CAPITALDIGEST DAILY NEWS 9 AUGUST 2021

MONDAY 2/8/2021 – PETROL CONSUMPTION JUMPS BY 340 MILLION LITRES IN ONE MONTH Petrol consumption in Nigeria leaped by 340 million litres within a space of one month, figures released by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation showed on Sunday. Providing data contained in its March 2021 financial and operations report, the oil firm said 1.75 billion litres of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, was consumed in March 2021. Findings by our correspondent from the corporation’s earlier report showed that the consumption in February 2021 was 1.41 billion litres. This implies that within the space of February and March this year, petrol consumption across the country jumped by 340 million litres. NNPC said its March 2021 report indicated that the total revenue generated from the sale of white products for the period of March 2020 to March 2021 stood at N2.13tn, where petrol contributed about 99.24 per cent of the total sales with a value of N2.11tn. It noted that its downstream subsidiary, the Petroleum Products Marketing Company, recorded N234.63bn revenue from the sale of white products in the month of March 2021 alone. In the gas sector, it said a total of 222.74 billion cubic feet of natural gas was produced in the month of March 2021, translating to an average daily production of 7,183.33 million standard cubic feet per day.   TUESDAY 3/8/2021 – FOREX SUPPLY: CBN ASSURES CUSTOMERS OF BANKS’ COMPLIANCE The Central Bank of Nigeria has assured members of the public that it has implemented monitoring mechanisms to ensure that deposit money banks fulfill the legitimate foreign exchange demands of customers. This follows the apex bank’s directive to commercial banks to commence the sale of forex to customers for invisibles such as basic travel allowance, personal travel allowance and medical and tuition fees. The assurance was given by the apex bank’s acting Director in charge of Corporate Communications, Osita Nwanisobi, on Monday in a statement issued by the bank. Speaking with business correspondents in Abuja on Monday, Nwanisobi disclosed that the CBN had put in place monitoring mechanism to guarantee the seamless sale of forex to customers who supported their requests with relevant documentation. He added that the CBN had received the commitment of the banks, through their chief executive officers, that customers with legitimate requests would not be turned back. He dismissed rumours making the rounds that the CBN planned to convert the forex in the domiciliary accounts of customers into naira to check purported shortage of availability of dollars. The statement said, “Nwanisobi, while disclosing that the CBN never planned to tamper with the foreign exchange deposits in the accounts of customers, insisted that those making such allegations were criminal speculators whose intention was to create panic in the foreign exchange market.   WEDNESDAY 4/8/2021 – STOCK MARKET HITS ONE-WEEK HIGH, INVESTORS GAIN N163BN The market capitalisation of equities listed on the Nigerian Exchange Limited rose to N20.28tn on Tuesday, its highest level in one week. The NGX All-Share Index increased by 0.81 per cent to close 313.27 basis points higher at 38,917.99bps, compared to Monday. The market added N163.22bn in value at the end of trading on the floor of the NGX. Market breadth remained negative as 12 equities increased in price as against 26 companies that saw their share prices fall. Wema Bank Plc led the positive chart with a 5.95 per cent rise in its share price to N0.89 on Tuesday. UPDC Plc followed closely with its 5.93 per cent gain, closing the day at N1.25 per share. The other top gainers were Airtel Africa Plc with an increase of 5.69 per cent; Courtville Business Solutions Plc, rising by 4.17 per cent; and Cutix Plc, gaining 3.95 per cent at the close of trading. On the losers’ table, an agro-industrial firm, FTN Cocoa Processors, dropped the most, with 8.16 per cent of its price erased at the end of trading to close at N0.45 per share. Honeywell Flour Mills Plc came next with a 7.78 per cent decline in share price to N1.54. Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc (-5.13 per cent), Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc (-5.10 per cent), and Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals Plc (-5.06 per cent) were the third, fourth and fifth-highest losers on Tuesday respectively.   THURSDAY 5/8/2021 – FOREX: CBN TO MONITOR BANKS’ COMPLIANCE The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has assured the public that it would monitor Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) to ensure strict compliance with its directive to sell foreign exchange to customers, for invisibles such as Business Travel Allowance, Personal Travel Allowance, medical and tuition. According to the apex bank, the monitoring exercise was to ensure that no one with legitimate request was denied forex. CBN’s Acting Director in charge of Corporate Communications, Osita Nwanisobi, disclosed that the CBN had put in place monitoring mechanism to guarantee the seamless sale of foreign exchange to customers who supported their requests with relevant documentation. He said the CBN had also extracted the commitment of the banks, through their Chief Executive Officers, that customers with legitimate requests would not be turned back. Meanwhile, Nwanisobi dismissed insinuations in some quarters that the CBN planned to convert the foreign exchange in the domiciliary accounts of customers into Naira in order to check purported shortage of availability of the United States dollars. Nwanisobi, while disclosing that the CBN never planned to tamper with the foreign exchange deposits in the accounts of customers, insisted that those making such allegations were criminal speculators whose intention was to create panic in the foreign exchange market. According to him, at no time did the CBN ever suggest or imply that it would tinker with the foreign exchange deposits of customers. He therefore urged operators of domiciliary accounts and other members of the banking public to go about their legitimate foreign exchange transactions and disregard fictitious stories aimed at pitching them against the Bank and triggering chaos in the system.   FRIDAY 6/8/2021 – STOCK MARKET ENDS FIVE-DAY RALLY, INVESTORS LOSE N66BN Investors in the equities market of the Nigerian Exchange Limited lost N65.18bn on Thursday, ending a rally that spanned five consecutive days. The NGX All-Share Index closed at 38,801.51 basis points, down by 0.32 per cent from the previous day’s record of 38,927.83bps. The market capitalisation of the stocks reduced to N20.22tn at the end of trading on the floor of the NGX from N20.28tn on Wednesday. Market activity dropped as the trading volume crashed by 32.32 per cent to 139.78 million shares with a total value of N1.41bn traded in 3,655 deals, compared to 206.29 million shares worth 1.07bn exchanged in 3,435 deals on Wednesday. Eighteen firms, led by Conoil Plc, recorded gains in their share prices at the close of trading, while 16 companies filled the losers’ table. Conoil Plc rose by 10.00 per cent on Thursday to N20.35 per share, while Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Plc’s share price increased by 8.93 per cent, ending at N0.61 per share. Sovereign Allied Insurance Plc (7.69 per cent), Regency Alliance Insurance Plc (7.14 per cent) and Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc (5.56 per cent) were the other top gainers by the end of trading. Atop the losers’ table was Ardova Plc, which dropped by 6.25 per cent to N15.00 per share. It was followed by Veritas Kapital Assurance Plc with a 4.00 per cent loss, closing at N0.24 per share. AIICO Insurance Plc depreciated by 2.60 per cent, while Japaul Gold & Ventures Plc and Coronation Insurance Plc’s share prices lost 1.92 per cent each