Economy
Nigerian Stocks Suffer 0.07% Loss as Inflation Spikes to 19.64%
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited closed 0.07 per cent lower on Monday after the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced that the country’s inflation increased by 19.64 per cent in July 2022.
The inflation numbers triggered profit-taking in the market yesterday, causing Nigerian stocks to remain in the red territory at the close of transactions.
The prices of food and services in the country have been on the high side for months and yesterday, the consumer goods sector was mainly responsible for the downfall of the stock exchange.
The counter lost 0.33 per cent and erased the gains posted by the other sectors. The industrial goods space grew by 0.17 per cent, the banking index rose by 0.15 per cent, the energy sector increased by 0.03 per cent, while the insurance counter closed flat.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) went down by 34.64 points to 49,629.43 points from 49,664.07 points, while the market capitalisation depreciated by N18 billion to N26.769 trillion from N26.787 trillion.
A total of 17 stocks finished on the losers’ log on the first trading session of the week, while 12 stocks were on the gainers’ table.
Presco recorded the biggest fall as it declined by 9.97 per cent to N142.60. Multiverse lost 7.79 per cent to trade at N2.25, Ikeja Hotel depreciated by 5.51 per cent to N1.20, Dangote Sugar fell by 4.19 per cent to N16.00, while Jaiz Bank decreased by 3.30 per cent to sell for 88 Kobo.
On the other side, Neimeth led the gainers’ group with a price appreciation of 9.29 per cent to trade at N1.53, Unity Bank improved by 4.65 per cent to 45 Kobo, FCMB gained 4.18 per cent to quote at N3.49, Zenith Bank grew by 2.12 per cent to N21.70, while Transcorp increased by 0.93 per cent to N1.08.
Business Post reports that the activity level was low during the session as 210.8 million shares worth N2.2 billion were traded in 4,122 deals compared with the 759.3 million shares worth N5.3 billion traded in 4,076 deals at the earlier trading day, indicating a decline in the trading volume and value by 71.90 per cent and 58.78 per cent respectively and an increase in the number of deals by 1.13 per cent.
The most traded stock for the day was eTranzact, which sold 52.6 million units valued at N119.8 million and was trailed by FBN Holdings, which traded 23.1 million units worth N249.8 million. UBA exchanged 21.9 million equities worth N153.5 million, GTCO transacted 15.5 million stocks for N315.9 million, while Transcorp traded 12.7 million stocks for N13.7 million.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Nigeria slightly surpassed its quota set by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in July 2026.
In the month under review, the country produced about 1.57 million barrels of crude oil per day.
It was the third consecutive month Africa’s largest oil-producing nation was meeting its monthly quota, set to stabilise the price of the commodity on the global market by the oil cartel.
Data released by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) on Wednesday showed that the 1.5 million barrels per day ceiling for Nigeria was surpassed last month.
The agency disclosed in a statement today that the country produced 1.505mbpd of crude oil and 0.17mbpd of condensate, bringing the combined daily production to 1.67mbpd.
In the month under review, the daily peak production of crude oil and condensate was 1.78mbpd, while the lowest daily production was 1.57mbpd.
Although Nigeria met its OPEC quota in the month of July, the statistics show that on a month-on-month basis, production fell by 4 per cent.
This was attributed to the decline in production due to operational challenges experienced at the Erha and Akpo fields, which impacted crude oil output during the period under review.
These disruptions constrained production volumes and contributed significantly to the overall reduction in national crude oil output.
Despite the challenges, production operations across most other producing assets remained relatively stable, with operators implementing measures aimed at maintaining production efficiency and minimising the impact of operational constraints, NUPRC stated.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The over 9 billion shares of Lasaco Assurance Plc issued to shareholders of the company via a rights issue have been listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
The equities were brought to Customs Street on Wednesday by the organisation, increasing its total issued and fully paid-up share capital.
Lasaco Assurance, which scaled the recapitalisation hurdle of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) in July 2026, raised fresh capital from the capital market to shore up its capital base.
The underwriting firm got about N18.5 billion from the rights issue, which involved the issuance of 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares at a unit price of N2.00.
The exercise was on the basis of five new ordinary shares for every existing six ordinary shares held as of the close of business on Friday, February 20, 2026.
Confirming the listing of the additional stocks of Lasaco Assurance today, the Head of Issuer Regulation Department of NGX RegCo, Mr Godstime Iwenekhai, announced in a circular that, “Trading licence holders are hereby notified that an additional 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each of Lasaco Assurance Plc were today, Wednesday, August 12, 2026, listed on the daily official list of Nigerian Exchange Limited.
“The additional shares arose from the company’s rights issue of 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N2.00 per share on the basis of five new ordinary shares for every existing six ordinary shares held as of the close of business on Friday, February 20, 2026.
“With the listing of the additional 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares, the total issued and fully paid-up share capital of Lasaco Assurance Plc has now increased from 11,083,585,855 to 20,319,907,401 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) has said the successful recapitalisation of the insurance industry will strengthen the sector’s ability to support financial stability and economic growth.
NIA Chairman, Mrs Ebelechukwu Nwachukwu, said a well-capitalised insurance industry would be better positioned to meet its obligations promptly, underwrite complex and large-scale risks and serve as a dependable pillar of the Nigerian economy.
She made the remarks while commending the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) for its structured implementation of the new minimum capital requirements under the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025.
Mrs Nwachukwu said NAICOM’s clear guidelines, systematic verification process, defined timelines and rigorous supervision had provided operators with a credible framework for navigating the recapitalisation exercise.
She described the outcome as a major milestone for the industry and congratulated the 43 insurance and reinsurance companies that have successfully met the prescribed minimum capital requirements.
According to her, the exercise represents “a major win not just for regulators and operators, but for policyholders, investors and the wider Nigerian economy.”
Mrs Nwachukwu said the association would continue to work with NAICOM and other stakeholders to consolidate the gains of the exercise, with emphasis on sustainable industry growth, stronger market conduct and improved consumer confidence.
The official also expressed solidarity with the eight companies still undergoing final verification and regulatory review, urging them to remain confident as NAICOM completes the process within the 14-day review period.
The NIA chairman assured policyholders and the wider business community that the insurance industry would emerge from the recapitalisation exercise stronger, more resilient and better positioned to contribute to Nigeria’s economic development.
