Economy
Investors Lose N160bn as Apathy for Stocks Dwindles
By Dipo Olowookere
The equity market in Nigeria further depreciated on Thursday by 0.79 per cent as investors await a trigger that would spur them to develop an appetite for the volatile investment tool.
Yesterday, it was observed that investors’ apathy for stocks dwindled, though the activity chart showed an improvement in the level of transactions, it was still below the normal daily average.
For now, traders are taking profit, especially on Oando, which has seen a significant rise in its value in the past few days, and this is weighing on the market.
At the close of business on Thursday, the market breadth, which measures investor sentiment, closed negative with 17 price gainers and 22 price losers.
Oando finished the session as the heaviest price loser with a decline of 9.70 per cent to trade at N4.75 and was trailed by UAC Nigeria, which lost 8.93 per cent to sell at N10.20.
Linkage Assurance depreciated by 7.69 per cent to 60 kobo, FTN Cocoa went down by 7.55 per cent to 49 kobo, while UPDC declined by 5.56 per cent to N1.19.
Conversely, the biggest price gainer of the session was Tripple G as its value went up by 10.00 per cent to 99 kobo and was trailed by Regency Alliance, which gained 9.76 per cent to close at 45 kobo.
Consolidated Hallmark Insurance improved by 9.26 per cent to 59 kobo, Prestige Assurance appreciated by 8.89 per cent to 49 kobo, while Academy Press gained 8.57 per cent to trade at 38 kobo.
Apart from the insurance sector, which gained 3.24 per cent yesterday, every other key sector closed negative with the industrial goods space losing 2.02 per cent.
The energy counter went down by 1.93 per cent, the banking sector depreciated by 0.81 per cent, while the consumer goods counter declined by 0.35 per cent, data obtained by Business Post showed.
The losses printed by these sectors affected the All-Share Index (ASI) of the exchange as it went down by 306.21 points to 38,484.82 points from 38,791.03 points and it shrank the market capitalisation by N160 billion to N20.051 trillion from N20.211 trillion.
At the market yesterday, investors traded 260.0 million equities worth N2.0 billion in 4,975 deals as against the 237.5 million equities worth N1.9 billion transacted in 4,305 deals.
Analysis of the activity chart showed that Oando was the most traded stock as a result of heavy profit-taking and when the market closed for the day, it transacted 56.3 million shares worth N288.5 million.
GTCO transacted 15.3 million equities valued at N444.9 million, Jaiz Bank exchanged 14.9 million stocks for N9.2 million, Fidelity Bank traded 14.4 million shares for N34.2 million, while Wema Bank sold 12.2 million equities worth N10.1 million.
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.
