to 47.5 index points in October 2021 from 47.8 index points in September 2021 as uncertainties persisted around the poor security situation.” He said the committee noted the continued moderation in headline inflation (year-on-year) to 15.99 per cent in October from 16.63 per cent in the previous month, the seventh consecutive month of decline. The decrease was attributed to a marginal decline in both the food and core components to 18.34 and 13.34 per cent respectively in October 2021 from 19.57 and 13.74 per cent in September 2021.