Nigeria’s Aella Credit Raises $10m to Penetrate West Africa

By Aduragbemi Omiyale One of the players in the personal healthcare and consumer goods sectors, PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc, has published a list of its shareholders with unclaimed dividends. Unclaimed dividends are cash rewards given to investors, mainly from the profits from the company’s operations, but are yet to be collected by the beneficiaries. This has been a major source of sleepless nights for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which is working to bring down the number of unclaimed dividends. It has been reported that the value of unclaimed dividends in the nation’s stock market is over N185 billion.

By Adedapo Adesanya The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has cautioned Nigerians to be wary of fake Naira notes currently in circulation, vowing to prosecute those engaged in the illicit acts. The apex bank in a release signed by Mrs Hakama Sidi Ali, the acting Director of Corporate Communications, said the counterfeit notes have been spread by some individuals for transactions in food markets and other places where commerce takes place across the country, noting that this is a punishable offence. “The attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been drawn to the circulation of counterfeit banknotes, especially

By Adedapo Adesanya Nigerian crude output fell by 30,000 barrels per day to 1.43 million barrels per day in November, according to data from an S&P Global Commodity Insight. This was lower than the 1.46 million barrels produced in October by Africa’s largest oil producer and 312,000 barrels per day short of its 1.742 million barrels per day target in 2023. Angola, Africa’s second-largest oil producer, saw output drop 20,000 barrels per day to 1.13 million barrels per day, according to the survey, compared with its quota of 1.46 million barrels per day. The drops impacted the wider output of

By Aduragbemi Omiyale Some aggrieved customers have accused Nigerian banks of lying about a few of their services in adverts in the media and not doing enough to assist when needed, despite using the provided platforms to lodge their complaints. In a survey conducted recently by a foremost perception consulting firm in the country, CMC Connect LLP, it was observed that some financial services consumers in Nigeria are not satisfied with what they get from their banks. The perception study carried out by the Strategy & Intelligence Service unit of CMC Connect showed that, “Consumers do not have enough information

By Jerome-Mario Utomi It is common knowledge that Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, recently, presented a N714.4 billion Appropriation Bill tagged ‘Budget of Hope and Optimism,’ for the 2024 fiscal year to the state House of Assembly. What is, however, uncertain to Deltans and the watching world is whose interest the bill, if passed, is meant to serve or protect. There is also the concern as to whether it will herald into the political geography called Delta state, a just or an unjust law. As we are now, a just law is ‘a man-made code that squares with moral laws

By Adedapo Adesanya  The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disclosed that the total value of the country’s merchandise trade experienced an increase of 1 per cent to $7.8 billion in August 2023 from the $7.72 billion that was quoted in July. This was disclosed by the apex bank in its latest monthly economic publication, where it disclosed that despite the rise month-on-month, Nigeria’s merchandise trade value in the period was almost 20 per cent lower compared to the value in August 2022 due to a significant decrease in import trade value. The total merchandise trade comprised an export trade

By Adedapo Adesanya The global prices of food remained flat, unchanged from its revised October level, as increases in the price indices for vegetable oils, dairy products, and sugar counterbalanced decreases in those of cereals and meat. This is according to the latest Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) Food Price Index (FFPI) released on Friday. The index showed that food prices averaged 120.4 points in November 2023 and stood 14.4 points (10.7 per cent) below the corresponding level one year ago. The FAO Cereal Price Index averaged 121.0 points in November, down 3.7 points (3.0 per cent) from October and

By Adedapo Adesanya The President of the Dangote Group, the owners of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals plant, Mr Aliko Dangote, has said that following the purchase of 1 million barrels of Agbami crude grade from Shell International Trading and Shipping Company Limited (STASCO), it will be looking to ramp up its production in coming months. The 650,000 barrels per day capacity refinery is not expected to hit full capacity until 2025, but with a gradual ramping, it is expected that it will begin with begin producing up to 370,000 barrels per day of diesel and jet fuel. “We

By Precious Olisa The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) have expressed their disappointment over the increasing exit of multinationals from the Nigerian market. The two organisations reacted to the planned exit of Procter & Gamble (P&G) from the country over economic headwinds. P&G announced its intention to close down its manufacturing operations in Nigeria and adopt an import-only business model due to the foreign exchange (FX) crisis in the country. This is coming some weeks after GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Sanofi, Unilever Nigeria, Equinor and others have also indicated their interest in quitting

By Aduragbemi Omiyale Some retiring Nigerian military personnel have been educated on how they can unlock opportunities in the capital market after active service to the nation. At a seminar held on Thursday, December 7, 2023, at the Nigeria Armed Forces Resettlement Centre in Lagos, the participants were informed of the benefits of diversifying their investments for more earnings. They were also exposed to ways to invest and assess the market with technology, including via the recently launched NGX USSD Code. The Divisional Head of Business Support Services and General Counsel of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, Ms Irene Robinson-Ayanwale,