Fixed Income Market Rises 20.42% in 2019, Says Onyema
UMORU ABDULKADIR
Despite the downturns witnessed in the Nigerian Equity Market in 2019, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Oscar Onyema said the Fixed Income Market performed exceptionally, growing by 20.42 per cent to peak at N12.97 trillion.
Onyema said Monday at the event themed ‘2019 Market Recap and Outlook for 2020’ which had in attendance, the stockbroking community, analysts, media and other stakeholders.
Delivering his presentation, Onyema said the fixed income’s market capitalization increased to N12.92 Trillion from N10.72 Trillion in 2018 while the Turnover also increased by 389.26% from the 2018 figure.
He said however that federal government dominated capital raising of which 60% was bond issuances to finance fiscal and infrastructure deficit.
On the drivers of the Fixed Income Market exceptional performance, he highlighted the listing of Access Bank Plc’s N15bn Green Bond, the first of its kind to be issued by an African corporate, listing of North South Power Company Limited’s N8.5bn corporate infrastructure Green Bond, which was oversubscribed by 60%, with firm commitments from twelve institutional investors including nine pension funds as well as capital raising by corporates which rose by 321.61 per cent with a total of N132.68Bn raised in 2019.
The NSE CEO noted that, even though the Nigerian Stock Exchange’s All Share Index (ASI) posted a negative return of -14.60 to close the year at 26,842.07, the ASI reached a year-high of 32,715.20 in February of the year under review, adding that equity market capitalization increased by 10.55 per cent to N12.97 trillion, up from N11.73 trillion achieved in the previous year due largely to sustained primary market activities throughout the year, most notably the listings of MTN Nigeria Communications Plc and Airtel Africa.
Enumerating some of the strategic product performance across business development, Onyema stated that the Exchange showed commitment to achieving its strategic objectives during the year under review, considering its milestones achievements across business development which included, among others the launch of the: X-Mobile app to boost investors’ participation; Investor Relations data pack to enhance issuers’ stakeholders’ engagement; Mutual Fund Trading and Distribution Platform to enhance the retail customer experience; X-Academy e-learning to make quality learning accessible and affordable to individuals, corporations and institutions.
In addition, the Exchange recorded milestone listing of big corporates such as: listing of MTN Nigeria Communications Plc by introduction on the Premium Board; cross border listing of Airtel Africa on the Main Board, alongside London Stock Exchange; SAHCO Plc listing by IPO on the main board; launch of the Greenwich Alpha ETF focused on tracking the NSE 30 index, Onyema said.
Speaking further, he stated that the NSE, in upholding its key pillars of sustainability, joined The World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) and International Organization for Securities Commission (IOSCO) in the inaugural “Ring the Bell for Financial Literacy” initiative, to draw attention to the importance of financial literacy while also partnering several organisations in key areas of environmental responsibility including Recycle points and the Mental and Environmental Development Initiative for Children (MEDIC) on critical initiatives, among others.
Continuing, Onyema stressed that the Exchange was committed to demutualisation process in order to comply with the global best practice, saying that the NSE will work closely with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Economic, Financial Crime Commission, (EFCC) to curb unethical conduct of market operators meant to tarnish market confidence of investors.
He said: “The NSE has received No objection from SEC just recently. Having met the necessary requirements of the SEC, the Exchange has obtained a letter if No Objection to enable us proceed to the final stages of the demutualisation process. We will pursue the remaining process vigorously as all stakeholders would be involved. We will continue to sensitise stakeholders and its effects. They will a court ordered meeting and many other things as we proceed.”
” In terms of market surveillance we will work closely with SEC and EFCC to ensure we prosecute erring operators in order to sanitise and increase market confidence,” he added
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