Invest Data Consulting Ltd

Market Update for the week ended April 18 and Outlook for April 23-26 The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in the past week had a positive outing, halting five consecutive weeks of decline on the back of seemingly positive economic data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and inflow of mixed Q1 earnings reports to the market in the period under review. The reports from the financial services and consumer goods sectors so far are weak, just in line with Investdata’s expectations, but given the prolonged decline in equity prices, the scorecards could be catalysts if the ongoing buying interest is sustained next week as more Q1 numbers hit the market. Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is easing gradually, while inflation rate is lowering, as revealed through the Consumer Price Index (CPI), a measure of the average change in the general price level of all items, which declined Year-on-Year in the month of February, from 11.31% to 11.25%. This represents the t...

In its first intervention in the inter-bank foreign market for the month, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Friday, November 2, 2018, injected a total of $337.16m into the retail Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS), in addition to CNY 56.17m in the spot and short tenored forwards segment. According to the CBN’s Director, Corporate Communications, Isaac Okorafor, the intervention was to meet requests in the agricultural and raw materials sectors. The Chinese Yuan, on the other hand, was for Renminbi denominated Letters of Credit. Okorafor said the market continue to enjoy stability, due to the regular interventions, which he said have guaranteed a stable exchange rate for the Naira. Continuing, he assured that the apex bank’s management remains committed to ensuring that all sectors of the forex market continue to enjoy access to the needed foreign exchange. The CBN had on Tuesday, October 30, 2018 intervened in the wholesale segment of the inter-bank Foreign Excha...

The board of FBN Holdings Plc, on Friday said First Bank of Nigeria Limited, its largest subsidiary, plans to exercise its option to call the $300m 8.25% subordinated notes raised from the international debt markets before the due date of August 2020. In the notice dated July 6, 2018, signed by Seye Kosoko, its company secretary, the FBN Holdings said FirstBank, seeks to call and pre-pay holders of the note at the next callable date of August 7, 2018. The bank, he said, took the decision as a liquidity management exercise, just as it demonstrates the strength of FirstBank’s foreign currency liquidity and robust capital base, while further enhancing the efficiency of the balance sheet. The notes are held by FBN Finance Company B.V and will exercise its option to call the $300m notes. The bank had in August 2003 issued a $300 m Eurobond following an investor roadshow in the UK and US as it sought to tap the global capital markets for a seven-year callable subordinated instr...

Market Update for March 12, 2018 Trading on the Nigerian Stock Exchange on Monday remained very volatile to close lower on a huge traded volume as the market seemingly ignores the positive and impressive earnings being released by quoted companies repeatedly. This is like a confirmation of the belief by INVESTDATA that the numbers emanating today have since been priced into the stocks before now, especially during the rally that began in the closing months of 2017 and way into January 2018, in reaction to the Q3 reports. It may also be a sign that even the technical corrections in February that kept the market in the up and down movement during the peak of earnings season has not change their minds about the stock valuations. Besides the circular by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) giving conditions that qualify the nation’s banks for dividend payment, based on their exposure to Non-Performing Loans (NPL), there have also been reports by Moody’s and the International Monetar...

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) witnessed heavy trading in the shares of financial services supermarket- FBN Holdings as investors crossed a total of 400,000,632 units, representing 1.11% of its shares outstanding at N12.50 each in two deals. Investdata News learnt that the off-market trade worth N5bn was executed via negotiated deals between Cordros Securities Limited (buyer) and Fundvine Capital & Securities Limited (seller). This brought total volume of FBN Holdings traded for the day to 425.603m units in 378 deals. This brought total transaction volume for the day to 831.388m units worth N10.568bn, exchanged in 5,651 deals. The Financial Services sector accounted for 76% of total volume traded, which represented 74% by value, followed by the Oil and Gas sector’s 16.00% of volume traded and 1.79% of value, among others. http://investdata.com.ng/2018/03/investors-cross-400m-units-fbn-holdings-off-market-trade-n5bn/

Latest data by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on Tuesday showed that currency-in-circulation (that is, outside of bank vaults) dropped significantly year-to-date from N2.157tr by December 31, 2017, a period usual associated with the festivities of the Christmas and New Year to N1.937tr at the end of February 2018. This means the figure dropped by N219.892bn or 10.19% within the two-month period, which was more than the drop in the comparable period of last year when it fell by N200.288bn or 9.19% from N2.179tr at the end of December 2016 to N1.978tr in February 2017. Month-on-Month, currency-in-circulation fell by N8.1bn or 0.42% from N1.945tr; just as it dropped by N41.549bn or 2.09% year-on-year, from the level in February 2017. http://investdata.com.ng/2018/03/nigerias-currency-in-circulation-drops/#more

Encouraged by the success of its $163m share sale in the 2017Q4 to boost lending, and the Federal Government’s $2.5bn Eurobond sale in February, Union Bank of Nigeria is working with Citigroup and Renaissance Capital on a planned Eurobond sale, two banking sources told Reuters. The $2.5bn Eurobond is for refinancing local currency bonds at lower cost, just as there are plans for a further $2.8bn this year. Union Bank and Renaissance Capital declined to comment, while a Citi representative was unable to make immediate comment. Sources say Union Bank, which is 22.1% owned by Atlas Mara, could issue up to $250m in bonds including one in local currency and plans to utilize lending opportunities in the agribusinesses sector. Nigerian banks are gearing up to tap Eurobonds to boost lending and to refinance existing dollar debts before interest rates begin to rise further in the United States. The race for more capital has also been fuelled by stricter accounting principles on how l...