Onyema: Stocks Cheap on Foreign Investors’ Exit

Foreign investors fleeing Nigeria as oil prices plunge are leaving stocks undervalued in Africa’s biggest economy, the bourse’s chief executive officer, Mr. Oscar Onyema has said.

The benchmark index’s 18 per cent decline this year isn’t justified by economic changes and as a result Nigerian equities are “effectively on sale,” Oscar Onyema said in an interview with Bloomberg in Diani, Kenya.

“The fundamentals demand higher valuations.”

Nigerian stocks dropped as crude slid into a

Why foreign investors are leaving Nigeria Stock Exchange

The Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) recently experience sharp decline in market capitalization due to  foreign investors exit from the market  in apprehension of the impact of the decline in price of crude oil on the naira exchange rate.

Commenting on this development, some shareholders who spoke to Investors Forum described the foreign investors as casino players, who want to make money at the detriment of the economy, others attribute their action to fears of the outcome of the forthcoming election. Excerpts:

Alhaji Gbadebo Olatokunbo, shareholder activist: I will describe the foreign investors as casino players. I have been a stock market player for more than

Insurance industry encouraging with new foreign acquisition deals

The nation’s insurance industry is about to witness a beehive of acquisition activities, as more foreign firms show interest in the local underwriting market which analysts say has huge potential for growth.

The latest of the deals is by Rosewood Insurance Group of Switzerland, a subsidiary of Greenoak Global of UK, which is in the process of concluding acquisition of a majority stake in Union Assurance Company Limited.

The company, BusinessDay investigations reveal, is gunning for a 93 percent equity stake in the Nigerian general business underwriting firm, wholly owned by Union Bank plc. The acquisition is waiting for the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) approval for conclusion.

Rosewood Insurance Group AG (“Rosewood”) is an insurance venture based in Zurich, Switzerland, wholly-owned by Greenoaks Global Holdings Ltd (“Greenoaks”).

Rosewood leverages deep insurance expertise and a long-term partnership approach to help build

Oil sector loses N32bn foreign investment

The non-passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, has started to take its toll, as foreign investments into the oil and gas sector dropped by $197.31 million, about N31.6 billion in three months, between April and June 2014.

According to the second quarter, Q2, Nigerian Capital Importation Report, released by the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, the oil and gas sector accounted for 0.07 per cent of total capital imported into Nigeria with $3.83 million, about N612.8 million.

The NBS stated that total capital imported into the Nigerian economy in Q2 2014 was $5.804 billion, rising by $1.899 billion or 48.64 per cent from $3.905 billion recorded in the opening quarter of this year.

“Relative to the $5.618 billion recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2013, capital importation demonstrated positive year on year growth of

India budget: Arun Jaitley unveils reform plans

India's new government is lifting some caps on foreign investment, tightening borrowing limits and plans to introduce a goods and services tax as part of what it calls a "budget for growth".

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said India's people were "exasperated" after two years of economic slowdown.

India's economy has slowed markedly in recent years, growing by 4.7% in 2013-14. In 2010-11, growth was 8.4%.

Mr Modi's government has promised reforms aimed at creating jobs.

The budget is also expected to