Economy
Customs Street Drops 0.51% as Eterna Closes Worst-Performing Stock
By Dipo Olowookere
For another trading session, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended in red territory after further losing 0.51 per cent on Tuesday.
Customs Street witnessed sustained selling pressure during the trading day, with the banking index shedding 1.80 per cent at the close of transactions.
Further, the consumer goods sector depreciated by 0.37 per cent, and the energy counter went down by 0.36 per cent.
However, the insurance sector grew by 0.73 per cent, the commodity space appreciated by 0.14 per cent, and the industrial goods industry slightly improved 0.01 per cent.
The heavy profit-taking by the market participants crumbled the All-Share Index (ASI) by 550.88 per cent to 106,904.25 points from 107,455.13 points and sank the market capitalisation by N345 billion to N66.943 trillion from N67.288 trillion.
The quintet of Eterna, Guinea Insurance, Dangote Sugar, Deap Capital, and Transcorp ended the day as the worst-performing stocks after losing 10.00 per cent each to sell for N37.80 per cent, 63 Kobo, N36.00, 90 Kobo, and N51.30, respectively.
The best-performing stock on Tuesday was UH REIT, which gained 9.94 per cent to quote at N48.65, NEM Insurance surged by 8.78 per cent to N14.25, Ikeja Hotel rose by 8.72 per cent to N11.85, Consolidated Hallmark appreciated by 6.76 per cent to N3.95, and Livestock Feeds increased by 4.53 per cent to N7.85.
Business Post reports that investor sentiment was weak yesterday as there were 17 price gainers and 44 price losers, indicating a negative market breadth index.
A total of 395.5 million equities worth N8.8 billion exchanged hands in 13,967 deals during the session compared with the 308.1 million equities valued at N7.2 billion transacted in 15,474 deals a day earlier, representing a decline in the number of deals by 9.74 per cent, and growth in the trading volume and value by 28.37 per cent, and 20.83 per cent, respectively.
The most active stock for the day was United Capital with 40.5 million units sold for N732.8 million, Ellah Lakes traded 26.2 million units valued at N78.9 million, Zenith Bank transacted 25.7 million units worth N1.2 billion, Universal Insurance exchanged 22.0 million units worth N13.9 million, and Access Holdings traded 18.2 million units valued at N448.3 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.
