By Udeme Ekwere and agency report

The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria will list its bonds on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange by March 31, this year.

The Chief Executive Officer, AMCON, Mr. Mustafa Chike-Obi, who disclosed this to Reuters on Tuesday, noted that, unlike other debt instruments, the bonds would be available for short-selling, thus creating hedging opportunities in the debt market for the first time.

“I think that there will be more opportunities for trading, for hedging. There will be more liquidity because the bonds will be easily traded. I am encouraging arbitrage transactions, the ability for people to buy one and short the other and use my bond as a hedge. That is what I want to encourage,” he said.

Chike-Obi dismissed the idea that banks’ selling of the AMCON bonds into the secondary market could overwhelm the market, saying that the banks would have no reason to dump large volumes of their bonds.

According to him, if the banks sell some to obtain money for lending to companies, it will be a positive move.

Meanwhile, equity trading activities resumed the month on a downward trend with the major market indicators closing negative.

Specifically, the NSE’s All-Share Index fell below 26,000 points, shedding 0.6 per cent or 145.62 basis points, from 26,016.84 recorded the previous day, to 25,871.22 points.

The Index had hit a peak of 27,797.39 on January 25 this year.

The market capitalisation of the listed equities fell to N8.269bn, representing a decrease of N47bn or 0.6 per cent from N8.316tn recorded the preceding day, while the NSE-30 Index dropped by 0.4 per cent to 1,134.07 points.

Analysts traced the persistent fall to the huge sell-offs by investors across most sub-sectors in the market.

Thirty-nine shares recorded losses at the close of trading activities, while only 12 shares gained.

Ikeja Hotel Plc, Ashaka Cement Plc, Nigerian Bags Manufacturing Company Plc and Beta Glass Company Plc lost five per cent each to close at N1.71, N26.03, N2.66 and N14.07 per share respectively.

Spring Bank Plc lost 4.9 per cent to close at N1.55 per share, while Finbank Plc, Bank PHB Plc and Oceanic Bank Plc dropped by 4.8 per cent each to close at 78 kobo, N1.57 and N2.58 per share in that order.

Meanwhile, Champion Breweries Plc led the price gainers. It rose by 4.9 per cent or 17 kobo to close at N3.58 per share.

 

Source: Punch