Economy
MTN Nigeria, Lafarge Africa Put NSE on Cloud 9
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) was on cloud nine on Tuesday, reversing the losses printed on Monday courtesy the gains posted by MTN Nigeria, Lafarge Africa and some other stocks.
The equity market appreciated yesterday by 1.24 percent as a result of buying interests in these stocks, which had traded at very low prices for a while.
According to data obtained by Business Post from the exchange at the close of transactions, the All-Share Index (ASI) jerked up on Tuesday by 255.81 points to 20,925.19 points from 20,669.38 points, while the market capitalisation moved up by N133 billion to N10.905 trillion from N10.772 trillion.
The lockdown in Lagos, Abuja and Ogun State did not stop investors from trading stocks at the market as the local bourse remained very busy, though transactions occurred remotely.
By the time activities were brought to an end yesterday, the volume of shares traded increased by 328.79 percent, while the value of stocks exchanged by market participants rose by 34.93 percent, with the number of deals increasing by 11.07 percent.
It was observed that a total of 1.4 billion stocks worth N5.6 billion exchanged hands in 4,647 deals during the session compared with the 336.4 million equities worth N4.1 billion transacted in 4,184 deals the previous session.
An analysis of the trades showed that Omoluabi Mortgage Bank boosted the trading volume on Tuesday with 1.1 billion units of the company’s stocks worth N605.0 million.
GTBank traded 161.1 million shares for N2.9 billion, FBN Holdings transacted 32.4 million equities worth N140.8 million, Zenith Bank exchanged 28.6 million shares valued at N366.3 million, while UBA traded 20.6 million shares for N110.1 million.
On the price movement chart, MTN Nigeria dominated the gainers’ log. The telco’s stocks appreciated by N2.80 to sell at N94.80 per unit.
Lafarge Africa gained 95 kobo to trade at N10.75 per share, Zenith Bank moved up by 90 kobo to N12.95 per unit, Custodian Investment garnered 50 kobo to trade at N5.75 per unit, while UBA chalked up 45 kobo to quote at N5.45 per share.
Conversely, Ardova was the worst performing stock at the market yesterday. The energy stocks depreciated by N1.35 to settle at N12.45 per share.
Cadbury Nigeria lost 70 kobo to trade at N6.30 per unit, Flour Mills went down by 50 kobo to N21 per share, BUA Cement lost 30 kobo to finish at N31.50 per share, while Axa Mansard crashed by 17 kobo to N1.58 per unit.
A look at the sectoral performance showed that only the banking and industrial goods counters closed in the green territory. While the former appreciated by 3.22 percent, the latter went up by 3.44 percent.
However, the insurance index depreciated by 2.18 percent, the oil/gas sector fell by 0.62 percent, while the consumer goods declined by 0.14 percent.
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.
