Economy
Afreximbank Opens Shareholding to Investors
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), an investment grade rated multilateral financial institution, says it is opening its shareholding to the investing public through the issuance of Depositary Receipts.
A statement issued by the lender noted that it was launching a $300 million equity offering, using Depositary Receipts backed by its Class ‘D’ shares.
It is in partnership with the SBM Group, a leader in the financial sector in Mauritius.
The Depositary Receipts, whose listing has been approved on the Stock Exchange of Mauritius, subject to raising the funds by the end of September, mark the fruition of a unique initiative on which Afreximbank and SBM Group have worked in the last few months and represent a big first for Africa’s equity capital markets. This represents the first time a supranational bank is issuing Depositary Receipts through an African stock exchange.
The rationale for the Depositary Receipts issuance, according to Afreximbank, is the need to enhance its capitalization in order to significantly narrow the trade financing gap in Africa, currently estimated at $120 billion annually, and to meet its strategic objective of growing intra-African trade in all regions of the continent, including island economies.
President of Afreximbank, Mr Benedict Oramah, noted that “Mauritius as a premier financial centre in Africa, has a conducive regulatory framework for this innovative equity offering. On the other hand, SBM possesses the competencies, investor contacts, infrastructure and support capabilities for the issuance of the Depositary Receipts.”
The Depositary Receipts issuance represents an opportunity for Afreximbank to diversify its shareholder base by enabling investors in Africa and beyond, who have not yet invested in the bank, to do so and to strengthen Africa’s premier trade finance institution, whose interventions in its various member countries have created acknowledged developmental impacts across the continent, he said.
In addition, the Depositary Receipts would enable Afreximbank to increase its permanent source of capital while giving investors a liquid instrument which will have strong portfolio diversification effects, added Mr Oramah.
Being a novel issuance in Africa, Afreximbank’s Depositary Receipts are expected to further deepen Africa’s equity capital markets, paving the way for similar issuances by other multilaterals.
Chairman of SBM Holdings Ltd, Kee Chong Li Kwong Wing, disclosed that, “It is a privilege for SBM to have been entrusted by Afreximbank to execute such an important transaction.
“The structuring and issuance of Depositary Receipts is an addition to the Group’s portfolio of services, a recognition of our competence and experience, and it reinforces the position of SBM Group and Mauritius as important financial players in the region.
“It is high time to see Global investors investing in Africa and tap into Africa’s huge potential.”
“This initiative is an innovation for the financial market,” said Mr Li. “This African ‘Premier’ shall be a model to other countries and financial institutions. Together, Afreximbank and SBM Group are creating opportunities for the reinforcement of trade, investment and development across the African continent and the deepening of Africa’s capital markets.”
Afreximbank’s shareholders are a four-tier mix of public and private entities, with Class ‘A’, constituted of African states, African central banks and African public institutions; Class ‘B’, made up of African financial institutions and African private investors; Class ‘C’, with shares held by non-African investors, mostly international banks and export credit agencies; and Class ‘D’, under which fully paid shares can be held by any investor.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Revenue from Company Income Tax (CIT) in the fourth quarter of 2025 decreased by 49.8 per cent to N1.487 trillion from N2.96 trillion in the third quarter of 2025, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The figure was contained in the NBS Company Income Tax (CIT) Q4 2025 Report released in Abuja on Wednesday by the stats office.
CIT is a statutory levy imposed on the profits of incorporated businesses in Nigeria. It is governed primarily by the Companies Income Tax Act (CITA) and administered by the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS).
The report said domestic CIT received was N819.83 billion (55 per cent), while foreign CIT payment was N668.21 billion (45 per cent) in Q4 2025.
It said on a quarter-on-quarter basis, activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies recorded the highest growth rate with 75.15 per cent,
The report said this was followed by Education and real estate activities at 54.20 per cent and 27.25 per cent, respectively.
“On the other hand, accommodation and food services activities recorded the least growth rate at -67.11 per cent, followed by activities of households as employers, undifferentiated goods and services producing activities of households for own use at -63.49 per cent.
“It said mining quarrying was recorded at -49.63 per cent.”
In terms of sectoral contributions, the report showed that the top three activities with the highest contribution in Q4 2025 were financial and insurance activities at 18.17 per cent, manufacturing at 17.30 per cent and mining and quarrying at 15.04 per cent.
It said, on the other hand, the activities of households as employers, undifferentiated goods and 0.002 per cent.
“This was followed by water supply, sewage, waste management and remediation activities with 0.04 per cent.
The report, however, said that, on a year-on-year basis, CIT collections in Q4 2025 increased by 13.38 per cent from Q4 2024.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The World Bank has warned that Nigeria’s economic recovery has yet to improve household welfare as wage growth continues to lag behind inflation, leaving real incomes under pressure.
This was disclosed in its April 2026 Nigeria Development Update titled Nigeria’s Tomorrow Must Start Today: The Case for Early Childhood Development.
According to the report, while the Nigerian economy recorded moderate growth in 2026, following expansions of 4.1 per cent in 2024 and 4.0 per cent in 2025, the gains have not translated into improved living standards for most citizens.
It stated that growth was largely driven by the services sector, particularly ICT, financial services, and real estate, while agriculture and crude oil production made modest contributions.
On inflation, the report said price pressures have eased but remain in double digits, partly due to the impact of the Middle East conflict.
The lender noted that multidimensional poverty and weak early childhood development outcomes are threatening Nigeria’s long-term economic potential, despite signs of macroeconomic recovery.
The report explained that Nigeria is facing a deep early childhood development crisis, with poor outcomes in health, nutrition, and learning undermining productivity and future growth.
It emphasised that early childhood development, especially from pregnancy to age five, is critical to reversing the trend.
“Investments during this period generate lasting benefits, including better education outcomes, higher earnings, lower health costs, and stronger social cohesion. Investments during this period are highly cost-effective,” the report said.
The report highlighted alarming child welfare indicators, noting that 110 out of every 1,000 Nigerian children die before the age of five, 40 per cent are stunted, and 52 per cent are not developmentally on track before entering school.
It attributed these outcomes to persistent gaps in maternal healthcare, nutrition, early learning, and access to water and sanitation, particularly within the first 2,000 days of a child’s life.
The bank added that these outcomes remain “weak and highly unequal,” with significant disparities across income levels, regions, and states.
The report further revealed that favourable external inflows boosted reserves, with net external reserves rising to $34.8 billion at the end of 2025, while gross reserves reached $45.5 billion, equivalent to 8.7 months of imports.
However, it noted that Nigeria’s fiscal deficit widened slightly in 2025, as increased non-oil revenues were offset by higher state-level capital spending and federal recurrent expenditure.
“Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) gross revenues rose from 7.9 per cent of GDP in 2024 to 8.5 per cent in 2025, driven by strong non-oil tax collections reflecting improved tax administration.
“This includes expanded e-filing and e-payments, higher compliance ahead of the implementation of the new tax bills, and the rollout of VAT e-invoicing, alongside a 0.2 per cent of GDP rise in subnational internally generated revenues,” the report stated.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
One of the players in the Nigerian aviation sector, Caverton Offshore Support Group Plc, has informed the investing public that it is unsure when it will file its audited financial statements for 2025.
Companies listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited are required to submit their audited financial results at most three months after the end of the fiscal year.
For Caverton, it was supposed to release the financial statements for 2025 on or before March 31, 2026; however, it has not done the needful.
In a statement to explain the delay in the filing of the results, the company said it has not completed the audit, and does not know when this process will be concluded by its external auditor.
“The delay in filing the 2025 AFS arises from the fact that the audit of the company’s financial statements is still ongoing. The company is working closely with its external auditors to conclude the audit process.
“However, as at the date of this notice, the audit has not been finalised due to the need to complete certain outstanding review procedures and obtain final audit clearances to ensure the accuracy, completeness, and integrity of the financial statements,” Caverton explained.
It further said, “While significant progress has been made, the audit process has not reached completion, and as such, the company is currently unable to confirm a definitive timeline for the finalisation and filing of the AFS.”
“The company considers it prudent not to provide an anticipated filing date at this time in order to avoid providing information that may subsequently require revision,” it further stated in the statement signed by its scribe, Ms Amaka Obiora.
Caverton assured “its shareholders and the market that it remains fully committed to maintaining the highest standards of financial reporting, transparency, and regulatory compliance,” promising to promptly file the results “upon completion of the audit process.”
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