Economy
Nigeria Drops on Latest Ease of Doing Business Ranking
By Dipo Olowookere
The World Bank has released its Ease of Doing Business raking for 2019 and Nigeria, which moved up by 24 steps in the 2018 log, slipped by one step in the latest standings.
Nigeria, which claimed the 145th position last year from the 190 countries surveyed, moved down to the 146th position in the new ranking.
Business Post reports that countries like Senegal, Lebanon, Niger, Tanzania and Mali claimed the 141st, 142nd, 143rd, 144th and 145th positions respectively.
Last year, when the 2018 ranking was released by the World Bank, Nigeria was among the 10 economies of the world to have recorded a significant improvement in their ease of doing business.
Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business, from 1–190. A high ease of doing business ranking means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm.
The rankings are determined by sorting the aggregate distance to frontier scores on 10 topics, each consisting of several indicators, giving equal weight to each topic. The rankings for all economies are benchmarked to June 2018.
Business Post reports that in the latest ranking, Mauritius was the only Sub-Saharan African economy to join the group of top 20 economies this year.
According to World Bank, Mauritius has reformed its business environment methodically over time, making reforms more than once in almost all areas measured by Doing Business over the past decade.
Following seven reforms in the area of property registration captured by Doing Business since 2005, for example, the time needed to register property has decreased more than 12 times; the time needed for business incorporation has decreased almost 10 times as a result of four reforms in starting a business.
Two economies that enter the top 20 this year, the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia, have maintained such a reform momentum.
The United Arab Emirates is the highest ranking economy in the Middle East and North Africa region, with reforms captured in four areas.
Six reforms in Malaysia were measured by Doing Business, resulting in the second highest regional improvement in the ease of doing business score.
Twelve of the top 20 economies are from the OECD high-income group; four are from East Asia and the Pacific, two are from Europe and Central Asia and one each is from Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East and North Africa.
In the latest report, the top three economies this year are New Zealand, Singapore and Denmark, exemplifying a business friendly environment.
World Bank said in the report that, “Substantial variations in performance among Sub-Saharan African economies present an opportunity for policy makers to learn from the experience of their neighbours.
“In the area of getting credit, for example, officials in Angola (ranked 184) and Eritrea (186) could learn from the experience of Rwanda and Zambia (both ranked 3).
“The two latter economies share many of the good practices found in OECD high income economies, including reliable secured transaction laws and robust credit information sharing available through credit bureaus or registries.”
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has promised to work with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Group Plc for the prevention of financial crime, and the reinforcement of trust and confidence in Nigeria’s capital market.
The Inspector General of Police, Mr Kayode Egbetokun, gave this assurance on Wednesday at the closing gong ceremony in his honour at the NGX in Lagos.
The police chief said, “A transparent and well-regulated capital market is vital to Nigeria’s economic growth. The Nigeria Police Force remains committed to working with regulators and market operators to prevent financial crime, protect investors, and uphold the integrity of our financial system.”
Earlier in his welcome address, the chairman of NGX Group, Mr Umaru Kwairanga, commended the leadership of the police in supporting market integrity.
“Market integrity is a shared responsibility. By honouring the Inspector-General of Police, we are reinforcing the importance of institutional alignment in protecting investors and preserving trust in our financial system.
“Strong collaboration between regulators, enforcement agencies, and market infrastructure institutions is essential to building a resilient and credible market that supports economic growth,” he stated.
The Director-General of SEC, Mr Emomotimi Agama, while speaking, emphasized the importance of coordinated enforcement, noting: “Investor protection is at the core of market regulation, and today’s engagement highlights how critical collaboration with law enforcement is to achieving that mandate. This partnership strengthens our enforcement capacity, enhances deterrence against illegal investment activities, and reinforces confidence in the Nigerian capital market.”
As for the chairman of NGX Limited, Mr Ahonsi Unuigbe, “A transparent and orderly market can only thrive where rules are respected and misconduct is addressed decisively. The presence of the Nigeria Police Force in this collective effort sends a strong signal that safeguarding the market is a national priority.”
Similarly, the chief executive of NGX Group, Mr Temi Popoola, stressed the importance of aligning innovation with oversight, pointing out that, “Technology and market growth must be supported by strong enforcement and investor protection frameworks. Our collaboration with the SEC and the Nigeria Police Force reflects a unified approach to preserving the credibility of Nigeria’s capital market.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rallied by 0.09 per cent on Wednesday, February 4, amid renewed appetite for unlisted stocks.
This lifted the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 3.18 points to 3,641.30 points from the previous session’s 3,641.30 points and raised the market capitalisation by N1.9 billion to N2.180 trillion from the N2.178 trillion quoted on Tuesday.
The bourse recorded three price gainers and four price losers at the midweek session.
The advancers were led by Air Liquide Plc, which went up by N2.04 rise to end at N22.53 per share versus the previous session’s N20.49 per share, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) added 97 Kobo to sell at N44.97 per unit versus N44.00 per unit, and Acorn Petroleum Plc appreciated by 2 Kobo to N1.37 per share from N1.35 per share.
On the flip side, Geo-Fluids Plc lost 55 Kobo to sell at N6.26 per unit versus N6.81 per unit, Nipco Plc depreciated by 48 Kobo to trade at N259.00 per share versus N259.48 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc declined by 40 Kobo to N63.10 per unit from N63.50 per unit, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) depleted by 1 Kobo to 65 Kobo per share from 66 Kobo per share.
Yesterday, the volume of trades slid by 64.5 per cent to 2.5 million units from 7.0 million units, the value of transaction decreased by 53.2 per cent to N17.7 million from N37.9 million, and the number of deals went down by 47.1 per cent to 18 deals from 34 deals.
CSCS Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 16.0 million units valued at N652.6 million, followed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 1.7 million units exchanged for N111.2 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 11.7 million units traded for N76.1 million.
CSCS Plc was also the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 16.0 million units sold for N652.6 million, trailed by Mass Telecom Innovation Plc with 13.3 million units worth N5.3 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 11.7 million units valued at N76.1 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira rallied at the different segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Wednesday as supply continues to outweigh demand, giving it an edge against the United States Dollar.
In the parallel market, the Nigerian Naira improved its value on the greenback yesterday by N5 to quote at N1,450/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,455/$1, and at the GTBank FX desk, it gained N3 to trade at N1,383/$1, in contrast to Tuesday’s exchange rate of N1,386/$1.
In the the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), which is also the official market, the Naira firmed up against the Dollar at midweek by N14.63 or 1.1 per cent to settle at N1,358.28/$1 versus the preceding session’s N1,372.91/$1.
Against the Pound Sterling, the domestic currency appreciated on Wednesday by N14.16 to N1,863.43/£1 from the previous day’s N1,877.59/£1, and gained N13.73 on the Euro to end at N1,606.03/€1 versus the N1,619.76/€1 it was exchanged a day earlier.
The strengthening of the Naira value has been driven by the injection of forex into the financial markets by foreign investors seeking attractive investments in the emerging markets, helping to boost Nigeria’s external reserves, which provide the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) with the capacity to support the local currency.
As of February 4, 2026, the reserves reached $46.59 billion.
The local currency has been able to find a solid path despite no indications of any intervention from the apex bank in recent week, strengthening the case of price discovery.
Policy moves by the CBN is also offering a backbone for the FX market as it considers some strategic reforms through a policy known as the Single Regulatory Window.
In its 2025 Fintech Report, the central bank said this scheme will significantly reduce time-to-market for new digital financial products by streamlining licensing and supervisory processes across multiple agencies.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was in red amid a broad sell-off in global technology stocks, with reports showing that liquidity was notably thin, amplifying price moves and contributing to forced liquidations. The decline followed a sharp sell-off in global technology stocks overnight, where concerns over the pace of artificial intelligence adoption and rising capital spending by major firms weighed heavily on valuations.
Bitcoin (BTC) lost 7.9 per cent to sell at $70,534.94, Ripple (XRP) declined by 11.2 per cent to $1.42, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 9.4 per cent to $689.70, Ethereum (ETH) crashed by 8.9 per cent to $2,072.46, and Solana (SOL) dipped by 8.7 per cent to $89.86.
In addition, Dogecoin (DOGE) depreciated by 6.9 per cent to $0.1008, Cardano (ADA) slipped by 6.8 per cent to $0.2792, Litecoin (LTC) dropped 5.1 per cent to trade at $57.56, and US Dollar Tether (USDT) went down by 0.1 per cent to $0.9980, while the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00.
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