Economy
Nigerian Stocks Grossly Undervalued at Current Prices—Olubiyi
By Dipo Olowookere
An expert in capital market, Dr Timi Olubiyi, has said the current prices of stocks at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) are “grossly undervalued.”
Mr Olubiyi made this disclosure in an opinion article he wrote and was published on Business Post on Sunday.
The chartered member of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI) and financial literacy specialist said most stocks on the exchange were far below their real worth and book value.
“Equities are grossly undervalued at current prices; most stocks are far below their real worth and book value.
“Also, the current valuations already offer opportunities to those who want to position for the long-term.
“Essentially, hedging against inflation is achievable with the current equity prices if held over in the long-term,” Mr Olubiyi said in the article.
He said in the first quarter of 2020, the local stock exchange closed in the red territory in terms of performance with a negative return of 20.65 percent in contrast to a negative return of 1.24 percent in the corresponding period of 2019.
In the period under consideration, the market capitalisation of the NSE, which represents the market value of all listed companies, lost about N2 trillion.
But in April 2020, when the lockdown imposed on Lagos, Abuja and Ogun State became fully effective, the market surprisingly appreciated by 8.08 percent month-on-month.
The All-Share Index (ASI), which opened the month at 21,300.47 points, closed at 23,021.01 points at the end of the month, while the market value increased by N896 billion to N11.997 trillion from the opening value of N11.101 trillion.
In May 2020, the market on month-on-month performance closed at 9.76 percent as against 8.08 percent recorded in April 2020.
Mr Olubiyi attributed the positive performance of the exchange to investors’ bargain hunting even though most of the trades were executed remotely.
At an event held few weeks ago, the Chief Executive Officer of the NSE, Mr Oscar Onyema, said during the lockdown, which was eased in early June, domestic investors took over the market after the exit of offshore traders, who used to dominate transactions.
But Mr Olubiyi, who is prolific investment coach and an entrepreneurship and small business management expert, said he foresees “a return of foreign investors when a bit of stability and flattening of the curve of the pandemic has been achieved globally particularly in Nigeria.”
However, he advised regulators and government “to improve policies and laws to promote foreign investors and inward foreign direct investments (FDIs) because it will eventually stimulate economic development.”
According to him, “The policy of ease of doing business in Nigeria can be upgraded to include foreign portfolio investment policy options.
“Furthermore, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)-incentives (tax-related) to considerably increase foreign participation in our capital market ecosystem needs to reflect in the post-COVID recovery policy.”
In the past days, especially in June, the market has not been able to replicate its astonishing performance when business activities were paused in the country due to the virus, which has infected over 20,000 persons in almost four months and claimed 518 lives since February 27, 2020, when Nigeria recorded its first case.
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.
