22042019 - ACUTE HUNGER: Outrage as IDP children feed on onion leaves

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24 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2019 FINANCIAL VANGUARD Equities to rally on Q1 earning reports — Analysts By Nkiruka Nnorom AFTER recording an impressive outing l<strong>as</strong>t week following the rele<strong>as</strong>e of some first quarter 2019 (Q1'19) earning reports by early filers, analysts have said that the market will sustain the upward trajectory on the back of more Q1 financial statements. In the p<strong>as</strong>t week, three tier-1 banks (Access Bank Plc, GTBank Plc and Zenith Bank Plc) published their results, which analysts said incre<strong>as</strong>ed bargain hunting activity by investors. Consequently, the benchmark All Share Index, ASI, closed higher at 30,086.31 points, having gained 1.78 percent during the week, moderating the Month-to-Date (MtD) and Year-to-Dtae (YtD) losses to 3.07 percent and 4.27 percent, respectively. Also, the market capitalisation rose by 1.78 percent to N11.301 trillion. In their review for the week, analysts at Cordros Capital said: “As with the U.S market, earnings se<strong>as</strong>on kicked off on a strong footing in Nigeria, with most Tier-1 banks reporting strong numbers across lines. The impact of the foregoing drove renewed sentiment for naira risk <strong>as</strong>sets.” They reiterated that a blend of a compelling valuation story, together with positive macroeconomic picture leaves scope for a market recovery in the medium term, but guided investors to tread cautiously in the short term. Corroborating them, analysts at Cowry Asset Management, said: “We expect the Nigerian equities market to close in By Nkiruka Nnorom THE Central Securities Clearing System, CSCS, Plc h<strong>as</strong> been upgraded by Thom<strong>as</strong> Murray, the global post-trade risk and custody specialists, from A to A+, which denotes a ‘Low’ overall risk. According to Thom<strong>as</strong> Murray, the Overall Assessment of ‘A+’ reflects a weighted average of seven risk components. The <strong>as</strong>sessment for Asset Servicing Risk h<strong>as</strong> been omitted from the Overall Risk <strong>as</strong>sessment since CSCS takes no active part in the entitlement calculation or processing of corporate actions in the market. “The outlook for the CSCS risk <strong>as</strong>sessment is ‘positive’ owing to the fact that there are numerous pending developments scheduled for implementation within the short to medium term. Official time schedules have not been announced in all c<strong>as</strong>es, but it is anticipated that, upon implementation, these developments have the potential to improve the risk <strong>as</strong>sessment of CSCS,” the firm said. According to the report, one positive territory <strong>as</strong> more companies rele<strong>as</strong>e their Q1 2019 financial results, which are expected to be fairly of such developments include the organisation becoming a direct member of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Real Time Gross Settlement System, RTGS system, ensuring that delivery versus payment, DvP, settlement would be realised for both on-exchange and OTC transactions by linking the securities leg and c<strong>as</strong>h leg of settlement. CBN approval would be required prior to establishing a link meaning that the timeframe for this would be largely dependent on the CBN. Commenting on the upgrade, Lagos commodities exchange will expand investment opportunities — Stockbrokers By Peter Egwuatu STOCKBROKERS have commended the Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria, ASHON, for establishing the Lagos Commodities and Futures Exchange, LCFE, a specialized exchange, describing it <strong>as</strong> an initiative that would expand investment opportunities for all stakeholders in the financial market. They, however, urged the board and management of the LCFE to put capacity building on the priority list to ensure professional dealings by the commodity traders and other intermediaries in the capital market ecosystem. Commenting at the stockbrokers’ on - the-spot <strong>as</strong>sessment of the facilities of the LCFE at the Exchange’s corporate office in Lagos, a financial engineer and chief executive officer of Wyoming Capital and Partners, Mr. Tajudeen Olayinka, described LCFE <strong>as</strong> a step in the right CSCS gets A+ rating on post trade risk from Thom<strong>as</strong> Murray THE Debt Management Office, DMO, h<strong>as</strong> disclosed that the federal government will, on April 24, 2019, issue the first 30-year bond. DMO said in a circular on its website that the N20 billion 30-year paper would mature in April 2049. Other bonds on offer are a 10-year new issue of N40 billion to mature in April 2029 and a five-year re-opening of positive. Hence, we feel investors would take advantage of the low share prices to raise the local bourse upwards.” Mr. Haruna Jalo-Waziri, Managing Director/CEO, CSCS, said: “The upgrade from A to A+ is a significant milestone towards being a globally respected and leading central securities depository in Africa. The key upgraded are<strong>as</strong> further indicate that we have made notable improvements in managing our market’s overall risks <strong>as</strong> we incre<strong>as</strong>ingly continue to align ourselves with global best practices. I am extremely proud of the collective efforts made over the years by our committed staff to enable us to make such progress.” N40 billion to mature in April 2023, which w<strong>as</strong> offered at 12.75 percent. The circular, however, did not indicate the interest rates for the new issues. Ms Patience Oniha, the Director-General, DMO, had, at a news conference on April 4, 2019, revealed plans by the federal government to issue the 30-year paper. She said that the bonds were considered, given the direction in view of the global developments in the commodities exchanges. Corroborating him, chief executive officer, Highcap Securities Limited, Mr David Adonri, also congratulated ASHON for establishing LCFE and urged the management to put in place necessary facilities for trading in derivatives in order to boost investment opportunities <strong>as</strong>sociated with commodities products. In his welcome address, Chief Patrick Ezeagu, Chairman, LCFE, explained that <strong>as</strong> a trade group, ASHON’s decision to float the commodities exchange is to key into the federal government’s drive towards the development of agriculture and solid minerals sectors, create wealth for the stakeholders, put Nigeria on the global revenue map and enhance flow of currency exchange into Nigeria. “The stockbrokers are the major players in this exchange. Without them, trading will be very difficult, if not impossible. We have secured regulatory approval to commence trading on four <strong>as</strong>set cl<strong>as</strong>ses: agricultural commodities, currencies, solid minerals and oil and g<strong>as</strong>. The final licence is expected to be granted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, any moment from now. We are also working to finalize on our technology partnerships with our vendors”, Ezeagu said. Chief Executive Officer, LCFE, Mr. Akin Akeredolu- Ale, who made an elaborate presentation on the operations of the exchange, explained that availability of dealing members would enhance operations on the exchange. Akin said that LCFE would not re-invent the wheels but leverage the staff’s skills and competencies to position the new exchange <strong>as</strong> a point of reference. Responding to some comments, Akeredolu-Ale stated that capacity building for the LCFE’s staff, stockbrokers and the accredited capital market correspondents would be accorded priority to ensure professionalism. DMO set to issue its first 30-year bond relatively low interest rates compared to 2017 levels of more than 18 percent. “The issuance of the bond will meet the needs of annuity funds and other long term investors, while also developing the domestic capital market and reducing the re-financing risk of the federal government. Another area of focus will be the management of risks <strong>as</strong>sociated with the debt stock to mitigate debt service costs,” she said.
FINANCIAL VANGUARD MTN still in the process of becoming public liability company – SEC Ms Mary Uduk is the Acting Managing Director of the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC. In this interview, she highlighted some of the decisions taken at the l<strong>as</strong>t Capital Market Committee, CMC, and the initiatives the Commission, in collaboration with the CMC, is putting in place to move the market forward. Excerpts: COULD you let us know what the quantum of unclaimed dividends in the market is <strong>as</strong> at today Unclaimed dividend in the market is being tackled in minimum of two solid approaches. One of them is e- dividend. For every account that is mandated, all accrued dividends is automatically paid. Then there is the use of regularization of multiple accounts. We discovered that while dividend is growing so is unclaimed dividends. Those people that have multiple accounts can only lay claim to dividends in one account, all the others will keep warehousing dividends <strong>as</strong> long <strong>as</strong> they are not regularized. We want to see how far the registrars can go in regularizing the multiple accounts so that we can have a specific figure for the unclaimed dividends. We have a provision in CAMA that if unclaimed dividends stay for a specified time, those dividends should be returned to the paying company and that is what the Commission is doing. Unclaimed dividends Now any unclaimed dividends which is 15 months and above is returned to the paying company. That way, the shareholders also benefit <strong>as</strong> those money could be invested by the company and result is more interest for the shareholders. Considering the rate at which the gambling industry is gaining ground in Nigeria, is the SEC looking at introducing a product that will allow youths interested in gambling to invest in the capital market <strong>as</strong> is done in some advanced countries? We presently do not have any laws on gambling, but we have mutual funds and it covers every <strong>as</strong>set in the capital market whether it is money market, insurance, capital market, real estate and infr<strong>as</strong>tructure among others. The youths can invest in these. Rather than leave your money in savings account, you can invest in mutual funds. It runs like savings account and after three months, you can withdraw your money same way you do with the banks. We don’t have to gamble. You need to let them know that there are so many products in the capital market that they can invest in rather than gambling and losing their money. We have various products that are very attractive where they can invest their money. We have commenced investor education and enlightenment for Nigerians to understand the benefit of these Funds which gives more interest A company cannot list its shares in the market unless it is a public company and <strong>as</strong> we speak, MTN h<strong>as</strong> not yet completed the process than leave your money in bank account. What is the update on MTN’s listing? Is the company still coming to the market this year? We all know that a company cannot list its shares in the market unless it is a public company and <strong>as</strong> we speak, MTN h<strong>as</strong> not yet completed the process. There is a process of coming to the market. First, you have to be a public company, and you need to have your shares registered with the Commission. However, I do know that MTN had issues with the Nigerian government and they have been trying to sort it out. I think they have sorted out one <strong>as</strong>pect of that. I don’t think the other part h<strong>as</strong> been sorted out and because they have committed to coming to the market, they have decided to come through Listing by Introduction. I know that the company is working hard towards that; they have visited the Commission to explain that. They have also <strong>as</strong>sured us that after the Listing by •Mary Uduk, Acting DG, SEC Introduction, once they are able to sort out the other issues with the government, the can now come fully to the market. Right now, there is no formal application from them, but people need to understand that there are many processes for coming to the market. It can be either through Listing by Introduction or Initial Public Offering. When they file their application, we will be able to give you the right information. H<strong>as</strong> there been training for those that will drive the process and trading in Derivatives? Derivatives is a very good product to be in the market. As we speak, the rule on Derivatives will be ready soon and we have been building capacity in-house in partnership with South Korea. We have a knowledge sharing programme with them, they have been to the country twice now and our staff are scheduled to travel to their country for more training. Even their Amb<strong>as</strong>sador h<strong>as</strong> been to the Commission and all of that is part of building capacity and training the staff. Even in the market, the FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange h<strong>as</strong> hosted the Nigerian Economics Students Association of Covenant University at its business complex, Exchange Place <strong>as</strong> part of activities to commemorate this year’s Global Money Week. The capacity building programme w<strong>as</strong> hosted by FMDQ Next Generation Financial Market Empowerment Programme (FMDQ-Next). FMDQ-Next is FMDQ’s flagship corporate responsibility programme, a learning and development initiative aimed at promoting financial market awareness and literacy among students Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2019—25 Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) is doing a lot in the area <strong>as</strong> well <strong>as</strong> the FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange. FMDQ h<strong>as</strong> taken some people to India for capacity building. All stakeholders including, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have been joining hands together to ensure that we get it right. What is the position of SEC in regulating cryptocurrency? In the l<strong>as</strong>t CMC, we talked about it and inaugurated a committee in respect of FinTech. The committee w<strong>as</strong> charged with coming up with a FinTech Road Map on the capital market community and we also have a dedicated division in the Commission on that. The Committee is working <strong>as</strong>siduously to decide what regulations we can make in this area. The commission h<strong>as</strong> the mandate to protect investors. We know that crypto <strong>as</strong>sets are volatile unlike ordinary <strong>as</strong>sets. Since January 2017, we have been <strong>as</strong>king investors to be vigilant when it comes to investing in crypto-currency. We don’t want to get in the way of innovation. Regulators across the globe are paying attention to what is happening in this sphere. On the one hand, they want to protect investors and on the other hand, they want to support innovation. On all fronts, the SEC is looking at development in the FinTech space. There is also on-going collaboration led by the CBN. There is an inter-agency committee on virtual currencies which the SEC is working on with other market operators. In no distant time, the SEC will come up with regulations on crypto currencies. We are embarking on investor education so that investors understand what it’s all about. The market h<strong>as</strong> been down for quite some time. Does it mean investors do not have confidence in the market? Market depends on several factors, some are global and others are domestic. Some are industrial, while others are also in terms of the company’s performance. You can see sectors that are doing better, you can also see specific sectors that are not doing well. Around election, it is possible for people to have different expectations. Some want to keep their money, some sell their shares to vie for political office, but <strong>as</strong> elections are over, we expect that some of those people that withdrew prior to elections will come back to the market. Around elections in the history of Nigeria, we see that there is usually a lull in the market. In 2017, the market rose by 42 percent, but in 2018, it fell by 17 percent. There would always be varying sentiments. What is very important about the market is that in the long run, even though you have fluctuations, the market eventually goes up. The stock exchange index started in 1984 with 100 points, today we are at over 30,000 points. There will definitely be ups and downs, but the market goes up at the long run. FMDQ facilitates capacity training for youths across all levels (primary, secondary and tertiary), <strong>as</strong> well <strong>as</strong> fresh graduates within the country. The aim of the excursion, which had students across various levels of study, w<strong>as</strong> to expose the participants to the operations of the Exchange, providing them with a history <strong>as</strong> well <strong>as</strong> the roles played by FMDQ and other financial market participants in the Nigerian financial market. The day commenced with a tour around Exchange Place, where the students where shown around the FMDQ Q- Hub – a bespoke trading simulation room for FMDQ- Next. Archives - a wellequipped history room which tells the story of FMDQ’s evolution, and Media Room - a world-cl<strong>as</strong>s media room for the efficient dissemination of market-impacting news and information about FMDQ and its markets. They also experienced a Live Market Trading Session, where they learnt about securities traded in FMDQ’s markets, amongst other things. They also had an opportunity to learn about the different functions carried out within the Exchange, the different markets that exist, the market players, the importance of savings and investments amongst others.
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Page 19 and 20: Credit to the economy rises to N30.
Page 21 and 22: FINANCIAL Credit to economy rises t
Page 23: FINANCIAL VANGUARD Developing new b
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22042019 - ACUTE HUNGER: Outrage as IDP children feed on onion leaves

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