- Again, Otedola further raises stake in FBN Holdings to 9.44%
The Central Bank of Nigeria says it will discontinue the foreign exchange price verification system portal used by importers from July 1.
It also noted that the Price Verification Report will no longer be a requirement for the completion of a Form ‘M’.
The Form ‘M’ is a declaration of intention to import physical goods into Nigeria.
The apex bank disclosed this information in a circular posted on its website on Wednesday adding that it took the decision given recent developments in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market.
The notice signed by the Acting Director of the Trade and Exchange Department, W. J. Kanya, was addressed to all authorized dealer banks, and the general public.
In August 2023, the CBN had said price verification from the portal was mandatory for all Form M requests, effective from August 31, 2023.
The portal introduced during the tenure of former acting governor, Folashodun Shonubi, is a build-up on the e-evaluator and e-invoice introduced by CBN in 2022 to replace hard copy final invoices in documentation processes for FX and monitor goods that are imported into Nigeria, as well as enable the collection of import duties where applicable.
The circular read, “We refer to the circular dated August 17, 2023, referenced TED/FEM/PUB/FPC/001/008 and titled “Go-Live Of The Central Bank Of Nigeria Price Verification System Portal” on the deployment of the Price Verification System.
“Given recent developments in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market, the CBN hereby discontinues the Price Verification System.
“Consequently, with effect from July 01, 2024, all applications for Form ‘M’ shall be validated without the Price Verification Report generated from the Price Verification Portal.
“For the avoidance of doubt, by this circular, the Price Verification Report is no longer a requirement for the completion of a Form ‘M’. Please note and be guided accordingly,” the notice concluded.
However, midweek trading on the local bourse saw a bullish performance as the All-Share Index rose by 0.17 percent, reaching 99,385.44 points.
Similarly, the market capitalization of listed equities climbed by 17 basis points to close at N56.22 trillion, resulting in a total market gain of N95 billion.
Investor sentiment strengthened, with the Exchange accounting for 35 gainers compared to 13 losers. The top five gainers for the day were FTNCOCOA (+10.00%), OANDO (+10.00%), CWG (+10.00%), CILEASING (+9.33%), and VERITASKAP (+9.09%), each recording favourable share price movements and contributing significantly to the positive benchmark index. Sectoral performance was positive, as the Banking, Insurance, and Consumer Goods indices posted gains of 0.76 percent, 0.08 percent, and 0.27 percent, respectively.
The Oil/Gas and Industrial Goods sectors showed flat performances. However, trading activity levels on the Exchange were subdued.
The total number of deals, volume, and value for the day declined by 10.74 percent, 23.57 percent, and 33.15 percent, respectively, totaling 7,597 deals, 276.36 million units, and N4.12 billion. As the session drew to a close, ACCESSCORP emerged as the most traded security in terms of volume and value, with 45.34 million units valued at N859.39 million, exchanged in 462 trades.
In the money market, the overnight NIBOR remained flat as banks exercised caution with their borrowing due to high lending rates.
Instead of excessive borrowing, banks are opting to meet their obligations with available liquidity. Additionally, the primary market sales constrained system liquidity, resulting in increased NIBOR rates for the 3-month and 6-month tenors. Key money market rates such as the Open Repo Rate (OPR) and Overnight Lending Rate (OVN) surged to conclude at 23.68 percent and 24.14 percent, respectively.
Meanwhile, NITTY rates decreased for most tracked tenor buckets due to expectations of marginal rate declines at the primary market auction, leading to selling pressure. However, the average secondary market yields on T-bills contracted by 0.01 percent to 19.75 percent.
In the FGN bond market, average secondary market yield decreased by 5 basis points to settle at 18.73 percent. Elsewhere, the value of FGN Eurobonds increased across all maturities due to bullish sentiment. Consequently, the average secondary market yield declined to 10.20 percent.
In the foreign exchange market, the Naira depreciated against the dollar by 0.47 percent in the official NAFEM market, closing at ₦1,507.83 per dollar. At the parallel market, the Naira closed at N1, 500 per dollar.
Again, Otedola further raises stake in FBN Holdings to 9.44%
Meanwhile, FBN Holdings chairman, Femi Otedola, has increased his stake in First Bank to 9.41%, becoming the largest shareholder once again.
The billionaire businessman has further consolidated his position as the controlling shareholder of the group with the latest acquisition on Tuesday, June 25, 2024, of 9,193,339 units of shares at a total value of N183, 438,702.5.
The deals were in two tranches- direct and indirect purchases.
Otedola in his usual manner, through his holding company, Calvados Global Services Limited, bought 7,965,198 ordinary units of FBN Holdings at N19.9 per share while directly; he acquired 1,228,141 units of shares on the secondary market of the Nigerian Exchange Limited at N20.3 per share on the same day.
With the fresh deals on Tuesday as disclosed through a notice on the NGX, Otedola’s total shareholding increased to 3,389,656,289 representing 9.44 percent of the total shares outstanding of FBN Holdings as of June 25, 2024.
Information obtained by The Point from the website of NGX Limited showed that the total shares outstanding of FBN Holdings as of June 26, 2024, stands at 35,895,292,792.
Otedola reclaimed his previous position as the biggest shareholder in FBN Holdings Plc on Thursday, June 20, 2024, with a strategic purchase of shares valued at N18.9 billion. Initially, he acquired 316,506,776 shares at N21.91 per share, amounting to N6.935 billion.
Subsequently, through his holding company, Calvados Global Services Limited, he bought an additional 546,674,034 shares at N21.97 per share, totalling N12.01 billion.
In total, Otedola acquired 863,180,810 shares which moved his total holdings to 9.41 percent as of June 20, 2024.
This increase in his holdings places him ahead of Barbican Capital Limited, owned by Oba Otudeko, which holds 3,110,400,619 direct shares.
Otedola’s position as the chairman of FBN Holdings’ board of directors, appointed in January, marks a significant milestone in his investment journey. His initial major stake in the company was established in December 2021 when he became the firm’s single largest shareholder with a 7.57 percent stake.
Although Barbican Capital Limited was later named the majority shareholder, Otedola has now surpassed this with his latest share acquisition.