Economy
AG Mortgage Skips Dividend Payment over Capital Impairment
By Adedapo Adesanya
AG Mortgage Bank Plc has said due to its capital impairment, it won’t be able to pay dividends to shareholders for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020.
This information was disclosed in its Annual Report and Accounts for the year. The firm is skipping the dividend payment despite growth in its earnings, cut in operating costs, and management of cost.
Analysis of the financial results of the company by Business Post showed that its gross earnings grew by 15 per cent from N945 million in 2019 to N1.08 billion in 2020, while the profit before tax (PBT) rose by 172 per cent from N66 million to N180 million, with the post-tax profit rising by 405 per cent from N22 million to N111 million.
Also, the total deposits stood at N4.8 billion as of December 31, 2020, higher than the previous year’s figure of N3.4 billion by 41 per cent, while the total assets went up by 28 per cent from N12.5 billion to N16 billion, with shareholders’ funds increasing by 26 per cent from N5.1 billion to N6.4 billion.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors, Mr Ejikeme Ejim, noted that the year 2020 was buffeted by the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect which sank the country into another recession barely three years after pulling out of the last one.
He said, “All economic activities came to a halt during the total shut down of the economy to manage the effect of the pandemic. The price of crude oil, the mainstay of the economy crashed to as low as $30 per barrel.
“This put pressure on the nation’s foreign exchange stability, leading to a significant devaluation as the central bank adjusted the exchange rate from N307/$ to N380/$. Expectedly, inflation rate shot up to 13 per cent by mid-year and 18 per cent by year-end.”
He said the mortgage industry witnessed a resurgence of hope within the period following the revitalization of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) for the provision of long term capital for both developments of housing stock via its Estate Development and Construction Finance Loans as well as on-lending to prospective house owners through the National Housing Fund (NHF) loans.
“This is complemented by the opening of alternative financing windows of the Family Homes Funds and the Nigeria Mortgage Refinancing Company (NMRC). However, mortgage banks remain restricted in their capacity to support housing delivery by virtue of the level of funding outside the sources mentioned above.
“On the other hand, the slow capital market environment continually poses a challenge to mortgage banks in their bid to raise capital in fulfilment of the minimum capital requirements as demanded by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).”
On the company’s recapitalization efforts, the bank increased its equity capital to N10 billion by the creation of additional 10,000,000,000 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each.
He added that activities were in top gear for raising additional capital of N1.8 billion to ensure that the bank regularizes its capital impairment and retains its status as a National Primary Mortgage Bank.
The bank noted that details of the fundraising exercise would be circulated to members in due course after all the regulatory approvals have been obtained.
Economy
Petrol Supply up 55.4% as Daily Consumption Reaches 52.1 million Litres
By Adedapo Adesanya
The supply of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, increased by 55.4 per cent on a month-on-month basis to 71.5 million litres per day in November 2025 from 46 million litres per day in October.
This was contained in the November 2025 fact sheet of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) on Monday.
The data showed that the nation’s consumption also increased by 44.5 per cent or 37.4 million litres to 52.1 million litres per day in November 2025, against 28.9 million litres in October.
The significant increase in petrol supply last month was on account of the imports by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited into the Nigerian market from both the domestic and the international market.
Domestic refineries supplied in the period stood at 17.1 million litres per day, while the average daily consumption of PMS for the month was 52.9 million litres per day.
The NMDPRA noted that no production activities were recorded in all the state-owned refineries, which included Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries, in the period, as the refineries remained shut down.
According to the report, the imports were aimed at building inventory and further guaranteeing supply during the peak demand period.
Other reasons for the increase, according to the NMDPRA, were due to “low supply recorded in September and October 2025, below the national demand threshold; the need for boosting national stock level to meet the peak demand period of end of year festivities, and twelve vessels programmed to discharge into October, which spilled into November.”
On gas, the average daily gas supply climbed to 4.684 billion standard cubic feet per day in November 2025, from the 3.94 bscf/d average processing level recorded in October.
The Nigeria LNG Trains 1-6 also maintained a stable processing output of 3.5 bscf/d in November 2025, but utilisation improved slightly to 73.7 per cent compared with 71.68 per cent in October.
The increase, according to the report, was driven by higher plant utilisation across processing hubs and steady export volumes from the Nigeria LNG plant in Bonny.
“As of November 2025, Nigeria’s major gas processing facilities recorded improved output and utilisation levels, with the Nigeria LNG Trains 1-6 processing 3.50 billion standard cubic feet per day at a utilisation rate of 73.70 per cent.
“Gbaran Ubie Gas Plant processed 1.250 bscf per day, operating at 71.21 per cent utilisation, while the MPNU Bonny River Terminal recorded a throughput of 0.690 bscf per day during the period. Processing activities at the Escravos Gas Plant stood at 0.680 bscf per day, representing a 62 per cent utilisation rate, whereas the Soku Gas Plant emerged as the top performer, processing 0.600 bscf per day at 96.84 per cent utilisation,” it stated.
Economy
Secure Electronic Technology Suspends Share Reconstruction as Investors Pull Out
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The proposed share reconstruction of a local gaming firm, Secure Electronic Technology (SET), has been suspended.
The Lagos-based company decided to shelve the exercise after negotiations with potential investors crumbled like a house of cards.
Secure Electronic Technology was earlier in talks with some foreign investors interested in the organisation.
Plans were underway to restructure the shares of the company, which are listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
However, things did not go as planned as the potential investors pulled out, leaving the board to consider others ways to move the firm forward.
Confirming this development, the company secretary, Ms Irene Attoe, in a statement, said the board would explore other means to keep the company running to deliver value to shareholders.
“This is to notify the NGX and the investing public that a meeting of the board of SET held on Tuesday, December 16, 2025, as scheduled, to consider the status of the proposed share reconstruction and recapitalisation as approved by the members at the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held on April 16, 2025.
“After due deliberations, the board wishes to announce that the proposed share reconstruction will not take place as anticipated due to the inability of the parties to reach a convergence on the best and mutually viable terms.
“Thus, following an impasse in the negotiations, and the investors’ withdrawal from the transaction, the board has, in the interest of all members, decided to accept these outcomes and move ahead in the overall interest of the business.
“The board is committed to driving the strategic objectives of SEC and to seeking viable opportunities for sustainable growth of the company,” the disclosure stated.
Business Post reports that the share price of SET crashed by 3.85 per cent on Tuesday on Customs Street on Tuesday to 75 Kobo. Its 52-week high remains N1.33 and its one-year low is 45 Kobo. Today, investors transacted 39,331,958 units.
Economy
Clea to Streamline Cross-Border Payments for African Importers
By Adedapo Adesanya
Clea, a blockchain-powered platform that allows African importers to pay international suppliers in USD while settling locally, has officially launched.
During its pilot phase, Clea processed more than $4 million in cross-border transactions, demonstrating strong early demand from businesses navigating the complexities of global trade.
Clea addresses persistent challenges that African importers have long struggled with, including limited FX access, unpredictable exchange rates, high bank charges, fraudulent intermediaries, and payment delays that slow or halt shipments. The continent also faces a trade-finance gap estimated at over $120 billion annually, limiting importers’ ability to access the FX and financial infrastructure needed for timely international payments by offering fast, transparent, and direct USD settlements, completed without intermediaries or banking bottlenecks.
Founded by Mr Sheriff Adedokun, Mr Iyiola Osuagwu, and Mr Sidney Egwuatu, Clea was created from the team’s own experiences dealing with unreliable international payments. The platform currently serves Nigerian importers trading with suppliers in the United States, China, and the UAE, with plans to expand into additional trade corridors.
The platform will allow local payments in Naira with instant access to Dollars as well as instant, same-day, or next-day settlement options and transparent, traceable transactions that reduce fraud risk.
Speaking on the launch, Mr Adedokun said, “Importers face unnecessary stress when payments are delayed or rejected. Clea eliminates that uncertainty by offering reliable, secure, and traceable payments completed in the importer’s own name, strengthening supplier confidence from day one.”
Mr Osuagwu, co-founder & CTO, added, “Our goal is to make global trade feel as seamless as a local transfer. By connecting local currencies to global transactions through blockchain technology, we are removing long-standing barriers that have limited African importers for years.”
According to a statement shared with Business Post, Clea is already working with shipping operators who refer merchants to the platform and is also engaging trade associations and logistics networks in key import hubs. The company remains fully bootstrapped but is open to strategic investors aligned with its mission to build a trusted global payment network for African businesses.
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