50kg Bag of Rice to Cost N6,000 in Few Months—Farmers

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Strong inflationary pressures in November further negatively impacted companies in Nigeria, with new orders and output both falling as customers were either reluctant or unable to pay higher charges. Purchase prices rose at the fastest pace in almost two years amid exchange rate weakness and higher costs for fuel and materials. According to the latest Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) from Stanbic IBTC, business conditions remained under pressure, scoring 48.0 points last month compared with the 49.1 points it garnered in October 2023. Readings above 50.0 signal an improvement in business conditions, while readings below 50.0 show deterioration.

By Dipo Olowookere The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited commenced the first trading session in December 2023 on a bullish note, with a marginal growth of 0.08 per cent. Sustained buying pressure kept Nigerian stocks in the positive territory, extending the dominance of the bulls on Customs Street, though the turnover waned. Business Post observed that investors cherry-picked equities in the banking and the energy sectors during the session, leaving them rising by 1.14 per cent and 0.05 per cent, respectively. However, the insurance counter lost 1.10 per cent, the consumer goods index depreciated by 0.08 per cent, and the industrial

By Dipo Olowookere Profit-taking activities brought back the bears to the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Monday as investors rebalanced their portfolios. It was observed that traders at Customs Street booked profits in shares mostly in the industrial goods sectors like BUA Cement and Lafarge Africa. This resultantly brought down the local stock market by 0.66 per cent at the close of transactions, with the industrial goods space losing 4.21 per cent, the insurance counter declining by 0.28 per cent, and the energy sector falling by 0.01 per cent. However, the consumer goods index improved yesterday by

By Dipo Olowookere The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) will on Thursday, November 1, 2018 hold its International Investment Conference in Lagos. A statement from the agency disclosed that the theme for the confab is Promoting Investment, Connecting Businesses. The 2018 edition of the Investment Conference, which starts by 9am at the Shell Hall, Muson Centre, Onikan, Lagos, will provide participants with the investment opportunities in Nigeria, insight into factors that impede foreigners from leveraging on the investment opportunities and challenges faced by indigenous investors and proffer solutions. It would also provide a veritable platform for a mutually

By Dipo Olowookere A total of 49 equities finished on the gainers’ chart last week, higher than the 35 equities in the previous week due to the buying pressure witnessed at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited. The week was characterised by the leadership tussle in Transcorp, which was quickly nipped in the bud after Mr Femi Otedola reportedly agreed to sell his stake to his friend, Mr Tony Elumelu. This led to Transcorp leading the activity chart with Access Holdings and Fidelity, accounting for 13.116 billion shares worth N47.928 billion in 6,614 deals, contributing 93.49 per cent and 81.22 per

By Adedapo Adesanya A second woman has died after being injured in a crush at Nigeria’s music star, Asake’s concert in London’s Brixton O2 Academy. Identified as Miss Gabrielle Hutchinson, 23, who was working as a security contractor that night, she reportedly died in the hospital early on Monday. The concert, by Nigerian Afro-pop singer, Asake, was cut short on Thursday night after a large number of people tried to force their way inside, the Met Police said. She becomes the second casualty after a mother-of-two, Ms Rebecca Ikumelo, 33, from Newham, East London, died on Saturday. As it stands,

By Dipo Olowookere An accreditation certificate has been presented to Ecobank Nigeria for its training institute after scoring above the minimum threshold on all the parameters of measurement. The certification was presented to the bank by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) led by its President, Mr Uche Olowu. Recall that recently, the CIBN accredited the ultra-modern and state of the art Ecobank Nigeria Academy, which would be used to groom the next bankers to be employed by the lender. At the presentation, the CIBN called on other financial institutions in the country seeking accreditation of their training

By Dipo Olowookere The House of Representatives is raising eyebrows over the appointment of Dr Ernest Ndukwe to the board of MTN Nigeria Plc. At the plenary on Thursday, the lower chamber of the National Assembly accused the leading network service provider of choosing former heads of the country’s key regulatory agencies to its board at the detriment of its competitors. Recall that Mr Ndukwe served as the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for 10 years from 2000 to 2010. NCC is the key agency regulating the telecommunications industry in the country. Mr Ndukwe, who now

By Adedapo Adesanya  MultiChoice Africa Holdings saw its subscriber base hit 14 million as it achieved profitability in the 2023 financial year, marking a significant milestone despite challenging market conditions. The company’s annual profit rose by 2 per cent, with strong subscriber growth and profit elsewhere in Africa offsetting poor market conditions in its home country. For the year to March 31, revenue rose by 7 per cent to 59.14 billion Rand, while core headline earnings per share, which strips off some non-recurring costs and foreign currency fluctuations, increased to 8.28 Rand from 8.14 Rand a year ago. However, the

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A advocacy group known as African Women Honours and Empowerment (AWHE), a global initiative established to celebrate, unite and empower women through its ‘EmpowerHer Projects’, has called for concerted efforts to improve the conditions of prisons in Nigeria, especially for female inmates, in order to enhance their seamless integration back into the society, after serving out their terms. Prisons, by their nature, are meant for correction and re-orientation, but with over-crowded cells, poor feeding of inmates and several inhuman conditions, the image of Nigerian prisons has always been that of de-humanization centres. According to figures by the

By Adedapo Adesanya Sterling Bank Plc recorded a decline in its net profit as established by its half year financial statements for the period ended June 30, 2019, Business Post is reporting. From the brief analysis, the lender declared a profit before tax of N6.0 billion in H1 2019, lower than the N6.4 billion announced in the same period of last year, representing a decline of 6.25 percent. Likewise, the profit after tax announced by the board in the results stood at N5.7 billion in the first six months of this year compared with the N6.2 billion made in the