By 2035, Standard Chartered Bank projects that Africa’s overall exports will amount to $952 billion.
It was stated in the report “Future of Trade: Africa” that, once fully implemented, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has the potential to increase this figure by an additional 29%. The report also highlighted the outlook for African trade and offered a view of the AfCFTA as a key proponent of optimizing intra-African trade.
The bank estimates that this will equate to a three percent annual growth rate between now and 2035. The paper emphasized that increased connectivity and rising regional trade levels will open up high-growth corridors throughout Africa and beyond.
By 2035, it is anticipated that intra-African trade will amount $140 billion, or 15% of Africa’s overall export earnings. The growth rate of Africa’s corridors, which connect some of the most dynamic regions in the globe, will exceed the worldwide average of 4.3%.
It went on to say that through 2035, the key corridor between East Africa and South Asia is predicted to grow at the quickest rate, at 7.1% annually. The total commerce volume of the Middle East-North Africa and Middle East-East Africa corridors is predicted to approach $200 billion by 2035, making them significant as well.
“While there have been previous attempts by African markets to foster greater cohesion, the goals of the existing agreements frequently overlap or contradict, creating a ‘spaghetti bowl effect’,'” the statement continued.
In the meantime, Unilever Nigeria Plc and 21 other companies saw increases yesterday, contributing to the Nigerian stock market’s favorable performance as its total capitalization increased by N18 billion.
To close at 67,133.19 points, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 32.70 points, or 0.05 percent. Additionally, market capitalization increased to N36.883 trillion at the closing, up N18 billion.
Price growth of major and medium-sized capitalization companies, such as those of Unilever Nigeria, Africa Prudential, Zenith Bank, NASCON Allied Industries, and United Bank for Africa (UBA), propelled the upswing.
Analysts at Afrinvest Limited responded to the market performance by stating: “We anticipate profit taking to drag performance.”
SCM Capital Research stated along its path: “Market sentiments are predicted to remain mixed in the coming week as investors adjust their portfolios and search for deals ahead of the Q3 corporate earnings report.” Another priority is the ongoing sector rotation, with all eyes on the upcoming monetary policy meeting of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
“Market activity tilted towards the banks, just like we have seen for the past few weeks,” stated Vetiva Dealings and Brokerage. The five most valuable deals of the day were all banking names, making up 65% of the total transaction value. We anticipate that this trend will continue into the last trading day of the week.
Market breadth indicated that investor sentiment was bullish, with 22 equities rising compared to nine losses. Thomas Wyatt Nigeria closed at N2.58 kobo, the largest price gainer at 9.79 percent.
After that, Courteville Business Solutions closed at 62 kobo, up 8.77 percent, and DEAP Capital Management and Trust closed at 27 kobo, up 8.00 percent.
Unilever Nigeria climbed 6.04 percent to conclude at N14.05 kobo, while Africa Prudential increased by 7.69 percent to close at N7.00.
Conversely, Cornerstone Insurance outperformed the others on the losers’ list, closing at N1.55 per share after losing 6.06 percent. Regency Alliance Insurance lost 2.86 percent to settle at 34 kobo per share, while AXA Mansard Insurance followed with a fall of 3.61% to close at N4.00.
AIICO Insurance saw a depreciation of 2.02% to settle at N6.30 per share, while United Capital dropped 2.07% to close at N16.55.
In 5,588 deals, 309.32 million units, valued at N4.55 billion, were traded, a 24.6% decrease in the total volume moved. The activity was dominated by transactions involving Fidelity Bank shares, with 61.780 million shares valued at N511.532 million.
UBA traded 28.808 million shares valued at N503.054 million, while Access Holdings followed with an account of 54.472 million shares valued at N860.09 million.
Transnational Corporation (Transcorp) traded 12.916 million shares worth N82.261 million, while Zenith Bank traded 20.482 million shares worth N649.285 million.
