Stanbic IBTC Declares N59bn Earnings for Q1 on Robust Liquidity

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  The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) would likely direct banks to increase their capital base in the coming months as part of a new policy push towards a $1 trillion Nigerian economy. The Governor of the apex bank, Mr Olayemi Cardoso, said this while delivering his keynote address at the 58th Annual Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) dinner in Lagos on Friday. The new CBN chief used the event to unveil the bank’s monetary policy thrust and economic outlook for 2024, following the cancellation of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting for the quarter. “We

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A partnership for the deployment of a patronage reward product has been entered into between Unity Bank Plc and Cashtoken, a cash reward-as-a-service company that operates a loyalty programme designed to power customer engagement and improve customer satisfaction. This collaboration will see the bank’s customers winning millions of Naira in cash rewards and guaranteed instant cashback. A statement issued by Unity Bank said this scheme provides an opportunity to migrate old and new customers to a platform that will continually create exciting rewards and appreciation for loyalty. It said this initiative would not only reward existing customers

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A global provider of audit and certification services, MSECB, has issued a certification to Access Bank Plc for its Anti-Bribery Management System. The certification was issued to the Nigerian lender after implementing effective measures and fostering a culture of integrity within its system and operations. With this certification, Access Bank aims to provide its customers with the highest level of confidence in the bank’s unwavering integrity, assuring them of its zero-tolerance policy for bribery and ethical misconduct, thus fostering a positive relationship, and building trust and credibility among its stakeholders, including customers, partners, and investors. The bank

By Adedapo Adesanya The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) jumped by 1.83 per cent on Friday, March 25 on the back of gains posted by the duo of FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc and  NASD Plc. The milk maker appreciated by N10.40 or 8.4 per cent yesterday to trade at N124.50 per share compared with Thursday’s value of N114.10 per share, while NASD Plc improved its equity price by N1.25 or 9.0 per cent to settle at N13.84 per unit in contrast to the preceding session’s N12.59 per unit. As a result of the growth posted by the two stocks, the total value

By Adedapo Adesanya Oil jumped more than one per cent on the first trading day of the new year ahead of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (OPEC+) meeting to discuss production policy. Brent crude gained $1.22 or 1.57 per cent to trade at $79.00 per barrel while the United States West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 88 cents or 1.17 per cent to settle at $76.09 per barrel. The 23-nation alliance is on track to ratify another modest output revival of 400,000 barrels a day in February, delegates said. The cartel cut its estimate of the surplus in

By Nneka Okumazie What is the chance that the tragedy that will not miss would befall someone, or anyone? Who could have done something, or linked to something that – maybe – got caught up with, but affecting others unknowingly? What is the slight chance, some often have, missing the worst? What is it with suddenness and unpredictability, in the many terrible events of life? Why does it seem that tragedy does not make exemptions – say for people called good people? Is there a decision-making process for what tragedy, or for whom? There are lots of questions to ask

By Adedapo Adesanya The New York Times has agreed to buy a subscription-based sports website, The Athletic, for $550 million in cash, as the 170-year-old newspaper adds more digital content to grab subscribers. Founded in 2016, the Athletic had 1.2 million subscribers as of December and covers more than 200 clubs and teams around the world. “Acquiring the Athletic puts us in a position to be a global leader in sports journalism,” said NY Times CEO Meredith Kopit Levien. The deal shows NY Times’s push towards a subscription-first model, which has become a growing trend across the media industry, as

By Dipo Olowookere Leading electricity distribution company in Nigeria, Ikeja Electric Plc, recently brightened the spirits of patients at the Ikorodu General Hospital in Lagos. The company took its team to the medical facility to donate an ultramodern phototherapy machine and clinical supplies as part of its CSR activities towards improvement of healthcare. Ikeja Electric team comprising staff from the headquarters in Ikeja and Ikorodu Business Unit presented the items to management of the hospital at the children’s ward. According to the company’s Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), Mrs Enobong Ezekiel, “Ikeja Electric is a customer centric organization and it means

No fewer than 50 entrepreneurs from neighbouring Benin Republic have been empowered by Nigerian business mogul, Mr Tony Elumelu. The empowerment was done through his Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) in partnership with Sèmè City, which boasts as the international knowledge and innovation city. Sèmè City will join a growing list of governments, development agencies and private sector organisations partnering with the Tony Elumelu Foundation to explore the Foundation’s sustainable model of philanthropy geared at addressing the root cause of poverty in Africa while creating jobs and economic wealth for all. As part of the partnership with the Foundation, Sèmè City

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The forthcoming Nigeria’s Dollar denominated senior unsecured bonds have been assigned ‘B+(EXP)’ by Fitch ratings. A statement by the agency on Wednesday, June 14, 2017 explained that the assignment of the final rating was “contingent on the receipt of final documents materially conforming to information already reviewed.” On January 24, 2017, Fitch affirmed Nigeria’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency IDR at ‘B+’ and revised the Outlook to Negative. The Long-Term Local-Currency IDR was also affirmed at ‘B+’ with a Negative Outlook. Commenting further on the latest rating, Fitch said, “The expected rating is in line with Nigeria’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira fought back against recent headwinds, appreciating against the US Dollar across the major segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Friday, July 30. At the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window of the market, the local currency appreciated by 0.06 per cent or 23 kobo to close at N411.44/$1 compared with the previous rate of N411.67/$1. During the trading day, the domestic currency was able to withstand the FX demand pressure as a result of the sufficient supply of foreign currency to the market. The turnover for the session, according to data from the FMDQ