…NGX Made of Africa Awards of The Year

Olushola Okunlade Writes

The NGX Made of Africa Awards is set to hold on Tuesday, 6 December 2022 in Lagos.

The hybrid event themed “Innovation in Capital Markets: The Panacea for Exponential Growth”, will bring together key stakeholders in the capital market.

The Made of Africa Awards is designed to recognise organisations and individuals within the capital market ecosystem that demonstrate exceptional performance in value delivery and sustainable impact and act as key drivers in strengthening the Nigerian and African capital markets. The Awards will also reward adherence to high ethical standards, compliance with the rules and regulations of the Exchange, and other applicable laws and regulations.

Register HERE to join the event virtually.

Olushola Okunlade Writes

Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) hosted the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) to Closing Gong ceremony to commemorate the Institute’s 30^th anniversary alongside the reopening of the trading floor of the market on Monday, 7 November 2022.

The Chairman, NGX, Abubakar Mahmoud, SAN, OON, whilst giving his remarks congratulated the Institute for its contribution to upholding integrity and ethics in the capital market while promoting and protecting the interests of the stockbroking community. He also thanked stockbrokers for their cooperation with NGX, attributing the successful record of trading with zero downtime to a combination of NGX’s investment drive in technology and the collective agility and collaboration between the Exchange and the stockbroking community.

He said, “Thirty years of excellence is no small feat and at the Exchange, we recognise the significance of CIS to the capital market as it engenders commitment to the highest standards of service and professionalism. Its advocacy initiatives and support for the stockbroking and investment practice in Nigeria is notable and worthy of celebration.

“Moving forward as the Exchange, we plan to leverage our shared history and cordial relationship with CIS to further drive growth and value creation in the capital market. NGX wishes the Institute many more years of excellence as it continues to markedly enhance the Nigerian capital market and the broader economy.”

The Chairman, NGX Group, Alhaji Umar Kwairanga during his remarks noted that it was to the credit of NGX, NGX Regulation, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS), NGX Group, and the stockbroking community that trading flowed seamlessly during the forced closure period. He however said, “I also know how physical interactions matter to us brokers and will continue to make sure that we see the impact of us coming back to the trading floor.

“We are also marking this alongside the ceremony commemorating our 30th anniversary and I hope that this is just the beginning of the greater collaboration between brokers, NGX Group as a whole, and the capital market,” he added.

Complementing the Chairmens’ comments, the Chief Executive Officer, NGX, Mr. Temi Popoola said, “NGX will continue to support the initiatives of the institute and cooperate for the further advancement of the capital market.”

The President and Chairman of the Governing Council of CIS, Mr. Oluwole Adeosun underscored the longstanding relationship between CIS and the Exchange. He promised that the Institute would continue to cooperate with NGX Group in its new structure. “A lot has been achieved from the initial foundation built by NGX for CIS. For 32 months, we have been trading seamlessly remotely due to the investments NGX made. We the operators express gratitude to the Exchange and believe we are definitely poised to achieve more together onward.”

….International Breweries recorded a remarkable increase of 137.4 percent in operating profiting in H1 2022 – Chiemeka

Olushola Okunlade Writes

The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) on Tuesday, November 1 2022 held the “Facts Behind the Figures Presentation” with International Breweries Plc at the exchange building.

NGX advised the management of International Breweries Plc to sustain its commitment to high standards of corporate governance, social impact, and shareholder value creation.

Divisional Head, Capital Markets, NGX, Mr. Jude Chiemeka while commending the management of International Breweries Plc for leveraging the Facts Behind the Figures platform of the Exchange to increase its engagement with the market and its long-term contributions to socio-economic development in the country since its establishment in 1971 and listing in 1995.

Chiemeka said International Breweries Plc has made other contributions to the social economic development of the communities, “One of such contributions is the Responsible Beverage Service (RBS), a first-of-its-kind intervention program in Nigeria with the objective of contributing to the reduction of alcohol-related harms caused by drunk driving, underage drinking, binge drinking, gender-based violence, and alcohol consumption by pregnant women. This program reiterates the NGX’s mission of bringing people together for a better world.”

“International Breweries recorded a remarkable increase of 137.4 percent in operating profiting in H1 2022 reaching 36.6 billion naira compared to the same period of 2021. This achievement is a result of hard work and resilience by the management team to maintain the company’s financial performance and total revenue of 104 billion. “We would like to recognise these efforts being made by the Board and Management of International Breweries Plc towards achieving continuity by improving business operations and restoring investor confidence in the company.

“With the fast-changing macroeconomic environment in Nigeria and globally, we encourage International Breweries Plc to continue to strive for sustainability by adhering to higher standards of corporate governance, deeper social impact, higher regulatory compliance, and greater returns for shareholders,” Chiemeka added.

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of International Breweries Plc, Mr. Hugo Dias Rocha during his remarks noted that the company would continue to build brands and invest in a sustainable and profitable business for the long term. “Our team is engaged and living in the AB InBev culture of optimising the growth potential of the business and delivering shareholder value,” he added.

Doyen of Capital Market, Alhaji Yusuf urged the management of International Breweries Plc to leverage on frequent facts behind the figures, while commending the progress performance figures, particularly the first half of 2022.

He said moving from being “Category Leader to Category Performer, Category Performer means making money and paying dividends to your investors, you have not been paying dividends to your investors for six years while promising to advise on how to redeem and restructure the debt.