CAPITALDIGEST DAILY NEWS 03 APRIL 2022

MONDAY 28/3/2022 – 116.46 MILLION LITRES FUEL LOST IN 2021, SAY NNPC REPORTS A total of 116.46 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, valued at N18.88bn was stolen in 2021, data from different reports obtained from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited showed. Figures contained in various NNPC reports on Product Pipeline Performance for PMS showed that from January 2021 till December last year, huge volumes of petrol imported into Nigeria by the national oil company did not get to their targeted destinations. The products were lost through four pipeline segments including Atlas Cove-Mosimi and Atlas Cove-Idimu-Satellite, Mosimi-Ibadan, Ibadan-Ilorin and Port Harcourt-Aba. For the month of January 2021, a total of 6.371 million litres of petrol was lost through three pipeline segment, excluding that of Port Harcourt-Aba, as there was no pumping operation on the line in January. The ex-depot price of petrol, according to the sole importer of the commodity, NNPC, was N143.17/litre. This implies that the worth of petrol stolen in January 2021 was N943.92m. In the months of February, March and April 2021, the oil firm lost 5.317 million litres, 5.722 million litres and 7.366 million litres of petrol, valued at N787.88m, N855.28m and N1.09bn respectively. In May, June and July 2021, NNPC lost 14.157 million litres, 10.585 million litres and 9.329 million litres of petrol respectively.   TUESDAY 29/3/2022 – CBN’S INTERVENTION LOANS FOR ECONOMIC RECOVERY HIT N3TN –EMEFIELE The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, said on Monday that the bank in conjunction with other financial institutions granted over N3tn in intervention loans to aid economic recovery and job creation. Emefiele said the current focus of monetary policy was macroeconomic stability – “to build a strong, stable and resilient economy that is self-sustaining and able to weather unanticipated shocks.” The CBN governor, represented by the Deputy Governor, Corporate Services, Edward Adamu, spoke in a lecture titled, ‘The role of central banks in managing economic downturns’ that he delivered at the 40th anniversary/convocation lecture at the Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti. Emefiele said, “Specifically, under the Anchor Borrowers Programme, we have disbursed N948bn to 4,478,381 smallholder farmers who cultivated 5.2million hectares of farmland across the country, thereby creating 12.5 million direct and indirect jobs. “Under our Targeted Credit Facility, which was meant to help households and businesses that suffered significant losses during the pandemic, we have disbursed N368.79bn to 778,000 beneficiaries comprising 648,052 households and about 130,000 SMEs. “We have also disbursed N1.452tn to 337 large real sector projects in agriculture, manufacturing, services, and mining under our Real Sector Support Facility. In healthcare, 122 major healthcare projects have been funded to the tune of N115.36bn.”   WEDNESDAY 30/3/2022 – OF CBN INTERVENTIONS AND ENTHRONEMENT OF STABLE FOREIGN EXCHANGE REGIME The value of the Nigerian currency, the naira, has over the years declined on account of the country’s peculiar economic structure and management template, making the exchange rate one of the most watched macroeconomic indices in the country and a recurrent theme in political commentaries. The naira exchange rate has not only assumed greater prominence in macroeconomic adjustment, it has also become very well-known to stakeholders, including market women and men, who use it as a reference point in the pricing of goods and services. However, this has not always been the case as the value of the naira was not one for social discuss when the naira was trading at a stronger value than the United States dollar. As at 1985, the average value of the naira to the dollar was 89 kobo to $1. People always refer to the 1970s and 1980s when the naira was “stronger” than the US Dollar, or at least, were at par.  As at last weekend, the naira traded at between N580 and N585 to the dollar, making many who were witnesses to the period of a stronger naira crave for such a time again and question what the country is getting wrong in terms of its exchange rate and the value of the local currency.  The Insatiable Demand for Dollars But the real question to ask is: what was the demand and supply of US Dollar at that time, and what is it today? In the 1980s and 1990s, the number of Nigerians studying abroad, requiring foreign exchange for school fees and upkeep was negligible.  According to data from the UNESCO’s Institute of Statistics, the number of Nigerian students abroad increased from less than 15,000 in 1998 to over 71,000 in 2015. By 2018, this number had risen to 96,702 students, according to the World Bank. Compared to the 1980s when those studying abroad were mainly for a degree or an advanced degree.   THURSDAY 31/3/2022 – NIGERIAN STOCK MARKET ADVANCES BY 0.1% The domestic bourse again on Thursday extended its positive trading, as the All-Share Index advanced by 61 points or 0.1 per cent to close at 46.965.48 against 46.904.48 recorded on Wednesday. The market capitalisation also inched higher by N32.87 billion or 0.1 per cent to close at N25. 311 trillion from N25.279 trillion on Wednesday. Consequently, the month-to-date loss moderated to 0.09 per cent, while the year-to-date gain increased by 10 per cent. The market gain was driven by price appreciation in large and medium capitalised stocks amongst which are MTN (Nigeria), First Bank of Nigeria Holdings (FBNH), Okumu Oil and Fidelity Bank. Analysing by sectors, the Consumer Goods and Banking indices declined by 1.6 per cent and 1.3 per cent respectively. Also, the Insurance index recorded 0.5 per cent, making it the gainer of the day. The Industrial Goods and Oil and Gas indices closed flat. As measured by market breadth, market sentiment was negative as 29 stocks lost relative to 14 gainers.   FRIDAY 1/4/2022 – FG BORROWS N1.48TN VIA BONDS IN Q1 2022 The Federal Government borrowed N1.48tn from bond investors through Federal Government bonds between January and March 2022, according to an analysis of the FGN Bond Auction results available on the website of the Debt Management Office. Bond oversubscriptions hit N1.03tn within the period under review, indicating the investors’ increasing appetite for FGN bonds. An analysis of the breakdown for each month showed that Federal Government bonds for January worth N150bn were oversubscribed by N175.24bn. The total subscription received from investors for the bonds was N325.24bn, comprising N111.19bn for the 12.50 per cent FGN January 2026 bonds and N214.05bn for the 13 per cent FGN January 2042 bonds. The auction result added that out of the 112 and 142 total bids for the tenures, 75 and 85 bids were successful. The Federal Government bonds for February worth N150bn were also oversubscribed by N407.72bn. The total subscription received from investors for the bonds was N557.72bn, comprising N325.40bn for the 12.50 per cent FGN January 2026 bonds and N232.32bn for the 13 per cent FGN January 2042 bonds. The auction result added that out of the 230 and 151 total bids for the tenures, 46 and 119 bids were successful.