Economy
$4.31b FX Was Sold To Dealers In 2016 Q2—CBN
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has released the economic report for the second quarter of 2016.
In the report seen by Business Post, growth in the key monetary aggregates accelerated in the second quarter of 2016.
The apex bank said during the period under review, provisional data showed that foreign exchange inflow and outflow through it amounted to US$5.89 billion and US$6.09 billion, respectively, resulting in a net outflow of US$0.20 billion.
It further said foreign exchange sales by it to the authorized dealers amounted to US$4.31 billion in the second quarter of 2016. It explained that the average exchange rate of the naira vis-à-vis the US dollar at the inter-bank was N209.13/US$.
CBN also said over the level at the end of the preceding quarter, broad money supply, (M2), grew by 5.9 percent.
It explained in the report that the development reflected the increase in net foreign assets, domestic credit (net) and other assets (net) of the banking system, respectively.
Similarly, narrow money (M1), grew by 0.9 per cent over the level at the end of the preceding quarter.
Developments in banks’ deposit and lending rates were mixed during the second quarter of 2016. The spread between the weighted average term deposit and maximum lending rates widened to 21.43 percentage points at the end of the second quarter of 2016.
Similarly, the margin between the average savings deposit and the maximum lending rates widened to 24.10 percentage points.
At the inter-bank funds segment, the weighted average inter-bank call rate rose by 12.55 percentage points to 15.56 per cent in the second quarter of 2016, reflecting the liquidity condition in the banking system.
The total value of money market assets outstanding at the end of the second quarter of 2016, stood at N10,460.66 billion, showing an increase of 6.7 per cent, compared with the level at the end of the first quarter of 2016. The development reflected the 8.09 and 2.73 per cent increase in FGN bonds and treasury bills, respectively.
Developments on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) were mixed in the review quarter.
At N1,159.05 billion, total federally-collected revenue was 51.3 and 8.6 per cent lower than the quarterly budget estimate and the preceding quarter’s receipts, respectively. At N537.19 billion or 46.3 per cent of the total, gross oil receipt was lower than both the provisional quarterly budget and the receipts in the preceding quarter.
The development was attributed to the continued fall in receipts from crude oil/gas exports arising from persistent low price of crude oil and incidences of shut-ins and shut-downs at some NNPC terminals, owing to pipeline vandalism. Non-oil receipts, at N621.86 billion or 53.7 per cent of the total, was above the level in the preceding quarter by 3.2 per cent, but was significantly lower than the proportionate quarterly budget.
Federal Government retained revenue was N677.88 billion, while total expenditure was N1,768.85 billion, resulting in an estimated deficit of N1,090.96 billion in the second quarter of 2016, compared with the proportionate quarterly budget deficit of N555.49 billion.
The CBN said in the report that agricultural sector activities increased due to well distributed rainfall in most parts of the country. Major activity in the South was harvesting of maize and yam, while planting and off-season harvesting dominated in the North. In the livestock sub-sector, farmers engaged in the breeding of poultry and migration of cattle from North to South in search of green pastures. The end-period inflation rate on year-on-year and 12-month moving average basis for the second quarter of 2016, was 16.5 per cent and 11.4 per cent, respectively.
World crude oil demand and supply were estimated at 93.25 mbd and 94.34 mbd, respectively, in the second quarter of 2016. Nigeria’s crude oil production, including condensates and natural gas liquids, was estimated at an average of 1.54 million barrels per day (mbd) or 141.68 million barrels (mb) for the second quarter of 2016. Crude oil export was estimated at 1.09 mbd or 100.28 million barrels, while deliveries to the refineries for domestic consumption remained at 0.45 mbd or 41.40 million barrels during the review quarter.
The average price of Nigeria’s reference crude, the Bonny Light (370 API), was US$46.44 per barrel in the review quarter.
Global growth remained modest and uneven. Risks to the global outlook remained tilted to the downside, due to ongoing adjustments in the global economy, general slowdown in emerging market economies, China’s rebalancing, lower commodity prices and gradual exit by the US from extraordinarily accommodative monetary policy.
Other major international economic developments and meetings of importance to the domestic economy during the review period included: The 2016 Spring Meetings of the Board of Governors of the World Bank Group (WBG), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Inter-Governmental Group of Twenty-Four (G-24) on International Monetary Affairs and Developments held from April 11 – 18, 2016 in Washington D. C., USA. Also, the 2016 continental seminar of the Association of African Central Banks (AACB) was held from May 9 -11 2016 in Cairo, Egypt, on the theme “Financial stability: New Challenges for Central Banks.
Finally, the 51st Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the 42nd Meetings of the Board of Governors of the African Development Fund (ADF) were held from May 23 – 27 2016 in Lusaka, Zambia.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
HBM Nigeria Plc, formerly Lafarge Africa Plc, recorded a 31 per cent surge in revenue in the first half of 2026 by 31 per cent as a result of an 11 per cent jump in volume growth, enhanced operational stability and improvement in distribution efficiency.
Also, in the first six months of this year, the cement maker grew its operating profit by 51 per cent to N291 billion after sustained efficiency gains across the business, while operating margin soared to 43 per cent from 37 per cent in H1 2025, with the net profit increasing by 57 per cent to N208 billion.
HBM Nigeria is a leading provider of innovative building solutions and manufacturer of a wide range of cement, ready mix, mortar and Plaster of Paris brands.
“Our H1 2026 performance demonstrates the continued strength of our business and the successful execution of our strategic priorities. These results reflect disciplined cost management, operational excellence, and prudent financial stewardship.
“We are focused on further improving supply reliability, advancing our cost leadership agenda, driving innovation, accelerating our sustainability initiatives, and maintaining the highest standards of health and safety,” the chief executive of HBM Nigeria, Mr Lolu Alade-Akinyemi, disclosed.
He assured that the cement firm would remain focused on building on a strong operational momentum by leveraging the industrial and technical expertise of Huaxin Building Materials Ltd to drive operational excellence and improve efficiency across the business.
In light of this, HBM Nigeria has commenced the engineering design for its third production line at Calabar, a state-of-the-art 3-million-ton integrated cement facility. The project is progressing through the requisite development processes, with completion expected within 12 months following commencement of construction.
On HBM Nigeria’s business outlook for the rest of the year, Mr Alade-Akinyemi said, “Nigeria’s demand outlook for cement remains positive, supported by ongoing infrastructure development, urbanisation, and resilient activity across the construction sector, despite a dynamic global operating environment.”
“As macroeconomic conditions continue to improve, we expect demand across our key market segments to remain supportive of sustainable growth.
“We plan to continue focusing on capturing volume growth opportunities while maintaining disciplined cost management and operational excellence to strengthen profitability and preserve margins.
“The company remains well positioned to create sustainable long-term value for its shareholders and all stakeholders by leveraging its resilient operating platform, a strong balance sheet, and disciplined execution of strategic priorities,” he stated.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The management of Africa Prudential Plc has charted five strategic priorities to drive the company’s growth through the second half of 2026.
These goals were announced by the organisation at its investor call, attended by various stakeholders in the capital market.
Addressing participants at the call on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, the chief executive of Africa Prudential, Ms Catherine Nwosu, said one of these priorities is delivering sustainable business growth through core registrar and new business lines.
She listed others as accelerating product and service innovation leveraging technology, strengthening Africa Prudential’s brand equity and market leadership, investing in talent development and organisational capability, and deepening corporate governance and institutional excellence.
At the event, a key question from investors focused on the company’s ability to sustain earnings growth in an environment where interest rates may begin to moderate.
In her response, Ms Nwosu said, “Interest rates influence our treasury income positively, but that is why we are deliberately diversifying our revenue streams. Our strategy is to grow recurring fee-based business lines such as our digital solutions, KYC services, AGM technology, Probate services, and the SabiVest mobile app. Over time, this will reduce our reliance on interest income and create a more balanced and resilient earnings mix.”
“With capital market activity nearly doubling over the past year, demand for seamless digital investor experiences, improved market efficiency, and stronger compliance standards continues to grow.
“We are investing in technology-enabled solutions that position us to capitalise on these opportunities while delivering sustainable value to our shareholders,” she added.
In the first half of 2026, Africa Prudential, a leading provider of share registration services and capital market solutions, reported another strong performance, demonstrating strong corporate governance and resilience, and the effectiveness of its growth strategy despite an evolving macroeconomic environment.
Its gross earnings grew by 27 per cent to N4.28 billion from N3.34 billion in the same period of the previous year, while net operating income rose by 27 per cent to N4.21 billion.
In H1 2026, profit before tax soared by 22 per cent to N2.41 billion, while the profit after tax surged by 18 per cent to N1.59 billion, with total assets expanding by 13 per cent to N46.53 billion, and shareholders’ fund also up by 13 per cent to N12.52 billion.
It was observed that the impressive results were driven by sustained growth in the company’s core registrar business, increased corporate action activities across the Nigerian capital market, stronger treasury performance supported by the prevailing interest rate environment, and increasing adoption of Africa Prudential’s technology-enabled solutions.
Beyond the numbers, management reaffirmed Africa Prudential’s strategic evolution from a traditional registrar into a diversified technology and business solutions company serving the broader capital market ecosystem.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The 7th Africa Emerging Markets Forum has commenced in Abuja, Nigeria, with critical stakeholders in the financial services and other industries in attendance.
The programme commenced today, Wednesday, July 29, 2026, and will end tomorrow, Thursday, July 30, 2026.
It is taking place at the headquarters of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in Abuja.
The hybrid forum is themed Building Resilience Amidst Geoeconomic Uncertainties. It brings together distinguished policymakers, economists and development leaders to explore practical solutions for strengthening Africa’s resilience in an increasingly complex global economy.
Speaking at the conference are the CBN Governor, Mr Olayemi Cardoso; the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Taiwo Oyedele; and the chief executive of Emerging Markets Forum, Mr Harinder S. Kohli.
The organisers have provided an avenue for those unable to attend the programme physically to catch up with it via their social media platforms, including on the YouTube channel of the central bank.
