CAPITALDIGEST DAILY NEWS, 29/07/2024

NIGERIA’S DAILY OIL PRODUCTION HITS 1.61MBPD – NUPRC

The Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Gbenga Komolafe, has disclosed that the country’s average daily production stood at 1.61 million barrels per day as of July 23. Komolafe revealed that at the House of Representatives Special Committee’s two-day public/investigative hearing on oil theft/losses. “As of July 23, 2024, Nigeria’s average daily production stands at 1.61mbpd,” he disclosed. This is coming barely two weeks after the commission announced that the average daily oil production for June was 1.25mbpd. According to Komolafe, Nigeria had continued to dominate as Africa’s largest producer of crude oil, boasting proven reserves of 37.50 billion barrels and a production capacity of approximately 2.19mbpd. On the statutory mandates and regulatory strategies of the NUPRC, he said the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 grants the commission several statutory mandates in the areas of calibration and certification of metering systems and equipment, publication of reports and statistics on upstream operations, regulatory oversight and issuance of quality and quantity certificates for exports, and determination of fiscal prices for crude oil and condensate. Komolafe added that the strategies of the commission aimed to optimise production, enhance regulatory oversight, and ensure accurate measurement and accounting.

CBN SELLS $148M TO 29 AUTHORISED DEALERS AMID NAIRA FALL

The Central Bank of Nigeria has disbursed $148m to 29 authorised dealers as part of steps to stabilise the foreign exchange market amid the recent free fall of the naira. A statement posted on the apex bank website on Friday said the sales were made to the dealers on Monday, July 22 and Tuesday, July 23, 2024, between an exchange rate of 1,470.00/$1 and 1,510.00/$1. According to the CBN, the authorised dealers include banks and BDC operators. This development comes two weeks after the CBN sold $122.67m to 46 authorised a move aimed at increasing liquidity in the country’s market stability and reducing volatility.A week ago, it also announced that $20,000 was to be sold to each BDC at the rate of 1,450/$1. Despite this move, the naira has depreciated against the United Dollars, trading above N1,600 on Thursday at the official market. The statement read, “The Central Bank of Nigeria sold a cumulative sum of US S148,000,000.00 in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market to Authorised Dealers on July 22 and 23, 2024. “The sale of foreign exchange was to 29 Authorized Dealer banks at an exchange rate of 1470.00/US$1-1510.00/US$1.”It added that the apex bank also purchased $2m from one authorised dealer bank at the rate of 1,505.00/$. “In addition, the CBN bought US$2,000,000.00 (Two Million United States Dollars) from one authorised dealer bank at the rate of 1,505.00/US$.

FG RAISED OVER N4TN VIA BONDS IN SIX MONTHS

The Federal Government has raised about N4.13tn from bonds in the first half of 2024. This was revealed in the FMDQ Exchange Financial Markets Monthly Report for June 2024. The value of new issuance of FBN bonds for June, which was N297.01bn, was the lowest in six months and the highest was N1.49tn in February. In January, the value of FGN bonds issued was N418.20bn, N608.86bn in March, N628.81bn in April and rose to N682.07bn in May. At the end of June 2024, the value of outstanding FGN bonds, which includes savings and green bonds, stood at N26.22tn, which is about 44.49 per cent higher than at the end of the same period in June 2023 (N18.15tn). For the February bond issuance, the Debt Management Office said the relatively large amount offered was based on the FGN’s financing need, the opportunity to attract foreign investors, as well as, the premise that some local investors may be able to access pools of funds. The Federal Government offered a N1.25tn seven-year FGN bond maturing in 2031 and another N1.25tnn 10-year FGN bond maturing in 2034 in February. It received total bids of N1.9tn, making it the highest it has received in any one FGN Securities Auction and allotted N873.53bn for the seven-year bond and N621.38bn 10-year bond, making a total allotment of N1.49tn.

 CBN CLASSIFIES INACTIVE 10-YEAR ACCOUNTS AS DORMANT

The Central Bank of Nigeria has clarified that only accounts that have been inactive for over 10 years are eligible to be classified as dormant and will be used for investment purposes. It also stated that a dedicated office would be created to manage dormant accounts and unclaimed balances. The apex bank disclosed this in its recently issued document titled, “FAQs – Guidelines on Dormant Account and Unclaimed Balances – July 25, 2024,” posted on its website. The Guidelines on the Management of Dormant Accounts, Unclaimed Balances and Other Financial Assets in Banks and Other Financial Institutions in Nigeria is a policy issued by the CBN that seeks to operationalise Section 72 of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, 2020 and standardise the management of dormant accounts and unclaimed balances. The CBN had earlier disclosed that it might invest funds from dormant accounts, unclaimed balances in Nigerian Treasury Bills, and other government securities. According to the apex bank, it will manage these funds in trust, refunding the principal and any accrued interest to beneficiaries within 10 working days of receiving a reclaim request from the financial institution. It stated, “Dormant accounts are accounts that have been inactive for more than 10 years.  Eligible accounts are dormant account balances that have remained with the FIs for 10 years or more.

EQUITY MARKET SHEDS OVER N1TN IN ONE WEEK

Investors in the Nigerian equity market lost N1.34tn last week as banking and pension stocks plummeted.The banking index dipped by 2.94 per cent week-on-week, and the pension index was down 2.18 per cent last week. The All-Share Index and market capitalisation declined by 2.33 per cent to close the week at 98,201.49 and N55.605tn, respectively. Last week, investors traded 3.56 billion shares worth N47.22bn in 42,871 deals, compared to 2.827 billion shares valued at N42.37bn in 44,277 deals in the previous week. The financial services industry led the activity chart, with 2.011 billion shares valued at N25.78bn traded in 24,350 deals, contributing 56.52 per cent and 54.60 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value, respectively. The services industry came in second with 1.02 billion shares worth N3.22bn in 1,846 deals, and the agriculture industry came in third with a turnover of 168.03 million shares worth N647.859m in 1,473 deals. The top three traded stocks in volume terms were Tourist Company of Nigeria, First City Monument Bank Group, and Abbey Mortgage Bank, accounting for 1.876 billion shares valued at N8.511bn in 935 trades, or 52.73 per cent and 18.02 per cent of the total equity turnover volume and value, respectively. Additionally, 20 stocks appreciated last week at a lesser rate than 37 stocks, which gained the week before.