The Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers, Titi Ogungbesan , in this interview speaks about activities in the Nigerian stock market. brings the excerpts:
The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) posted an unusually strong performance for 2020, closing the year with a 50 per cent gain. This was in spite of the forced economic lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, the economic recession, the volatile oil market, massive unemployment, and so on. Such bullish performance was last seen nearly 20 years ago. What will you say was responsible for such a remarkable performance?
The major driver was liquidity from investors that were seeking higher yields as returns in the fixed income space remained very low. Estimated dividend yield levels in the 4th quarter were much higher in the equities market than the yields in the fixed income space and this made the market very attractive for investors. We also note that activities were driven predominantly by local investors. The All-Share Index (ASI) gained +50.03 per cent in 2020.
The year had started out on a bullish note but around March, it turned due to the double impact of the significant dip in oil prices and the accelerated spread of the coronavirus worldwide. Nigeria, like many other countries, went into lockdown and this affected many businesses and their operations. By the end of the 3rd quarter, the ASI was slightly down and most of the ASI’s final performance was driven by activities in the 4th quarter alone.
The NSE’s Brokers’ Performance Report for 2020 showed that Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Limited had the best performance by value and one of the top five by volume of transactions. Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers accounted for about N219 billion or over 10 per cent of traded value. How did you achieve this?
Our primary focus as a business remains offering value to our customers and providing excellent services to them. We have a team of highly experienced professionals who are dedicated to delivering excellent services to our clients and our Client Value Proposition remains the core of our business. We would not have been able to achieve this result without the support of our customers. We are also able to leverage on our franchise strength both in-country as part of Stanbic IBTC Group and also as a part of Standard Bank Group. Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers was also recently awarded Best Brokerage House in Nigeria for 2020 by The […]