Lagos, Nigeria, February 2023 – FBNQuest, the unified brand identity for the Merchant Banking and Asset Management businesses of FBN Holdings Plc and part of the strong heritage of one of the leading financial service groups in sub-Saharan Africa, projects that Nigeria’s economy will grow by 3.2% this year, compared with 3.1% in 2022. This growth, post-election economic reforms, modest gains in the equities market and higher interest rates were among the key messages in the FBNQuest Research 2023 Outlook report published recently.
With the theme “2023 Economic and Industry Outlook”, the report captured the firm’s view on the Nigerian economy, the 2023 general elections, the socio-political environment, traditional asset classes (fixed income and equities) as well expectations for the current year.
With respect to non-oil sector growth, the report points out that non-oil GDP growth had averaged 4.7% y/y over the past 8 quarters up to the fourth quarter of 2022, compared to 0.4% in the previous 8 quarters. More recently, the services sectors, which accounted for around 56 percent of the economy in Q4 ‘22, expanded by 5.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Commenting on the outlook for 2023, Head of the Equity Research Team at FBNQuest, Tunde Abidoye, said that the transition of power and the commencement of the new administration’s term will set the tone for the second half of the year as the new government is expected to implement reforms that will stimulate growth and investment. “Nigeria’s new president faces several challenges including the fiscal pressures related to fuel subsidies, a huge budget deficit, difficulties with forex liquidity and low productivity in the oil sector. Nevertheless, we expect a new manager’s bounce for the economy that will support the moderate rise in equities while interest rates are expected to remain elevated.”
FBNQuest forecasts another positive year for equities in 2023, projecting gains of 15 percent amid a slow first half and relatively strong performance in the second half of the year. In the fixed income market, FBNQuest expects market yields to remain elevated through Q1 2023 and most of the rest of the year.
About FBNQuest
FBNQuest is the unified brand identity for the Merchant Banking and Asset Management businesses of FBN Holdings Plc and part of the strong heritage of one of the leading financial service groups in sub-Saharan Africa. Over the past ten years, we have grown from an investment banking boutique to a full-service investment bank and asset management group.
At FBNQuest, we are committed to providing innovative banking solutions for our diverse customer base, including corporate organisations, governments, institutional investors, financial institutions, affluent and high net-worth individuals. We offer a broad range of solutions to our clients through our various businesses. We arrange finance through the Bank and capital markets, provide strategic advice, trade/broker securities across asset classes, develop investment solutions, secure assets and ensure wealth creation and preservation.
FBNQuest is a leading Merchant Banking and Asset Management group in Sub-Saharan Africa that delivers a wide range of financial services through various businesses – Corporate and Investment Banking, Investment Management (Asset Management, Alternative Investments, Agency Services and Trustees) and Institutional Securities (Structured Products, Fixed Income, Currencies & Treasury and Equities).
All FBNQuest companies share a common vision, set of values, brand identity and culture, built on hiring and nurturing the best talent and following the best practices and processes.