10 stockbroking firms trades N863 bn in 7 months

By Kayode Tokede

Ten stockbroking firms traded N863 billion worth of transactions at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in seven months of 2015 trading activities.

This amount was recorded in the first seven months of this year, making the ten stock broken firms to a 67.50 per cent of total value of stock transactions traded at the nation’s stock market.

The 10 firms are Stanbic IBTC Stock brokers Limited, CSL Stockbrokers Limited, Rencap Securities (Nig) Limited, EFCP Limited and Chapelhell Denham Securities Limited.

 Others are FBN Securities Limited, Vetiva Securities, A.R.M Securities Limited, African Alliance Stockbrokers Ltd and APEL Asset Limited

Details from NSE shows that in the seven months to July, 2015, Stanbic IBTC Stock brokers Limited accounted for N183.66 billion worth of transactions or 14.36 per cent of the N863 billion traded by the stock broken firms.

On the chart are CSL Stockbrokers Limited that accounted for N160.67 billion or 12.56 per cent, Rencap Securities (Nig) Limited N146.7 billion or 11.47 per cent, ECP Limited N104.19 billion or 8.15 per cent and Chapelhell Denham Securities Limited.  N59.6billion, worth of deals or 4.66 per cent of total value of transactions.

On the other hand, FBN Securities Limited accounted for N57 billion or 4.46 per cent;  Vetiva Securities recorded N52.4 billion or 4.10 per cent, while A.R.M Securities Limited traded N35 billion or 2.76 per cent,

 African Alliance Stockbrokers Ltd also made the top players league controlling about N33.7 billion worth of transactions or 2.64 per cent, while APEL Asset Limited traded N30.1 billion worth of shares or 2.35 per cent.

.Majority of these stock broking firms’ transactions were from inflow of Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs), local institutional investors and equity exposure in mutual funds.

Their major clients are foreign portfolio investors, while a few of them have significant equity exposure through their collective Investment Schemes (CIS).

There are about 220 active stock broking firms operating on the NSE and the re capitalisation plans by Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) might further reduce the numbers.

The SEC in December 2013 approved the new minimum capital requirements for Capital Market Operators (CMOs) aimed at improving operators baseline infrastructure, market access and service delivery.

The deadline for compliance by existing CMOs is September 30, 2015 while compliance was stated as a prerequisite for the registration of new CMOs.

The Director General, SEC, Mounir Gwarzo, during the interactive session with journalists after the second quarter  Capital Market Committee meeting in Lagos said, “We have agreed that September 30 is our deadline on recapitalization, SEC is not going to move the date, that date is sacrosanct and we have told the market that we will not change.

“We have told them all the options that we have, those that want to step down from their functions we have told them to do so in good time so that we can move on.

“There is a committee working towards that, there are teething issues that will come up but in about two or three weeks, they will likely have an idea of those that are likely going to meet it or not. By the time they are reaching the finishing line, they will have better idea of those that will make it and they will take precautionary measures so that there would be no crisis,” he explained.