HENATES

The month of July 2018 will probably go down in economic history in recent years of rather consistent daily decline in the foreign reserves of Nigeria, according to figures obtained from the website of the Central Bank of Nigeria. As at Friday July 27 2018 the reserves stood at $47.249bn, down $548m or 1.15% on the $47.798bn it started the month with on July 2, 2018. Between July 2 and 5, it still managed to stabilise through up and down movement to peak at $47.79888bn on the 5th. From then on till July 27, it has been down all the way. Meaning that the 1.15% decline actually occurred in the 16 official business days to July 27, 2018. The decline was bigger though in the earlier days within the period especially on July 9, 10, 11 and 13 2018. The portion of the reserve that is blocked and so untouchable did not go along with this daily decline in the reserves. Hence, over the period the % so tied down continued to increase. It closed June 29 2018 at 1.53% or $733.152m; July 9 and 10 at...

The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Kenya rose from its latest meeting on Monday July 30 2018 with a decision to lower Central Bank interest rate to 9% from 9.50%. According to the Governor of the Central Bank who is the chairman of the MPC. DR Patrick Njoroge, the decision was predicated on positive growth signals from the economy and inflation growth within target. He said the decision was backgrounded by improved economic fundamentals, strong pick up in economic activuties   increased optimism, favourable weather and still improving global prospects despite trade tensions between leading economies. In a press release issued after the meeting, he said that inflation rate in Kenya was within target in May and June at 4.0% and 4.3% respectively. What's more, according to him, the foreign market remained stable for Kenya with current account deficit continuing to narrow to 5.8% in 12 months to June 2018 from 6.3% to March 2018. He expects this deficit to reduce furt...

Nairobi. Securities Exchange started the current week on Monday July 30 2018 with a 313.7% leap in traded value while Nigerian and Ghana markets managed slight growths. NAIROBI SECURITIES EXCHANGE: VALUE LEAPS AHEAD VOLUME Trading at the Nairobi Securities Exchange ended July 30 2018 with traded volume more than doubling to 22.118m shares but the resultant traded value grew by 4 times to Ksh 1.128bn compared to Ksh 272.746m for 10.189m shares on last Friday. This was as Safaricom traded volume recovered but more importantly, deals were struck in high priced British American Tobacco and East African Breweries involving traded volume above recorded volumes all through last week. By last Friday close, BAT and EAB had recorded deals for 346,000 and 417,000 total through the week but on Monday this week alone they posted deals for 835,500 and 421,100 shares respectively. The BAT deals were at firm price of Ksh 620 per share while EAB eased by Ksh 2 per share to close at Ksh 225 per share fr...

GHANA: TULLOW OIL SEEKS UK, DUBLIN LISTING Ghana's Tullow oil Plc has applied to be listed in London and Dublin stock exchanges with the hope that approval will be given around today July 30 2018. According to notice issued by the company on July 26 2018, the application is before UK Listing authority and Euronext Dublin for the listing of 2,778.204 shares of nominal value of £0.10 per share. The shares are made up of 1,995,404 shares allotted and issued pursuant to the employee share award plan; 765,571 shares allotted under Tullow Incentive plan and 17,229 under deferred Bonus plan 2005. MECHANICAL LLOYD COMPANY LTD: BOARD CHANGES Mr Terence Ronald Darko has been appointed as the chairman of the board of directors of Mechanical Lloyd co ltd with effect from July 1, 2018. In the notice dated July 26 2018, it was also announced that Mrs Kalysta Darko-O'Kell was also appointed as the managing director of the company from the same date. MLC has been quoted on the Ghana Stock Exch...

Despite a major plunge by high priced Seplat Petroleum on Friday, July 27 2018, the All share index at the Nigerian Stock Exchange closed up 0.56% and 0.57% on Thursday's and previous Friday levels respectively. It closed last Friday at 36,636.97 from 36,427.22 on Thursday and 36,603.44 the previous Friday. This was after growing from 36,346.80 clocked on Wednesday. Before Wednesday, 2 days downwards consecutively had driven ASI to week low on Wednesday making 36,711.96 reached on Monday at the start of the week to be the highest figure. Thursday rally was in spite of N1 per share drop in Dangote Cement and was driven by N51 or 3.2% per share gain by Nestle Nigeria as  42 deals were struck for 0.086m shares worth N130.249m. Come Friday, the market was truly bullish as 30 price gains and only 9 drops were recorded although the Seplat Petroleum N25 per share plunge paced price drops and top price gain was by Cement Company Of Northern Nigeria, up N2.95 or 10% per share as 0.628m of i...

Last week ended Friday July 27, 2018 at the Ghana Stock Exchange was far more active than the previous week especially in traded volume  and price changes recorded but the price changes were dominated by declines. The Ghana composite index closed the week at 2932.77, down  0.29% on the 2940.77 at the close of previous week from which it had increased to 2941.21 on Monday and 2942.85 by Tuesday.which turned out to be the week's peak. The price drops that led the ASI down occurred mainly on Wednesday and Thursday as the ASI declined to 2938.32 on Wednesday and 2928.90 by Thursday. The Friday rally was recorded as 3 equities recorded gains with no price drops. Total Ghana gained GHs0.10 per share on Friday as deals were struck for 200 units at GHs4.10 per share compared to GHs 4 per share close the previous day. However, bid at the new price did find new offer for new deals at the close of the day. Ecobank Ghana topped up on the same day with GHs 0.03 per share as 400 units changed ha...

At the Nairobi Securities Exchange last week ended Friday July 27, 2018, the All share index grew by marginal 0.06% to close at 172.47 compared to 172.37 the previous week close. The growth rate could have been higher if the last 2 trading days of the week had not resulted in drops in the index particularly, Friday that was clearly bearish as 22 price drops  and only 7 gains had been recorded. The day had witnessed outstanding Ksh 19 per share or 3.16% growth by British American Tobacco supported by Ksh 2 or 6,50% rise  per share rise in Total Kenya but the duo's price gains though remarkable, the crowded scene of price drops did not allow for push upwards for the ASI. In the end, peak ASI for the week was Wednesday's 173.23 reached by a leap from 172.38 reached on Tuesday after Monday had started the week with slight increase on previous week's closing level. Traded volume  for the week dropped to 56m shares from previous week's 65.3m shares and traded...

On Wednesday July 25 2018, the Composite Index at the Nairobi Securities Exchange closed exceptionally from the direction of the All share indices at Nigerian and Ghana Stock exchanges. While the GCI and Nigerian ASI closed down, Nairobi ASI ended up. NAIROBI SECURITIES EXCHANGE: ASI UP 0.49% At the Nairobi Stock  on July 25, the All share index rose by 0.85 points or 0.49% to 173.23 as 19 price gains and 10 deops were recorded.  The  leading gainer was Kapchorua Tea price per share increased by Ksh 4.50 followed by Diamond Trust Bank up Ksh 3 per share and the duo of I & M Holdings and East African Breweries with Ksh 2 per share gain each. Kapchorua Tea had an easy run as it found and closed at Ksh 75.50 per share as against Ksh 71 per share on Tuesday. Other major price gain was Ksh 1 per share rise by Standard Chartered Bank and, in view of its impact on the ASI, Safaricom's top up by Ksh 0.25 per share. On the other hand. price drops were paced by Total Kenya with Ksh 1.75 ...

At Nairobi, Nigerian and Ghana stock markets on Tuesday July 24, the common denominator was decline by all inclusive index. NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE: THE PRESSURE THIS TIME. After ending with some resilience at the start of the trading week on Monday July 23, at the Nigery Stock Exchange, the All share index closed down once again on Tuesday, July 24, 2018. It ended the day at 36,455.24, down 256.22 points or 0.70% on Monday's 36,711.96. This was as number of price gains outstripped price drops but more importantly, once again, as Dangote Cement closed in the price losers camp. Dangote Cement N1 per share while witnessing 113 deals for 2.125m shares valued at N499.354m. But this decline was not amongst the day's top 5. Indeed, about 6 equities ended the day down by more than N1 per share. The losers were paced by Beta Glass down N8.1 or 10.0% per share as 3 deals were recorded covering 0.162m units worth N11.878m. It was an even decline for Beta Glass as it simply found and clos...

On Monday July 23, 2018 the 3 stock markets reviewed daily by Henates All share index closed up. NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE: FEW PRICE CHANGES BUT.... At the Nigerian Stock Exchange on Monday July 23, 2018 only 20 gains and 18 drops were recorded but the All Share index rose by 0.30 points to 36,711.96. This was mainly as Dangote Cement once again paced price gains with N1.3 or 0.55% per share gain as 113 deals were struck for 2.391m shares worth day high N564.05m. And it turned out to be the lone equity with above N1 per share gain. It closed Friday at N234.7 per share, and closed at N236 per share. On the losers side too, only one was above N1 per share: Forte Oil declined by N2.7 or 9.68% per share accompanied with 123 deals for 0.942m worth N23.868m. Dangote Cement was trailed amongst price gainers by Guaranty Trust Bank up N0.8 or 2.11% with 8.194m shares changing hands in 156 deals valued at 315.54m. On the other hand,  down N0.25 per share each, Stanbic IBTC and University Press Pl...

At the Nigerian Stock Exchange in the week ended July 20, 2018, there were far more price drops than gains pointing to a rather bearish week. In all there were 57 price drops and only 16 gains and so, the All share index declined by 790.33 points or 2.11% from 37,392.77 the previous Friday to 36,603.44 on Friday July 20. The ASI had dropped each day through the week except on Friday July 20 when it rallied to 36,603.44 from week low of 36470.05 on Thursday. Leading the price drops was top priced Nestle Nigeria which closed the week down N97 per share to N1430 per share from N1527. Okomu Oil and Palm followed with N9 per share decline to N83 per share from N92 per share. Other major price drops were Presco's N7.35 per share drop to N66.14 per share and La  Farge Africa's  N5 per share decline to N32.50 per share from N32.50 per share the previous Friday. On the other hand, Dangote Cement paced the week overall with N7.70 per share top up from N227 per share to N234.70. It was tr...

BOTSWANA: A-CAP RESOURCES LTD WITHDRAWS RIGHTS ISSUE. A-cap resources ltd, one of the companies quoted on the Botswana Stock Exchange has withdrawn its non renounceable rights issue announced on April 30 2018. The rights was intended to raise As4m through 66,657,864 new shares to be allocated to existing shareholders in the ratio of 1 new for 13.08 old ones held. It was to close on July 24 this month with hopes for the deployment of the funds in the company's Uranium project, energy strategy and to beef up working capital. The Rights had to be cancelled because the underwriter which was a Chinese company, for procedural reasons could not obtain certificate of foreign investment on time. A-cap promises to refund all monies got so far on the Rights as soon as possible and it does not expect the cancellation to adversely affect its operations and plans. BOARD CHANGES AT WILDERNESS HOLDINGS LTD The revolving door at the boardroom of Wilderness Holdings ltd has revolved to exit 2 non ex...

Of the three stock exchanges reviewed daily by Henates, trade was bountiful for Nigerian and lean for Nairobi on Friday July 20 2018 but what about at Ghana? NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE: BOUNTIFUL FRIDAY At the Nigerian Stock Exchange it was a clear case of bountiful harvest in both traded volume and price on Friday July 20 2018 although not in year high terms. Traded volume jumped to 679.977m shares from Thursday's 296.59m and the All share index closed up for the first time in the 5 day week despite intense pressure from Nestlé Nigeria led 27drops and only 22 gains. The ASI rose by 0.37% to 36,603.44 after going down all 4 earlier days in the week. It shed 0.34% on Monday, 0.81% on Tuesday; and 0.58% on Wednesday before losing 0.76% on Thursday. The Friday ASI rally was led by top capitalised Dangote Cement with N4.7 or 2.04% per share rise to N234.7 per share after slipping to day low of N228.8 from Thursday's N230 per share. Dangote Cement witnessed 53 deals for 0.393m shares w...

The apex bank in Ghana, The Bank of Ghana, has annulled the purchase of more shares in ADB Bank Ltd because it was not in the spirit of the law. According to the apex bank, during a recent public offer by ADB bank, Belstar Capital Ltd and and Starmount Development company ltd had connived with SIC Financial Services Ltd to end up with over 50% of the issued share capital of ADB without any formal official approval. To boot, says the apex bank, the shares were acquired with funds got from Unibank Ghana Ltd not meant for such onlending. Unibank had obtained the funds so lent through emergency liquidity support window which are not meant for such lending. In the process Belstar and Starmount acquired 24% and 11% new holdings respectively which gave over 50% of ADB's shares and appointed their representatives to the board. Hence, says the Bank of Ghana, the duo were with immediate effect prohibited from exercising any voting rights attached to the acquired shares s...

NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE: GTB LEADS GAINS; DOMINATES VALUE. Guaranty Trust Bank on Thursday July 19, 2018 ended up being the most visible equity as it paced 18 price gains and dominated traded value at the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Its leading 78.36m offload was just 26.4% of the traded volume of 296.591m shares recorded for the day but it was valued at N2.977bn, about 61.2% of total market N4.862bn traded value. In the process it also led price gains with N1.45 or 3.97% per share increase as it closed at day high of N38 per share after opening at previous day's N36.51 and after hitting day low of N37.65 per share. In terms of traded volume, GTB was followed by Medview Airlines in which rare 50m shares were exchanged in just 3 deals for N102.245m while closing down N0.06 per share. In terms of value, Zenith bank trailed from quite a distance with N608.966m exchanged for 3rd highest 26.391m shares in 2nd ranked 421 deals. But talking of price changes durin...

NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE: INDEX DOWN 3RD DAY For the 3rd day this week,  the All share index closed down in another day of little drops of trade on Wednesday. July 18 2018 at the Nigerian Stock Exchange. It dropped by 0.58% or 215.52 points to 36,748.18 after going down by 0.81% and 0.34% on Tuesday and Monday respectively. This time though, the market was far less bearish than it was Tuesday with 23 price drops and 20 gains compared to 34 drops and 14 price increases previously. Again, the top weighted equities recorded less price changes as Guaranty Trust Bank led price losers with N2.65 or 6.76% per share decline. GTB hit day high of N39.1 per share after opening at previous day's N39.2 then closed at N36.55 per share while witnessing 197 deals involving 5.8m shares worth N225.819m. It was followed by Okomu Oil & Palm, down N2 or 2.35% per share closing with 37 deals for 0.355m shares worth N29.835m and FBN Holdings with N1 or 9.76% per share drop accompanied by 266 deals for...

NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE: LITTLE DROPS OF TRADE. On Tuesday July 17, 2018 it was a case of little drops of trade as there was no major offload that made a difference at the Nigerian Stock Exchange. The result was that traded volume eased to 203.8m shares from July 16's 303.479m and perhaps more importantly, the All share index closed downwards even as heavyweight Dangote Cement closed up. The ASI ended the day at 36,963.70, down 0.81% on 37,266.86 previously although Dangote Cement had a solo run closing up N3 or 1.32%  per share as 52 deals for 0.476m shares worth N109.367m. Dangote Cement hit day high of N230.1 per share but slipped slightly to close at N230 compared to N227 per share. The leading trade was Transcorp plc's 20.707m shares exchanged in 202 deals worth N26.555m while closing N0.01 per share up. The point though was that most of the major trades recorded resulted in price drops. In all there were 34 price drops and 14 gains and most ti...

It is time for minority investors to pay closer attention to their investment in Oando Plc one of Nigeria's indigenous petroleum company. According to confirmation from Ayotola Jagun, the company secretary, the majority shareholder in the company is currently having a judgement debt of $680m hanging over its head. Like Jagun rightly pointed out, Oando itself is not involved directly but Henates adds that the fall out from it could affect Oando. The fact of the matter is that Oando is owned 57.37% by Ocean & Oil Development Partners Nigeria. On its part, the Ocean & Oil parent company of Oando is a joint venture registered in the Virgin Islands between Ansbury Incorporated and Whitmore Asset Management ltd. Now the partnetship has gone sour and the International Court of Arbitration has ordered the partnership to pay $600m to Ansbury and Whitmore itself is to also pay additional $80m to Ansbury. Of course, there should be no fall outs for Oando plc and its shareholders if th...

Nigeria's foreign reserve has been declining since the better part of this month and indeed, went down daily in the last six working days to July 13, 2018. According to figures obtained from the website of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the reserve stood at $47.621bn by last Friday July 13, 2018. This represented 0.37% or $177m drop on the $47.798bn it clocked on July 2, to start the month. It had ended June 29 at $47.782bn after recovering from $47.775bn the previous day. However, since July the reserve position has improved only in 3 days: July 2, 4 and 5 2015. In particular, it has been sliding daily since July 6. It dropped from July 5's $47.798bn to $47.792bn on the 6th  and stayed downwards through July 9, 10, 11, 12 and finally the 13th. The month of June trend was almost a reverse of this especially mid month when there was consistent daily increase up to July 26's $47.790bn. It has been quite an an ongoing struggle to cross the $47bn range into $48bn for months now a...

Caution was the watchword at the 3 African markets currently reviewed daily by Henates on Monday July 16, 2018 but in relative degrees. Hence price changes were mainly low margin. NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE:  NO SINGLE DIGIT GAINS. On Monday July 16, 2018 the new week took off at the Nigerian Stock Exchange with no price gains of up to N1 per share although 3 others went down that much. It was a day of drops but because it was so marginal, the All share index declined only by 0.34% to 37,266.86 from last Friday's improved 37,392.77. Top gain was by Flour Mills of Nigeria with just N0.9 or 3.10% per share gain accompanied by 61 deals for 0.608m shares worth N17.753m. It had opened the day at last Friday's N29 per share then rose to close at N29.9 per share. Others in top 5 gainers category were UACN, up N0.7 or 5.26% per share; NAHCO with N0.37 or 9.97% rise per share; Ecobank Transnational ( N0.35 or 1.72% per share) and Transcorp, which topped up N0.03 or 2.44% per share. Of this...

NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE: 55 DROPS, 21 GAINS Last week at the Nigerian Stock Exchange, not less than 55 listed companies declined in price per share compared to 21 with gains thus pointing to somewhat bearish week. In view of this, the All share index dropped by 233.16 points or 0.62% to close the week at 37,392.77 as against 37,625.59 the previous week. The crowded decline scene was dominated relatively by marginal drops though while price gains were a bit higher. The gainers were paced by Nestlé Nigeria which remained highest priced equity by closing at N1527 per share, up N27 from N1500 previously. All of that was recorded on Friday as it recorded 62 deals for 0.205m shares worth N299.579m. II PLC trailed with N15.50 per share gain while closing at N180.50 compared to N165 previous week followed by Forte Oil up N2.55 per share at N28.90 per share and CAP Plc with N2 per share gain to N37.0 per share. The leading price drop for the week was Total Nigeria's N10 per share as it clos...