Economy
Asian Equities Decline as Trump, Kim Leave Vietnam With No Deal
By Investors Hub
Asian stocks ended Thursday’s session mostly lower as comments by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer dampened recent optimism about the U.S.-China trade talks.
Investor sentiment was also dented by weak data from China and news that U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un abruptly ended summit talks earlier than scheduled.
Chinese shares fell as weak data reinforced fears that the world’s second-largest economy is losing momentum.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dropped 12.87 points or 0.4 percent to 2,940.95, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 124.26 points or 0.4 percent to 28,633.18.
Activity in China’s vast manufacturing sector continued to contract in February, and at a faster rate, the latest survey from the National Bureau of Statistics revealed with a manufacturing PMI score of 49.2.
That missed expectations for a score of 49.5, which would have been unchanged from the previous month.
The non-manufacturing PMI came in with a score of 54.3 in February – shy of expectations for 54.5 and down from 54.7 in the previous month.
Japanese shares fell as hopes for progress in U.S-China trade talks faded and a historic summit ended without agreement on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Weak industrial output and retail sales data also weighed on markets.
The Nikkei 225 Index slid 171.35 points or 0.8 percent to 21,385.16, while the broader Topix closed 0.8 percent lower at 1,607.66.
Machinery and shipping stocks fell the most, with Fanuc, Mitsui OSK Lines and Komatsu falling 2-3 percent. Gaming firm Nexon Co. soared 4.7 percent on buzz that its holding firm NXC Corp. is up for grabs.
In economic news, industrial production in Japan plunged a seasonally adjusted 3.7 percent in January, a government report showed. That missed expectations for a decline of 2.5 percent following the 0.1 percent dip in December.
The total value of retail sales in Japan was down a seasonally adjusted 2.3 percent sequentially in the month, missing expectations for a decrease of 0.8 percent following the 0.9 percent increase in December.
Meanwhile, Australian markets eked out modest gains, with financials and healthcare companies leading the surge.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 18.70 points or 0.3 percent to 6,169, taking the monthly gain to over 5 percent, its biggest monthly gain since July 2016. The broader All Ordinaries Index ended up 19.10 points or 0.3 percent at 6,252.70.
The big four banks rose between 0.4 percent and 1.3 percent in light of a less harsh outcome from a bank inquiry into financial misconduct. Healthcare stocks witnessed defensive buying, with CSL jumping 3.1 percent.
Ramsay Health Care surged up 5.9 percent as it reported a nearly 10 percent increase in first-half profits and reaffirmed its outlook for full-year earnings.
Mining stocks ended mixed after the release of weaker Chinese factory data. BHP fell 1.2 percent and Fortescue Metals Group tumbled 5.2 percent, while Rio Tinto rose over 1 percent.
On the data front, reports on private capital spending and private sector credit proved to be a mixed bag.
Seoul stocks closed sharply lower as the U.S.-North Korea summit ended abruptly with no deal. The benchmark Kospi plunged 39.35 points or 1.8 percent to 2,195.44 ahead of a long holiday weekend.
The local markets will be closed Friday to commemorate the March 1 Independence Movement, which took place in 1919.
Tech stocks succumbed to heavy selling pressure, with LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix losing 2-5 percent.
Investors ignored positive industrial output data showing that production in South Korea climbed a seasonally adjusted 0.5 percent in January, rebounding from the 0.8 percent contraction in December.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Senate has passed a bill to repeal and re-enact the law establishing the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), paving the way for the regulatory agency to be renamed the Insurance Regulatory Commission (IRC).
The legislation, titled the Insurance Regulatory Commission (Establishment) Bill, 2026, was passed after the Senate considered and adopted the report of its committee on banking, insurance and other financial institutions.
The Chairman of the committee, Mr Adetokunbo Abiru, the senator representing Lagos East, who presented the report, stated that the proposed legislation was necessary because the existing National Insurance Commission Act of 1997 had become outdated and no longer reflected the realities of Nigeria’s evolving insurance industry or global regulatory standards.
According to the Senate, the decision to change the Commission’s name was informed by the need to eliminate confusion associated with the existing designation and to better reflect the institution’s regulatory mandate within Nigeria’s insurance industry.
The bill also provides legal protection for the commission and its officers against adverse claims arising from the lawful execution of their statutory duties.
However, he noted that the commission’s enabling law had become obsolete, exposing significant regulatory gaps that required urgent legislative intervention.
‘The current National Insurance Commission Act 1997 is outdated and does not adequately address the emerging economic growth, needs and development of the insurance business,” the lawmaker said.
He explained that the new legislation seeks to strengthen the independence of the commission by empowering it to make regulatory decisions without undue influence in the country’s insurance sector.
According to him, the bill also enhances the commission’s authority to exchange information and collaborate with domestic and international regulatory bodies, issue regulations, guidelines, standards and directives on insurance-related matters, and intervene more effectively in financially distressed insurance companies to protect policyholders and preserve financial stability.
This marks yet another move to strengthen the country’s insurance sector following the enactment of the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) of 2025 and the industry-wide recapitalisation exercise, which will wrap up by July 31.
By Adedapo Adesanya
About 143 companies that successfully passed the technical and prequalification stages of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission’s (NUPRC) 2025 Licensing Round will, today, compete for 50 oil and gas blocks at the commercial bid conference in Abuja, the final stage in the allocation process for the assets.
The commission said only the prequalified companies have been invited to attend the event, which will hold at the Conference Centre of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, stressing that participation is strictly by invitation.
The commercial bid conference will determine the successful bidders for oil and gas assets located across Nigeria’s producing and frontier basins.
The 50 blocks comprise 16 onshore blocks and 18 shallow water blocks in the Niger Delta, one deep offshore block, three onshore blocks in the Benin Basin, four in the Anambra Basin, four in the Chad Basin, and four in the Benue Trough.
According to the commission, the winning bids will be determined through a transparent evaluation process based on clearly defined commercial parameters. These include the signature bonus offered by bidders, the proposed work programme commitment and the level of performance security provided. The final selection will be based on a weighted technical and commercial score.
The licensing round is being conducted under the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, which requires a transparent and competitive process for the award of petroleum assets.
NUPRC had announced the commencement of the 2025 Licensing Round on November 11, 2025, before opening the online bid portal on December 1, 2025, to enable interested companies to register and participate in the exercise.
To ensure prospective investors fully understood the requirements, the commission organised a pre-bid conference on January 14, 2026, at Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos. The event provided detailed explanations on the licensing guidelines and bidding procedures to registered participants and other stakeholders.
Registration and submission of prequalification documents closed on February 27, 2026, while the prequalification evaluation was completed on March 16, 2026.
NUPRC disclosed that 286 companies initially submitted applications for prequalification.
Following the evaluation process, 196 companies were cleared to participate in the technical and commercial bid stages.
The prequalified 143 companies eventually submitted a total of 200 bids for the available oil and gas blocks. These companies are now set to compete at the commercial bid conference, where the financial offers will be opened and evaluated to determine the eventual winners.
The licensing round is expected to attract fresh investment into Nigeria’s upstream petroleum sector, boost exploration activities across both producing and frontier basins, increase crude oil and gas reserves, and support the country’s drive to grow production and government revenue.
It also underscores the regulator’s commitment to implementing a transparent, competitive and investor-friendly licensing regime under the Petroleum Industry Act.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has retained all key monetary policy parameters following the conclusion of its two-day meeting on July 21, 2026, on Tuesday, maintaining its tight monetary policy stance to curb inflation and support macroeconomic stability.
According to the Governor of the apex bank, Mr Yemi Cardoso, who chaired the committee, the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), which serves as the benchmark interest rate, remains at 26.50 per cent. The MPC also retained the asymmetric corridor around the MPR at +50 basis points and -450 basis points.
In addition, the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) for commercial banks was left unchanged at 45.00 per cent, while the CRR for merchant banks remains at 16.00 per cent. The committee also retained the CRR on non-Treasury Single Account (Non-TSA) public sector deposits at 75.00 per cent, with the liquidity ratio at 30.00 per cent.
The decision reflects the apex bank’s continued commitment to containing inflationary pressures through a restrictive monetary policy while safeguarding the resilience of Nigeria’s financial system amid ongoing macroeconomic adjustments.
By keeping all policy tools unchanged, the MPC signalled its intention to continue managing excess liquidity in the banking sector and maintain stability in financial markets.
The move is also expected to provide greater policy certainty for investors and businesses monitoring the country’s monetary policy direction.
The latest decision also means borrowing costs are likely to remain elevated in the near term as the central bank continues to prioritise price stability over monetary easing.
Analysts had expected the CBN committee to retain the rate after Nigeria’s headline inflation came in at 15.91 per cent as of June 2026, marking a slight decline from 15.93 per cent in May.
However, even as overall price growth has moderated significantly compared to previous periods, food inflation remains a persistent challenge, accelerating to 17.52 per cent in June.
