Economy
61 Stocks Gain Weight on Nigerian Exchange in One Week
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited recorded 61 price gainers last week compared with the 68 recorded in the preceding week as the All-Share Index (ASI) and the market capitalisation appreciated by 0.90 per cent to 109,710.37 points and N68.953 trillion, respectively.
Similarly, all other indices finished higher apart from the Premium and Lotus II indices, which depreciated by 0.05 per cent and 0.92 per cent apiece, as 31 equities shed weight versus the 28 in the previous week, and 56 shares closed flat, n contrast to the 52 recorded a week earlier.
Beta Glass chalked up 46.31 per cent to sell for N235.05, Champion Breweries appreciated by 42.08 per cent to N6.82, Caverton expanded by 37.70 per cent to N4.20, FTN Cocoa gained 36.32 per cent to settle at N2.59, and Northern Nigeria Flour Mills leapt by 32.49 per cent to N119.90.
Conversely, Multiverse lost 19.50 per cent to finish at N8.05, Union Dicon declined by 11.83 per cent to N7.45, NAHCO slumped by 9.64 per cent to N75.00, University Press dropped 8.90 per cent to N4.40, and Legend Internet stumbled by 6.67 per cent to N8.40.
In the five-day trading week, a total of 2.606 billion shares worth N63.785 billion exchanged hands in 77,593 deals versus the 2.645 billion shares valued at N77.005 billion bought and sold in 86,110 deals in the preceding week.
The financial services industry led the activity chart with 1.540 billion shares sold for N28.963 billion in 32,805 deals, contributing 59.08 per cent and 45.41 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively.
The services counter transacted 286.833 million shares worth N1.711 billion in 6,280 deals, and the consumer goods sector traded 202.565 million shares worth N7.439 billion in 9,708 deals.
FCMB, Access Holdings, and Tantalizers accounted for 600.684 million shares worth N6.570 billion in 7,201 deals, contributing 23.05 per cent and 10.30 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Nigeria slightly surpassed its quota set by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in July 2026.
In the month under review, the country produced about 1.57 million barrels of crude oil per day.
It was the third consecutive month Africa’s largest oil-producing nation was meeting its monthly quota, set to stabilise the price of the commodity on the global market by the oil cartel.
Data released by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) on Wednesday showed that the 1.5 million barrels per day ceiling for Nigeria was surpassed last month.
The agency disclosed in a statement today that the country produced 1.505mbpd of crude oil and 0.17mbpd of condensate, bringing the combined daily production to 1.67mbpd.
In the month under review, the daily peak production of crude oil and condensate was 1.78mbpd, while the lowest daily production was 1.57mbpd.
Although Nigeria met its OPEC quota in the month of July, the statistics show that on a month-on-month basis, production fell by 4 per cent.
This was attributed to the decline in production due to operational challenges experienced at the Erha and Akpo fields, which impacted crude oil output during the period under review.
These disruptions constrained production volumes and contributed significantly to the overall reduction in national crude oil output.
Despite the challenges, production operations across most other producing assets remained relatively stable, with operators implementing measures aimed at maintaining production efficiency and minimising the impact of operational constraints, NUPRC stated.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The over 9 billion shares of Lasaco Assurance Plc issued to shareholders of the company via a rights issue have been listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
The equities were brought to Customs Street on Wednesday by the organisation, increasing its total issued and fully paid-up share capital.
Lasaco Assurance, which scaled the recapitalisation hurdle of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) in July 2026, raised fresh capital from the capital market to shore up its capital base.
The underwriting firm got about N18.5 billion from the rights issue, which involved the issuance of 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares at a unit price of N2.00.
The exercise was on the basis of five new ordinary shares for every existing six ordinary shares held as of the close of business on Friday, February 20, 2026.
Confirming the listing of the additional stocks of Lasaco Assurance today, the Head of Issuer Regulation Department of NGX RegCo, Mr Godstime Iwenekhai, announced in a circular that, “Trading licence holders are hereby notified that an additional 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each of Lasaco Assurance Plc were today, Wednesday, August 12, 2026, listed on the daily official list of Nigerian Exchange Limited.
“The additional shares arose from the company’s rights issue of 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N2.00 per share on the basis of five new ordinary shares for every existing six ordinary shares held as of the close of business on Friday, February 20, 2026.
“With the listing of the additional 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares, the total issued and fully paid-up share capital of Lasaco Assurance Plc has now increased from 11,083,585,855 to 20,319,907,401 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) has said the successful recapitalisation of the insurance industry will strengthen the sector’s ability to support financial stability and economic growth.
NIA Chairman, Mrs Ebelechukwu Nwachukwu, said a well-capitalised insurance industry would be better positioned to meet its obligations promptly, underwrite complex and large-scale risks and serve as a dependable pillar of the Nigerian economy.
She made the remarks while commending the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) for its structured implementation of the new minimum capital requirements under the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025.
Mrs Nwachukwu said NAICOM’s clear guidelines, systematic verification process, defined timelines and rigorous supervision had provided operators with a credible framework for navigating the recapitalisation exercise.
She described the outcome as a major milestone for the industry and congratulated the 43 insurance and reinsurance companies that have successfully met the prescribed minimum capital requirements.
According to her, the exercise represents “a major win not just for regulators and operators, but for policyholders, investors and the wider Nigerian economy.”
Mrs Nwachukwu said the association would continue to work with NAICOM and other stakeholders to consolidate the gains of the exercise, with emphasis on sustainable industry growth, stronger market conduct and improved consumer confidence.
The official also expressed solidarity with the eight companies still undergoing final verification and regulatory review, urging them to remain confident as NAICOM completes the process within the 14-day review period.
The NIA chairman assured policyholders and the wider business community that the insurance industry would emerge from the recapitalisation exercise stronger, more resilient and better positioned to contribute to Nigeria’s economic development.
