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4<br />
BUSINESS A.M. FEBRUARY, MONDAY <strong>05</strong> - SUNDAY 11, 20<strong>18</strong><br />
NEWS<br />
Foreign<br />
reserves...<br />
Page 1<br />
government coffers from which it<br />
spends for execution of projects.<br />
So, it is not an accomplishment of<br />
government,” he noted.<br />
“Foreign reserves are used to<br />
buy foreign goods and the question<br />
is what type of goods should<br />
we be paying for? Should we pay<br />
for exotic goods like champagne<br />
and Range Rovers?”<br />
He also stated that the foreign<br />
reserve figures being quoted by<br />
the authorities are overstated,<br />
and that the real reserves are the<br />
gross reserves minus time-bound<br />
commitments like the Eurobond<br />
borrowings, which are obligations<br />
to be paid for at a specific time.<br />
“If we are honest as a nation we<br />
should subtract all the time-bound<br />
obligations and hot money investments<br />
to get the net reserves,” he<br />
stressed, adding that for him the<br />
nation’s net reserves are far below<br />
what is being reported.<br />
“Have you heard the Americans<br />
and the Britons talking<br />
about foreign reserves? They<br />
don’t, because it is not an important<br />
economic item to measure<br />
performance of a country,” he<br />
explained.<br />
He stated that even if the<br />
figures being pushed about are<br />
right, they are not enough to<br />
procure foreign goods for the<br />
teeming population in a sustainable<br />
manner.<br />
“The level of our reserves is not<br />
sustainable with the rate of population<br />
growth,” he stated further,<br />
and asked if we must be import<br />
dependent as a nation, given<br />
that foreign reserves only shows<br />
a country’s ability to support its<br />
imports.<br />
Proffering solutions, he said<br />
Nigeria should look inward to<br />
produce goods for its citizens and<br />
that a strong currency is not one<br />
of the solutions. He said the effect<br />
of not supporting the local currency<br />
would be tolerably painful,<br />
suggesting that all the effort being<br />
made to prop up the naira was<br />
misplaced.<br />
He said all Nigerians need to<br />
make personal sacrifices. Government<br />
should tell what the sacrifices<br />
are upfront and show the people the<br />
value of the sacrifice, then lead by<br />
example, adding that the people will<br />
bear with government because they<br />
know that they will benefit at the end.<br />
“Leadership is telling the<br />
people what the sacrifices are,<br />
the benefits and then leading by<br />
example,” he said.<br />
According to the CBN, the<br />
nation’s external reserves rose to<br />
$40.33 billion as of January 25, the<br />
highest in four years, from $38.765<br />
billion on December 29, 2017. The<br />
figures represent a rise of $1.56 billion<br />
this year.<br />
The steady rise in the external<br />
reserve, from July 7 last year, is<br />
occasioned by improved foreign<br />
exchange inflow resulting from<br />
increase in crude oil price, dollar<br />
inflow from foreign portfolio investors<br />
facilitated by the Investors and<br />
Exporters (I&E) window introduced<br />
in April last year, as well as<br />
reduction in dollar sale through<br />
CBN’s forex intervention.<br />
* Our full interview with<br />
Chike-Obi will be published in<br />
the next edition<br />
104 stock dealers come under Stock<br />
Exchange hammer in five years<br />
Andy Nssien<br />
The Council of The Nigerian<br />
Stock Exchange<br />
NEWS<br />
has in the last five years<br />
wielded the big stick<br />
which caught up with<br />
no fewer than 104 dealing members<br />
involved in market infraction.<br />
Last year, ten dealing members<br />
were blacklisted for unprofessional<br />
misconduct bordering on unauthorised<br />
sales of clients’ shares, share<br />
price and market manipulation,<br />
and unauthorised transfer and sale<br />
of clients shares. This brings to 28,<br />
the number of those disciplined in<br />
this category by the for the same<br />
and similar offences since 2012,<br />
business a.m. findings have shown.<br />
In another category, sixteen other<br />
dealing members, comprising the<br />
firms and their dealing clerks, were<br />
referred to the Economic and Financial<br />
Crimes Commission (EFCC). In a<br />
particular instance, a dealing clerk<br />
was sentenced to seven years imprisonment<br />
and a fine of N20 million<br />
imposed on the firm by a Lagos State<br />
High Court, following a guilty verdict<br />
for unauthorized sale of shares and<br />
stealing, fraudulently converting<br />
31,886,200 units of IPWA Plc shares<br />
worth N331,297,6<strong>18</strong>.<br />
Also, in another category, 21 dealing<br />
members were hammered for unauthorised<br />
sales of investors’ shares<br />
and misappropriation of clients’<br />
funds. The disciplinary actions for<br />
this group included expulsion by the<br />
Council, de-registration by Securities<br />
and Exchange Commission (SEC) and<br />
restitution of clients’ funds.<br />
business a.m.’s findings in another<br />
category indicated that 39 dealing<br />
firms with inadequate shareholders<br />
funds incurred the wrath of the<br />
Exchange. Of this number eight were<br />
active, while the others were inactive,<br />
with three of them de-registered by<br />
SEC. The active firms in this group<br />
included, Atlass Portfolio Limited,<br />
Diamond Securities Limited, Golden<br />
Securities Limited, Financial & Analytics<br />
Capital Limited, Marriot Securities<br />
and Investment Co. Limited, Midas<br />
Stockbrokers Limited, Mission Securities<br />
Limited, and TFS Securities &<br />
Investment Company Limited.<br />
The Nigerian Stock Exchange (<br />
NSE), in its bid to improve investors’<br />
confidence in the market commenced<br />
a strong campaign against market<br />
infraction by its dealing members<br />
by introducing a dealing members<br />
compliance report, BrokerTraX under<br />
which the activities and operations of<br />
quoted companies are mirrored and<br />
sanctions meted out on defaulters.<br />
According to the Exchange sources,<br />
with the BrokerTraX, investors can now<br />
make more informed decisions about<br />
where to invest by viewing names of<br />
dealing member firms that have been<br />
found liable for contravening market<br />
rules. The goal is to reduce this infraction<br />
of rules to its barest minimum in<br />
line with the deliberate and sustained<br />
effort to restore confidence.<br />
Mike Ezeh, managaing director<br />
and chief executive, Crane Securities<br />
Limited, welcomed this initiative<br />
by the Exchange and said the<br />
move was capable of sanitizing the<br />
market and, thereby, creating attractive<br />
environment for both local and<br />
foreign investors to operate. He said<br />
the Brokertrax , a dealing member<br />
compliance report, would prepare<br />
investor’s mind in selecting which of<br />
the stockbroking houses was viable<br />
and engaged in genuine businesses.<br />
He said this would prevent them from<br />
putting their money into a drain pipe<br />
by the wrong choice of fraudulent<br />
dealing members.<br />
However, he was wary of a plethora<br />
of rules and regulations emerging from<br />
the NSEvand the government regulatory<br />
agency, SEC, adding that some of<br />
those requirements, especially those<br />
bordering on supervision were putting<br />
a strain on financial resources of<br />
stockbrokers.<br />
John Egede, a capital market analyst<br />
said the Brokertrax was a step taken in<br />
the right direction, especially at a time<br />
investor confidence needed to be restored<br />
in the market. He said there were<br />
other areas the NSE and the regulator<br />
needed to address, especially in creating<br />
a conducive environment for the small<br />
investors to thrive.<br />
He identified many charges paid by<br />
the investors in the course of transaction<br />
as constituting double taxation,<br />
which is a disincentive to investing in<br />
the market.<br />
He said VAT and stamp duties are<br />
overdue for scrapping, adding that<br />
doing so would reduce the financial<br />
burden of investing in the market.<br />
L-R: Ganiyu Olatunde, professor and vice chancellor, Olabisi Onabanjo University; Ibikunle Amosun, governor of Ogun<br />
State and visitor to the university; Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, His Royal Majesty, the Alake of Egbaland; and Aigboje Aig-<br />
Imoukhuede, at the 27th convocation ceremony of the university held in Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, where Aig-Imoukhuede<br />
was conferred with an honorary Doctor of Science degree<br />
Coronation Capital chairman, Aig-Imoukhuede,<br />
awarded honorary doctorate by OOU<br />
Aigboje Aig-<br />
Imoukhuede, the<br />
NEWS<br />
investment banker<br />
and chairman of<br />
Coronation Capital<br />
Limited, has been awarded an<br />
honorary doctorate degree by the<br />
Olabisi Onabanjo University. He<br />
was conferred with the degree at<br />
Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State recently,<br />
according to a statement issued<br />
by Reputation Plus, a reputation<br />
management company.<br />
The university conferred the<br />
award on him, according to Mbang<br />
Femi-Oyewo, a professor and a<br />
former deputy vice chancellor of<br />
the university, “as a symbol of the<br />
university‘s recognition of Aigboje<br />
Aig-Imoukhuede’s contributions<br />
to nation building and sustainable<br />
development, as well as our association<br />
with his vast achievements<br />
in the different facets of human endeavours,<br />
the University has found<br />
Aig-Imoukhuede<br />
led the 20<strong>02</strong><br />
acquisition of<br />
Access Bank<br />
and oversaw the<br />
transformation of<br />
the bank, leading it<br />
to a top-5 position in<br />
Nigeria, with assets of<br />
$ 12 billion and 350<br />
branches<br />
him worthy of its Doctor of Science<br />
(D.Sc.) Honoris Causa,” she said.<br />
Well regarded in corporate<br />
Nigeria, especially in the financial<br />
services sector, as an astute<br />
banker with great eye for detail<br />
and diligence, Coronation Capital,<br />
which he founded in 2014 after<br />
he retired from Access Bank plc as<br />
group managing director and chief<br />
executive, is an Africa-focused<br />
private equity and proprietary<br />
investment firm.<br />
He was trained as a lawyer<br />
before his foray into banking and<br />
is regarded as one of those who<br />
changed the face of banking in<br />
Nigeria.<br />
Aig-Imoukhuede led the 20<strong>02</strong><br />
acquisition of Access Bank as<br />
group managing director and chief<br />
executive officer, and oversaw the<br />
transformation of the bank, leading<br />
it to a top-5 position in Nigeria,<br />
with assets of $ 12 billion and 350<br />
branches, employing 20,000 staff<br />
in nine countries.<br />
His financial industry acumen,<br />
even while serving as chief executive<br />
of Access Bank, saw him chair<br />
the Presidential and National<br />
banking industry committees. He<br />
founded the FMDQ OTC Exchange,<br />
which today specializes in fixed<br />
income securities and derivatives.<br />
Aig-Imoukhuede’s passion and<br />
commitment to the development<br />
of financial markets has seen him<br />
take prominent roles within Nigeria’s<br />
financial and capital markets.<br />
Notable amongst these was his<br />
election as President of the National<br />
Council of the Nigerian Stock Exchange<br />
in 2012; Co-Chairmanship<br />
of the UK-Nigeria Capital Market<br />
Task Force, and Chairmanship of<br />
Board of Trustees of the Financial<br />
Market Dealers Association, and<br />
Wapic Insurance.<br />
A director of TCX Investment<br />
Management Company Netherland,<br />
Aig-Imoukhuede is an entrepreneurial<br />
philanthropist, whose social<br />
engagements include; Chairman of<br />
Friends Africa, a partner organization<br />
of the Global Fund, Co-Chairman<br />
of the Board of GBC Health,<br />
and founding member of the Private<br />
Sector Health Alliance of Nigeria.