BUSINESS ROUNDUP: Nigeria’s external reserves shed $3.17bn in 2020; Debt profile hits N32.2trn; See other stories that made our pick

Hello, and welcome to the very first Business Roundup for the year. Here, we bring you highlights of events that happened during the week -from the capital market to the mainstream business activities, while not forgetting the tech/economy build up.

Here are the Headlines:                          

• Nigeria’s debt profile hits N32.2trn
• Foreign investors withdrew N433bn from stock market in 11 months –NSE
• Nigeria’s external reserves shed $3.17bn in 2020
• Default on collateralised loans worsened in fourth quarter –CBN

Summary:

The Debt Management Office (DMO) said on Thursday Nigeria’s public debt hit a total of N32.2trillion ($84.57billion) at the end of September.

The DMO, which disclosed this on its website, revealed that the Federal Government’s total debt stood at N28trillion while the states and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) debt was estimated at N4.19 trillion during the same period. Read more

Foreign investors withdrew N433.15 billion worth of investment from the Nigerian equity market between January and November, compared to the N481.96 billion reported in the corresponding period of 2019, according to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE)’s Domestic and Foreign Portfolio Investment Report for November issued on Wednesday.

The NSE noted that foreign inflows into the stock market declined N226.13 billion year to date from N397.44 billion recorded last year. Total transactions on the NSE rose from N244.90 billion in October to N317.81 billion in November, showing about 30 per cent improvement in liquidity in the month under review. Read more

Nigeria’s external reserves contracted by $3.17 billion or 8.23% this year as proceeds from sales of crude oil, which provides more than 90% of its foreign exchange earnings, were largely depleted by an oil crash as well as the coronavirus pandemic.

The external reserves, which opened with a balance of $38.53 billion at the beginning of the year, stood at $35.36 billion as of 30^th December, data obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) website on Thursday showed. Read more

The incidence of default on secured credit aggravated between October and December, with lenders expecting no improvement in the trend in the first quarter of 2021, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said on Monday.

The industry watchdog also revealed in its Credit Conditions Survey Report Q4 2020 issued Tuesday that the performance rates of corporate loans for small businesses and medium Public Non-Financial Corporations (PNFCs) deteriorated in the period but improved for big PNFCs and as other financial corporations. Read more

Read also: BUSINESS ROUNDUP: CBN revokes licences of seven payment service providers; Oil prices rise as US inventory drops; See other stories that made our pick

On NSE ROUNDUP: Industrial goods stocks emerge best in 2020 with 91% yield

In a year largely turbulent for business and financial markets around the world, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) mercifully turned out an impressive return as market capitalisation opened at N12.958 trillion and closed at N21.057 trillion, meaning that stocks generally appreciated by 50.03% in 2020.

The Industrial Index came top of the five sectorial indices of the exchange as stocks in this category yielded almost double of what their value was when the market opened at the beginning of the year. Read more

MEANWHILE, on the tech scene, entering into the new Gregorian year of 2021, the tech sector, unlike other major sectors, doesn’t seem to observe a break as the last day of 2020 and first day of 2021 recorded activities ranging from new product launch to expansion plans unveiling.

Video streaming service, Monsooq, launched in Nigeria, to Offer N20/hour PAYGo Billing as a major highlight of the week. Also, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) on Thursday unveiled a Mobile App for the National Identification Number (NIN) enrolment. Read full review

Thanks for joining the roundup this week. See you next week for another serving. Don’t forget, for the latest news and updates from around the globe, keep reading Ripples Nigeria.

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