Economy
Coca-Cola to Inject N560bn into Nigeria’s Economy
By Ashemiriogwa Emmanuel
With its massive support in job creation for Nigerians over the years, the Coca-Cola System in Nigeria, comprising Nigerian Bottling Company Limited (NBC) and Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited, has said it will invest N560 billion in the country in five years.
The Managing Director of NBC, Mr Mathieu Seguin, said this at the company’s 70th-anniversary celebration in Nigeria on Thursday. He explained that the aim of the investment is to positively impact the lives of Nigerians and expand the company’s operations in the host country.
Speaking at a news conference, Mr Seguin said, “Since 2007, we have invested $1.7 billion in the country and we will be investing an additional N560 billion in our operations in Nigeria.
“In the last five years, the Coca-Cola system has also supported the creation of 58,000 jobs along its value chain.”
He reiterated the company’s deliberate plans in investing heavily to make a positive impact in the lives of people in communities where we work and operate, adding that the business will only grow at the rate of which the communities do.
“Over the next five years, we will be investing an additional N560 billion or $1 billion in our operations in Nigeria.
“With the additional capital injection, we are set to expand the capacity of our manufacturing plants in other parts of the country to mirror the scope of operations at our Ikeja plant.
“This will ensure that all our product types and packaging options be within even closer reach to all our consumers nationwide,” the NBC boss announced.
This marks one of the many significant contributions that the beverage establishment has been injecting into the country’s economy directly and indirectly ever since its launch in 1951.
In the last 5 years, the company has trained over 30,000 youths on entrepreneurship and employability skills across different cities in Nigeria, coupled with its Tech Relevant Teacher (TRT) project which has so far impacted 24,000 school pupils.
Speaking at the milestone event, Mr Seguin noted that 648 school leaders and teachers have been equipped, along with the rehabilitation of several classroom blocks in more than 30 public schools as over 30,000 students have been impacted by the TRT initiative.
Commenting on the celebration, the Managing Director of Coca-Cola Nigeria, Mr Alfred Olajide disclosed that the 70th-anniversary ceremony would run all through the remaining part of 2021 with a line-up of activities.
He said these activities have been designed to celebrate the milestone with the Coca-Cola System’s consumers, customers, employees, partners, and the general public as there would be periodical Anniversary Stakeholder Event, consumer seeding/giveback programs, and others.
“In emphasizing our current Real Magic philosophy, we will be kickstarting The Nigerians of Coca-Cola campaign, which will serve to tell a visual story of a diverse set of people across key regions in the country with different struggles and positive histories with Coca-Cola.
“These are people that have directly benefited from The Coca-Cola System’s sustainability initiatives – from our value system to our key program areas, such as women and youth empowerment, waste, wellbeing, and water stewardship,” Mr Olajide explained.
Economy
BNB Price Reflects Changing Dynamics in the Digital Asset Market
Economy
NASD Unlisted Security Index Crosses 4,000-point Benchmark Again
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange achieved a milestone on Friday, April 24, 2026, after five securities on the platform helped with a 1.85 per cent growth.
Data showed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) again crossed the 4,000-point benchmark yesterday.
The index chalked up 73.64 points during the trading day to close at 4,052.59 points compared with the preceding session’s 3,978.95 points, while the market capitalisation added N5.38 billion to finish at N2.424 trillion versus Thursday’s closing value of N2.380 trillion.
The price gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc, which grew by N25.00 to sell at N305.00 per share compared with the previous price of N280.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N6.92 to close at N76.26 per unit versus N69.34 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by N1.00 to N17.00 per share from N18.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 55 Kobo to N99.55 per unit from N99.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 5 Kobo to N2.70 per share from N2.65 per share.
However, there was a price loser, MRS Oil, which dipped by N21.75 to N195.75 per unit from N217.50 per unit.
During the final session of the week, the value of securities jumped 75.2 per cent to N41.3 million from N23.6 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 62.9 per cent to 44 deals from 27 deals, while the volume of securities declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to 447,403 units from 451,522 units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
GNI was also the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units transacted for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Economy
Naira Slips to N1,358/$1 as FX Reserves, Policy Uncertainty Concerns
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira in the currency market on Friday, April 24, as its value depreciated against the major foreign currencies at the close of transactions.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), it lost N4.53 or 0.33 per cent against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,358.44/$1, in contrast to the N1,353.91/$1 it was exchanged on Thursday.
Equally, the domestic currency slipped against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.14 to close at N1,834.02/£1, compared with the previous rate of N1,825.88/£1 and dropped N8.01 against the Euro to sell at N1,590.73/€1 versus N1,582.72/€1.
Also, the Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX desk on Friday by N4 to quote at N1,370/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366/$1, and at the parallel market, it depleted by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the preceding day’s N1,375/$1.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that NFEM interbank turnover surged to N43.562 million across 68 deals, up from N28.117 million the previous day.
Despite the CBN’s reassurance that the recent drop in external reserves is not worrisome, the market remains unsettled by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market as gross reserves continue to decline to $48.4 billion.
The outlook for the Dollar appears supported by broader macro risks, including elevated oil prices tied to the tanker traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a continued US-Iran standoff over ceasefire negotiations.
A look at the digital currency market showed that investors are sitting on the edge as the US Dollar rebounded amid geopolitical and inflation risks despite continued inflows into US spot bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Solana (SOL) rose by 1.2 per cent to sell $86.45, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $0.2517, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0989, Ripple (XRP) improved by 0.3 per cent to $1.43, Ethereum (ETH) soared by 0.2 per cent to $2,316.83, and Binance Coin (BNB) chalked up 0.1 per cent to sell for $637.44.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $0.3235, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.2 per cent to close at $77,562.27, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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