Economy
Heritage Bank Deepens Agro-Business Funding
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Managing Director and CEO of Heritage Bank Plc, Mr Ifie Sekibo, has disclosed that the lender will focus in supporting the agricultural space through financing farmers to purchase modern technology.
The bank chief noted that the funding will bring about transformative development in the sector, which has been getting government’s attention lately.
Mr Sekibo, in a statement released on Wednesday by the Group Head of Corporate Communications at Heritage Bank, Mr Fela Ibidapo, reiterated the financial institution’s commitment to further deepen the drive to support agribusiness value chain in order to fast track food security and sufficiency in the country.
He said the bank will continue to make farming profitable to stakeholders and attractive to the youth by boosting the agric base of the nation so as to support food sufficiency.
Mr Sekibo stated that Heritage Bank will support the drive for cash crop commodities that would boost Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings, which the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has always been cautious given the dangers the continuous reliance on imported food items pose to its efforts to create jobs as well as develop and diversify the economy.
Also, the bank’s Group Head, Agriculture Finance, Mr Olugbenga Awe, disclosed that Heritage Bank was committed to the development of agribusiness and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
“Our support cuts across the entire value chain with focus on large corporates and small holder farmers. We encourage value addition and ultimately export,” he said.
He, however, noted that the bank’s support goes beyond food sufficiency to increasing cash crop commodities that would boost Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings.
He hinted that Heritage Bank is effectively tackling the bottlenecks since it has long identified the opportunities in agribusiness, thereby offering solutions to ease of doing business in the sector.
“For ease of financing, we would be better off with functional commodity exchanges as a country. We can start by refinancing commodities through warehousing receipt systems, gradually we will move to crop receipt.
“With commodities exchange, the value-chain is strengthened and the whole system is structured.
“Exchange helps in reducing the long marketing chain, it helps in enforcement of commodity standards, it provides price certainty and in some cases storage and warehousing facilities,” Mr Awe suggested.
He further noted that, “If we sustain the current momentum on rice, we shall surely export rice in the nearest future, and the operative word here is sustaining the momentum. However, there is need for strategic alignment on objectives.
“The current focus by government is on small holders’ farmers using the instrumentality of the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) by Central Bank of Nigeria.”
The Agriculture Finance’s Group Head also said to hasten the export drive, commercial farmers will have to step in and drive the process using mechanization on thousands of hectares of farmland with vast irrigation networks and all year round farming as most importers need large quantities delivered on schedule.
Meanwhile, he noted that with the Heritage Bank strategic partnership, CBN had continued to provide lot of supports through various on-lending scheme, as ABP has made visible and measurable impact especially in rice, while hoping other commodities especially grains would follow.
Mr Awe explained that via the strategic partnerships Heritage Bank have achieved vast footprints in agribusiness.
“For example, through our partnership with Triton Aqua Africa Limited and on-lending support from CBN, Heritage Bank has provided N2 billion for fishery to reduce our heavy reliance on fish import.
“Nigeria’s current annual demand for fish is estimated at 2.7 million metric tonnes and we currently produce about 800,000 metric tonnes.
“With support from CBN through Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme CACS, Triton is now producing about 27,000 metric tonnes and their projection is to reach 100,000 metric tonnes in five years.
“From recent forecast, they will meet that projection easily. The bank is also supporting rice farmers under the ABP in Bakolori, Zamfara, Sanga in Kaduna and Soyabeans farmers in Rijana, Kaduna. Heritage Bank also has ongoing projects across the country,” he said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil prices settled lower by more than 3 per cent on Monday as supply concerns eased after US Vice President JD Vance said progress has been made in talks with Iran and the Strait of Hormuz was open.
Brent crude dropped $2.67 or 3.31 per cent to trade at $77.90 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures settled at $74.82 a barrel after shedding $1.78 or 2.32 per cent.
Prices had climbed after threats by US President Donald Trump to restart the Iran war, while Iran announced that it had again closed the Strait of Hormuz.
High-ranking American and Iranian officials wrapped up their first round of talks in Switzerland on Monday, continuing the discussions that began on Sunday under the terms of a memorandum of understanding reached last week to extend a tenuous ceasefire from April for at least another 60 days.
The US authorised Iranian oil sales on Monday. The general license, announced by the Treasury Department, allows the sale of crude oil, petrochemical and petroleum products of Iranian origin through August 21.
At least three supertankers, carrying a total of 6 million barrels of Iranian crude, moved to transit the Strait of Hormuz heading to Singapore early on Monday.
Amid lingering concerns over the Strait of Hormuz, Iran is rapidly pushing out crude supplies that accumulated after failing to circumvent US restrictions in recent months.
Reuters reported that Iran did not negotiate on its nuclear programme and did not accept any new commitments in Sunday’s talks with the US in Switzerland, citing an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson.
More Middle East producers began to lift more oil, with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait and Iraq offering more oil to customers in the past week.
In other producers like Saudi Arabia, crude oil exports from Saudi Arabia fell for a second straight month in April and hit a record low of 3.99 million barrels per day, compared with 4.974 million barrels per day in March.
Another producer under the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Iraq, plans to restore crude production gradually to between 4.2 million barrels per day and 4.3 million barrels per day.
By Dipo Olowookere
The week-on-week trading volume on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited contracted by 38 per cent amid profit-taking by investors as a result of cautious trading.
Data from Customs Street showed that in the five-day trading week, market participants transacted 3.075 billion shares worth N254.614 billion in 287,157 deals, in contrast to the 4.964 billion shares valued at N207.521 billion traded in 235,966 deals in the preceding week.
Analysis showed that financial equities led the activity chart, with 2.074 billion units sold for N64.490 billion in 121,981 deals, contributing 67.44 per cent and 25.33 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively.
Services stocks recorded a turnover of 175.743 million units worth N2.759 billion in 19,590 deals, while consumer goods shares exchanged 133.375 million units valued at N12.680 billion in 30,730 deals.
Access Holdings, Sterling Holdings, and Jaiz Bank accounted for 819.234 million shares worth N12.247 billion in 21,809 deals, contributing 26.64 per cent and 4.81 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively.
In the week, 11 equities gained weight versus 40 equities a week earlier, 78 shares lost weight versus 53 shares in the previous week, and 57 stocks closed flat versus 53 stocks of the preceding week.
Cornerstone Insurance chalked up 11.01 per cent to sell for N6.05, Academy Press rose by 8.72 per cent to N8.10, Conoil improved by 8.25 per cent to N210.00, Neimeth expanded by 4.68 per cent to N8.95, and Ikeja Hotel grew by 3.36 per cent to N44.60.
On the flip side, International Energy Insurance shed 28.83 per cent to trade at N5.06, First Holdco lost 20.29 per cent to finish at N55.00, John Holt slipped by 17.65 per cent to N11.20, NAHCO depreciated by 17.27 per cent to N148.50, and Zichis dropped 16.13 per cent to settle at N26.00.
Business Post reports that the All-Share Index (ASI) and the market capitalisation depreciated by 3.59 per cent to close the week at 235,941.27 points and N151.327 trillion, respectively. Also, all other indices finished lower except the sovereign bond index, which remained unchanged.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Dimension Data SPV Funding Plc has opened subscriptions for its Series 1 Corporate Bond issuance of up to N5 billion under a N20 billion bond programme, with proceeds earmarked for expanding Nigeria’s digital infrastructure.
The offer, led by Pathway Advisors Limited as the Lead Issuing House and Bookrunner, is being executed through a book-building process and will close on June 29, 2026.
According to transaction details, the three-year bond is being offered at a book-build price range of 18.50 per cent to 20.00 per cent per annum, with coupon payments to be made semi-annually. The final coupon rate will be determined at the conclusion of the book-building exercise. The minimum subscription has been set at N10 million.
Dimension Data SPV Funding Plc said the funds raised from the issuance would be deployed towards strategic investments in fibre network expansion, capacity enhancement and service quality improvements.
The company noted that the investments would strengthen the infrastructure supporting Nigeria’s rapidly expanding fintech sector, enterprise connectivity needs and the broader digital economy.
“The proceeds from the bond issuance are intended to support strategic investments in fibre network expansion, capacity enhancement and quality service delivery. This will bolster the critical infrastructure supporting Nigeria’s broader fintech, enterprise connectivity and digital ecosystems,” the company stated.
The bond has been assigned ratings of BBB+ by Agusto & Co and A- by DataPro Limited, while the sponsor, Dimension Data Limited, holds BBB+ ratings from both Agusto & Co and DataPro.
Dimension Data Limited, incorporated in 2003, is a provider of end-to-end Information and Communications Technology (ICT) solutions in Nigeria.
The company provides services including IP telephony, SD-WAN, dedicated internet services and Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) solutions, while also offering managed services, hosting, storage and virtual machine solutions. Its operations span connectivity services, systems integration, data centre management and cloud solutions.
Dimension Data operates a purpose-built data centre with a 47-rack capacity, serving clients across the banking, telecommunications, retail and enterprise sectors.
According to the company, its business model combines recurring revenues from managed services with project-based income from systems integration activities, creating a diversified revenue base and stable cash flows.
The firm also said it has maintained long-standing relationships with a broad portfolio of local and multinational clients, with more than 70 per cent of its major customers retaining business relationships with the company for over a decade.
Commenting on the transaction, Pathway Advisors Limited said the offer presents investors with an opportunity to gain exposure to a critical infrastructure segment positioned for sustained long-term growth as Nigeria accelerates its digital transformation agenda.
Pathway Advisors, a Securities and Exchange Commission-regulated issuing house and financial advisory firm, said it remains committed to facilitating access to capital and supporting sustainable economic growth across key sectors of the Nigerian economy.
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