Ecobank Nigeria Targets 50,000 Xpress Points in 2019

By Adedapo Adesanya Nigerian bank, Union Bank, alongside energy company, Riverside LNG of Nigeria, have signed different agreements that involve a $500 million renewable energy pact and gas export between Nigerian and German entities. Union Bank and DWS Group signed a pact on cooperation in renewable energy while Riverside LNG of Nigeria and Johannes Schuetze Energy Import AG of Germany on the gas export partnership. President Bola Tinubu witnessed the signing of the two Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) in Berlin, Germany, at the 10th German-Nigerian Business Forum, according to Mr Ajuri Ngelale, the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity.

By Adedapo Adesanya Klasha, a leading global cross-border payments company, has been granted a Money Services Business (MSB) license by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to operate in the world’s largest economy, the United States. This license authorizes Klasha to operate as a currency exchange and money transmitter in the US. With this MSB license, Klasha can now offer its innovative cross-border payment solutions and financial services to businesses in the United States that want to send and accept cross-border payments from Africa and carry out foreign exchange services and international money transfers with ease and security. “We are

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The banking subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, has been re-registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) as a private firm. A statement from the parent organisation disclosed that the conversion was done as a result of brand confusion among investors and members of the public. It was stated that some investors confuse the parent company with the banking business and to clear the confusion, the banking arm of the firm has been changed to a private limited liability company from a public liability entity. Stanbic IBTC said it has obtained regulatory approvals

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Stanbic IBTC Bank Limited has been recognised as the Most Outstanding Bank Supporting Women-Owned Businesses at the Women in Marketing and Communications Award (WIMCA) held in Lagos. The organisers of the event said the subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC Holdings has been very supportive of businesses owned by females in the society. The lender has created a healthy environment that breaks down barriers for talented, qualified women to achieve their career aspirations, own their businesses, and make demonstrable differences in their various industries. The Head of Enterprise Banking at Stanbic IBTC Bank, Ms Olajumoke Bello, while receiving the

By Osigbemhe Apeaye The Senate Committee on Capital Market has commended the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on its efforts to create a truly sustainable exchange hub for wealth creation and capital formation in Africa. This was expressed by the Chairman of the Committee, Mr Ibikunle Amosun, during an engagement session with the Council Members and Executive Committee of the exchange and other capital market stakeholders on Thursday, March 19, 2020. In recognising the NSE’s collaborative approach to delivering on the capital market’s mandate to enable efficient allocation of resources and spur growth and development, Mr Amosun said, “We have met

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira came under foreign exchange (FX) pressure on Tuesday and led to a depreciation of the local currency against the United States Dollar at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment of the market. According to data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange, the domestic currency lost 34 kobo or 0.1 per cent yesterday to sell at N415.75/$1 compared with N415.33/$1 it was traded on Monday. At the I&E window yesterday, the turnover increased by 73.9 per cent or $70.23 million to $165.30 million from the preceding day’s $95.07 million. This FX demand pressure weighed on the Nigerian

**As Trade Surplus up by 46% to N17b By Dipo Olowookere In the month of April 2018, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) consolidated on its operational performance with a trading surplus of N17.16 billion, the corporation’s Monthly Financial and Operations Report for period under review has revealed. The report, the 33rd edition since NNPC commenced the publication of its financial and operations report on a monthly basis as part of efforts to instil a culture of transparency and keep stakeholders and the general public informed of its activities, indicated a N5.43 billion improvement, representing 46.29 percent on the trading

By Dipo Olowookere Last week, investors at the nation’s stock market traded 1.2 billion shares worth N14.1 billion in 17,980 deals, slightly lower than the 1.1 billion equities valued at N17.1 billion transacted 15,431 deals. But of this total traded volume, stocks in the financial services industry led the activity chart with 840.7 million units valued at N10.8 billion executed in 11,331 deals. With this, the sector contributed 73.30 percent and 76.45 percent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively. Following were the conglomerates sector with 111.2 million shares worth N243.1 million in 963 deals and the ICT

By Adedapo Adesanya On Friday, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) threw the cryptocurrency market in the country into confusion after it released a circular, directing financial institutions to close the bank accounts of those involved in the exchange of the digital currency. In fact, the issue had been the major topic since yesterday. Already, many investors in the space have been withdrawing their funds in panic, while the cryptocurrency trading platforms are making efforts to douse the tension. On Friday evening, one of the popular cryptocurrency exchanges in the country, Quidax, sent a notice to its customers, assuring them

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), in collaboration with the Ghana Institute of Architects (GIA) and the Ghana Green Building Council (GhGBC), organized a training program for stakeholders on the new Ghana Building Code. The Ghana Green Building Code Masterclass brought together architects, engineers, urban planners, property owners, members from the Ghana Green Building Council, and the Architect and Engineering Institutes to be educated on Section 37 of the Ghana Building Code, which highlights green building. The training event took place October 15 at the World Bank’s office in Accra. The aim was to encourage the participants, who are major stakeholders

By Dipo Olowookere The Managing Director/CEO of Custodian Investment Plc, Mr Wole Oshin, has been appointed to the board of UACN Property Development Company (UPDC) Plc. The appointment followed the acquisition of the controlling stake of UAC Nigeria Plc in UPDC by Custodian Investment last year. Mfr Oshin, who is an industry leader with over 30 years’ experience, is joining the board as a non-executive director with effect from Tuesday, January 5, 2021. He is one of the two persons appointed to join the board of directors of UPDC as a non-executive director. The second appointee is Mr Adeniyi Falade,

By Adedapo Adesanya Latest figures released by the Debt Management Office (DMO) showed that adjusted to periodical rates, Nigeria’s total debt stood at N27.4 trillion as at December 2019. The latest debt statistics, which were released by the debt office on Wednesday, indicated a 5 percent increase compared to September 2019 figures, which put Nigeria’s total debt profile at N26.2 trillion. The DMO explained that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) official exchange rate of N326 per dollar as at December 31, 2019 was used in converting the domestic debts to dollars. This means that total debt owed in dollars