CAPITALDIGEST DAILY NEWS. 20 JUNE 2022

MONDAY 13/6/2022 – NIGERIA REPAYS FIVE OIL FIRMS’ $3.7BN DEBT, OWES $972M Nigeria’s cash call arrears repayment showed that the country had so far repaid a total of $3.72bn to five international oil companies, leaving an outstanding balance of $971.8m. Data obtained from the country’s oil firm in Abuja on Friday indicated that the five IOCs include Shell Petroleum Development Company, Mobil Producing Nigeria, Chevron Nigeria Limited, Total Exploration and Production Nigeria, and Nigeria Agip Oil Company. It was also learnt that Nigeria’s total cash call arrears to the firms was initially $4.689bn before it was cut down to the current amount of $971.8m after various repayments by the Federal Government through its oil firm – Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited. Cash calls are sent by joint venture operators to non-operating partners for payment in the light of anticipated future capital, operating expenditures or the need for additional capital contributions. The Federal Government through NNPC had over the years piled up unpaid bills, referred to as cash calls, which it was obliged to pay the IOCs with which it had joint ventures for oil exploration and production. Figures from NNPC showed that the national oil company had cleared its total negotiated debts with both MPN and CNL, which were put at $833.75m and $1.097bn respectively. The oil firm’s total negotiated debts with SPDC, TEPNG and NOAC were outlined as $1.37bn, $610.97m and $774.66m respectively, out of which the total payments to date by NNPC to the three IOCs were $777.4m, $458.91m and $550.01m respectively. TUESDAY 14/6/2022 – STOCK MARKET INVESTORS GAIN N158BN Investors’ shares in the Nigerian stock market rose by N158bn last week as 29 firms recorded price appreciation. The All-Share Index of the Nigerian Exchange Limited and market capitalisation increased by 0.55 per cent to close the week at 53,201.38 and N28.681tn respectively. All other indices finished lower with the exception of the NGX 30, NGX CG, NGX Premium, NGX MERI Value, NGX Oil/Gas, NGX Lotus II and NGX Industrial Goods index which appreciated at 0.84 per cent, 0.01 per cent, 1.42 per cent, 0.32 per cent, 0.68 per cent, 1.62 per cent and 0.25 per cent while the NGX Asem index closed flat. A total turnover of 1.831 billion shares worth N19.494bn in 21,723 deals were traded last week by investors on the floor of the Exchange, in contrast to a total of 28.736 billion shares valued at N209.06bn that exchanged hands in the previous week in 23,688 deals. The financial services industry (measured by volume) led the activity chart with 1.173 billion shares valued at N12.485bn traded in 10,657 deals; thus contributing 64.07 per cent and 64.04 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively. The conglomerate’s industry followed with 419.100 million shares worth N607.703m in 1,095 deals. The third place was the Consumer Goods Industry, with a turnover of 69.680 million shares worth N2.754bn in 3,158 deals. WEDNESDAY 15/6/2022 – DOLLAR RISES BY 21%, FX SHORTAGE PERSISTS AFTER PARTY PRIMARIES Dollar exchanged at N603 (average) at Lagos and Abuja parallel markets on Tuesday, indicating a worsening liquidity crisis in the foreign exchange market of Africa’s biggest oil producer. Between June 2021, and June 2022, dollar-to-naira exchange rate has risen from N500 to N603 at the parallel market, signifying the greenback appreciated by 21 per cent within the period. The margin between the official and the parallel market rates on Tuesday was N187.28, a situation believed to be fuelling arbitrage and worsening an already bad FX supply situation. At the Importers and Exporters (I&E) widow, a dollar exchanged at N415.72, gaining N5.53 in three days. But year on year, the naira weakened by nearly one per cent in relation to the dollar, rising from N411 to N415.72. One of the Bureau De Change operators at Zone 4, Abuja, which is the hub of the forex sales at the Federal Capital Territory, Mohammed Isah, gave the price of dollar as N604/$, lamenting that the rate had failed to fall after the primary elections conducted by the People’s Democratic Party and the All Progressives Congress due to party delegates’ refusal to sell. “We expected to see more dollars in the market after the primaries, but nobody is selling. That is why the rate is still the same for more than a week,” he said in pidgin English.