Access Holdings Plc to Acquire Majority Equity Stake in First Guarantee Pension Limited

Access Holdings Plc- trading as Access Corporation (‘the Corporation’) today announces that it has entered into a definitive agreement with First Guarantee Pension Limited (‘the Company’) regarding the potential acquisition of majority equity stake in the Company (‘the Transaction’).

First Pension Custodian Limited to Acquire Access Pension Fund Custodian Limited

First Bank of Nigeria Limited (“FirstBank”), has entered into a definitive agreement with Access Bank Plc for the planned acquisition by First Pension of 100% Share Capital of Access Pension Fund Custodian Limited held by Access Bank Plc.

The Central Bank of Nigeria and the PENCOM have given their “no objection” to the Transaction, with completion subject to the receipt of all required regulatory approvals. 

FBNH will update the market as appropriate and in accordance with its disclosure obligations.

Nigeria’s fiscal, FX woes set to linger beyond 2022

Despite worsening fiscal and foreign exchange (FX) woes, Nigeria is no closer to restoring its oil production capacity lost to abandoned pipelines, lack of investment and unbridled crude theft, according to senior executives in the industry.

TotalEnergies appoints bank to lead sale of stake in Nigerian oil joint venture

TotalEnergies has finally launched the sale of its 10% stake in Nigerian joint venture SPDC, with Canada’s Scotiabank leading the sale as financial adviser, a sale document tendering for interest showed, reports Reuters.

Airlines raise base fare above N50,000 as fuel crisis persists

Domestic airlines in Nigeria are gradually raising their minimum fares from N50,000 to N55,000 and above as the aviation fuel crisis in the country lingers. In February, airlines increased the base fare for economy flight tickets for domestic routes from about N35,000  N50,000, citing high costs of operations – a development that sparked agitations from passengers and government agencies.

As fuel prices continue to increase, airlines have been forced to increase the minimum cost of tickets, with most airlines selling tickets for flights from Lagos to Abuja, Port Harcourt, Owerri and Asaba for N55,000 and above.

Africa requires $35 billion annual investment to meet electricity need – Sylva

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva has said that an annual investment of around $35 billion could bring electricity access to 759 million Africans who currently lack it. The Minister, in a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday added that another $25 billion annual investment could help 2.6 b people globally access clean cooking by 2030

Investors Gain N298.75bn as NGXASI Inches up by +1.05%; Debt Market Size Grows by 0.07% to N27.29trn; IEFX Rate Depreciates to N420.33

Equities

Nigerian Equities Market halts downtrend to close positive at the end of today’s trading session.

The NGX All-Share index inched up by +1.05% to close at 53,275.49 basis points as against the -0.07% loss recorded at the end of the previous trading session. In Naira terms, the NGX Market CAP records N298.75bn gain

YTD, the NGXASI Stands at +24.72%

The total volume traded declined by -55.14% to close at 274.56mln, valued at N8.45bn and traded in 5,184 deals. TRANSCORP was the most traded stock by volume with 48.38 million units traded, while MTNN was the most traded stock by value which is put at N5.49 billion.

Sectoral performance was broadly positive as eight (8) NGX sector indices closed northward, seven (7) closed southward while three (3) closed flat. The NGX Premium Index topped with +2.32% gain as against NGX Insurance Index which dipped by -1.33%

Gote index closed flat at 156.08 basis points while Toni index closed green with +0.46% gain recorded to close at 117.91 basis points.

At the close of trading, market recorded 20 gainers to 28 losers and 60 unchanged. TRANSCOHOT topped the list of gainers as CONOIL topped the list of losers.

Volume and Value Contribution

TRANSCORP led the volume chart with 17.62% contribution and closely followed by MTNN and CONOIL. 

MTNN led the value chart with 65.05% contribution and closely followed by SEPLAT and CONOIL. 

NGX Earnings Summary

No Financial statement was released on the NGX today.

NGX Corporate News

Airtel Africa Plc has announced that its subsidiary SmartCash Payment Service Bank Limited (‘SmartCash PSB’), has commenced operations in Nigeria. Services will initially be available at selected retail touchpoints, and operations will be expanded gradually across the country over the next few months. 

NASD OTC Exchange

The NASD market index inched up by +0.21% to close at 808.79 basis points as against the -0.02% loss recorded previously. 

The total volume traded advanced by +17,545.68% to close at 20.03m units valued at N24.43mln and traded in 5 deals. 

At the close of trading, NASD OTC market recorded 2 gainer (s) to 0 loser(s)

Volume and Value Contribution

SDFOODCPT led the volume chart with 99.86% contribution 

SDFOODCPT led the value chart with 76.14% contribution 

NASD Earnings Summary

No Financial statement was released on the NASD OTC Exchange today.

NASD Corporate News

No Corporate News was released on the NASD OTC Exchange today.

Global Indices

On the global scene, the Isreal Index leads the top five gainers with 1.55% gain while the Hong Kong Index tops the top five losers with -2.54% loss as of 4pm Nigerian Time

African Indices

Similarly on the African scene, the Nigerian ASI tops the top five gainers with 1.05% gain while the Mauritius SEMTRI Index tops the top five losers with -7.06% loss as of 4pm Nigerian Time

Bonds and Fixed Income Markets

Debt Market Size

The FMDQ Debt Market Size advanced by 0.07% to close at N27.29trn from N27.27trn.

Overnight and Open Repo (OPR)

The overnight lending rate advanced by 0.12% to 12.50% while the Open Repo (OPR) rate also moved up by 0.50% to close at 12.50%

Commodities Market

AFEX Index

Trading data on the AFEX Commodities Exchange indices were not available as of the time of finalising this report. 

The ACI moved down by -0.16% to close at 472.56 basis points as against previous figure of 473.32 while the AEI closed flat at 204.07 basis points

AFEX Commodity Prices

Sorghum and Paddy Rice both dropped by -9.98% and -3.05% to close at N222.51 and N233.46 respectively

Global Commodity Prices

Gold recorded 1.71% gain while Silver also advanced by 2.62% as of 11:21 NY time

The two energy commodities, Brent and WTI both advanced by 0.82% and 2.58% respectively as of 10:23AM Central Daylight Time (CDT)

Currency/ FX Market

The naira depreciated at the I&E FX Window by 0.26% to close atN420.33/USD while the NAFEX rate also depreciated by 0.10% to close at N417.28.