Wema Bank Sells N20b Bond to Foreign Investors

By Dipo Olowookere The acquisition of the United Kingdom subsidiary of Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, Union Bank UK, by Fidelity Bank Plc, has been completed. Fidelity Bank is a tier-2 financial institution in Nigeria, intending to move to the tier-1 category. Over a year ago, the lender announced that it was planning to take total control of Union Bank UK as part of its growth strategy. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), a body which regulates the country’s banking industry, authorised Fidelity Bank to go ahead with the deal. In a disclosure on Wednesday, the bank said it has

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A creative studio, EPAC Studios, has been unveiled by Ecobank Nigeria Limited to promote talents in the showbiz industry in Africa. The bank disclosed in a statement that the facility would be used to carefully tell “authentic African stories in art, culture, lifestyle, and entertainment.” According to the Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications at Ecobank Nigeria, Mr Jide Sipe, the initiative is to showcase further and develop the creative industry, adding that the space is an open canvas for the public to explore, collaborate and create premium indigenous content for television, online and mobile platforms. EPAC

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A partnership will enable customers to receive remittances from anywhere in the world, directly into their Smartcash Payment Service Bank (PSB) has been entered into with Simba Pay Limited, a subsidiary of MFS Africa. A statement from the firm explained that Smartcash customers can instantly receive international funds directly into the account by simply sharing their phone numbers, which also serve as their account numbers. Smartcash PSB, a subsidiary of Airtel Networks Nigeria, was launched in 2022, after obtaining an operating licence by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to provide financial services to unbanked persons in

By Bliss Okperan The Managing Director and chief executive of First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Mr Adesola Adeduntan, has disclosed that financial institutions in the country have the balance sheet to support big-ticket transactions, particularly from offshore investors. President Bola Tinubu travelled to the United States last week for the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and went with some businessmen and bank executives, including Mr Adeduntan. The Nigerian leader used the occasion to urge foreign investors to bring their funds into the country because he would create a business-friendly environment to make their investments grow. Nigeria, which is the largest

By Adedapo Adesanya Nigeria needs to invent and produce cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications for education, business, medicine and security. This was the view of Nigeria’s Vice President, Mr Yemi Osinbajo, at the founding class (2021) of the Nigerian University of Technology and Management (NUTM), Lagos. Mr Osinbajo, while giving a keynote address at the event, also called for an effective collaboration between public and private sectors to build world-class institutions focused on innovation in science, technology and management sciences that would help proffer solutions to the country’s challenges. NUTM is a top-notch school of innovation and technology focused on

By Adedapo Adesanya  There were increased activities on the last trading day of the week on Friday on the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window created by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for those in need of forex for their business transactions. At yesterday’s trading session, Business Post observed that the market turnover was over $780 million, the highest turnover for the week as Muslim faithful prepare for the Eid el Kabir festival next week. Consequently, the Naira/USD on the I&E segment depreciated further by 13 kobo or 0.04 percent to settle at N363.44 per Dollar against the previous value

By Aduragbemi Omiyale On Tuesday, November 29, 2022, individuals and businesses will receive practical steps to check cyber-attacks at the annual cyber security conference of the Information Security Society of Africa, Nigeria (ISSAN) themed Cyber Security Imperatives for Business – Practical Considerations. The hybrid programme, which starts at 9 am, is open to public and private sectors, including large corporates, small and medium-scale enterprises, educational institutions, government agencies and all stakeholders that are impacted by the cyber-ecosystem in any way. According to the president of ISSAN, Dr David Isiavwe, the conference, which members of the public can be part of

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The need for stock exchanges in Africa to collaborate in order to stimulate economic development and raise funds for infrastructure to boost intra-continental trades has again been emphasised by a capital market expert, Mr Jude Chiemeka. Mr Chiemeka, who is the Divisional Head of Capital Markets at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, stated that this partnership will create an integrated and prosperous Africa based on inclusive growth and sustainable development. Speaking when the exchange received the leadership of Ghana’s Securities and Exchange Commission, Ghana Stock Exchange and Central Securities Depository (GH) LTD, said the visit to the

By Dipo Olowookere A total of $7.136 billion has been released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to the Bureaux De Change (BDC) and the interbank segments of the foreign exchange market. This amount was disbursed by the apex bank to meet the needs of customers who require forex to pay school fees, medicals and BTA. Also, it was released to held SMEs owners who need forex to imports some materials from foreign countries. According to National Daily, the CBN disbursed the amount between February 21 and June 21, 2017, to ease the pressure in the forex market and

By Adedapo Adesanya The price of the average basket of 13 crude belonging to members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) stood at $43.02 per barrel last Friday. Compared with the previous day’s $42.99, the basket prices rose 3 cents or 0.07 per cent according to OPEC Secretariat calculations. The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Djeno (Congo), Zafiro (Equatorial Guinea), Rabi Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia),

By Ahmed Rahma More than a century after Britain looted sculptures in Nigeria and auctioned them to Western museums, a British university is set to return a Benin Bronze back to its place of origin. The varsity identified as the University of Aberdeen said on Thursday it wants to return the artwork to where it came from within weeks. In a report by Reuters, this is one of the first public institutions to carry out the action. The university said the sculpture of an Oba or ruler of the Kingdom of Benin had left Nigeria in an “extremely immoral” fashion,

Major U.S. index futures are pointing to a lower opening on Thursday following the mixed performance seen in the previous session. The downward momentum on Wall Street comes as traders continue to digest the Federal Reserve’s decision to raise interest rates by a quarter point on Wednesday. Stocks showed a lack of direction throughout much of the trading session on Wednesday before ending the session mixed. The narrow Dow climbed to a new record closing high. The Dow rose 46.09 points or 0.2 percent to 21,374.56, while the Nasdaq fell 25.48 points or 0.4 percent to 6,194.89 and the S&P