Analysts Foresee Positive Outlook for Equities in Q2-18

By Adedapo Adesanya The House of Representatives has pledged to stop international oil companies (IOCs) operating in the Niger Delta from divestment of their offshore assets without being accountable to the environment. The Chairman of the House of Reps Committee on Host Communities, Mr Dumnamene Dekor, said this during a technical session on the implementation of the Host Communities Development Trusts (HCDT), organised by Spaces for Change (S4C) with support from Ford Foundation. Mr Dekor raised the alarm that since the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act in 2021, host communities have not experienced any positive change, rather have remained

By Adedapo Adesanya The boards of insurance companies operating in the country have been charged by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) to embrace the measures put in place to tackle the challenges of unpaid claims. The Commissioner for Insurance, Mr Sunday Thomas, expressed worry over the number of outstanding claims in the sector despite efforts by the regulator to address the issue. Mr Thomas, who is also the chief executive of NAICOM, said the organisation, in collaboration with members of the Insurers’ Committee, has taken decisions and incepted measures designed to tame the menace of unpaid claims. Speaking at the

By Adedapo Adesanya Equinor and Chappal Energies have entered into an agreement for the sale of Equinor Nigeria Energy Company (ENEC), which holds a 53.85 per cent ownership in oil and gas lease OML 128, including the unitized 20.21 per cent stake in the Agbami oil field, operated by Chevron. Speaking on the deal, Equinor’s senior vice president for Africa Operations, Ms Nina Koch, said Nigeria has been an important part of Equinor’s international portfolio over the past 30 years, noting that, “This transaction realizes value and is in line with Equinor’s strategy to optimize its international oil and gas

By Adedapo Adesanya A milk-producing company, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria, helped the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange return to the green territory by 0.54 per cent on Wednesday, November 29. The firm improved its value by N3.50 in the midweek session to settle at N73.50 per share compared with the previous day’s closing price of N70.00 per share. It suppressed the 10 Kobo decline posted by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which ended lower at N17.00 per unit versus Tuesday’s value of N17.10 per unit. Consequently, the market capitalisation of the alternative stock exchange went up by N6.28 billion to

By Investors Hub Asian stocks rallied on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to a 90-day truce on their escalating trade war. While Trump agreed to hold off on his threat to raise tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods to 25 percent from 10 percent on January 1st, Beijing agreed to buy very substantial amounts of agricultural, energy, industrial and other products from the U.S. to narrow its trade gap with the U.S. China’s Shanghai Composite Index soared 2.6 percent to finish at 2,654.80, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index surged up

By Dipo Olowookere The Bureaux De Change (BDC) arm of Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, Stanbic IBTC Bureau De Change Limited, has relinquished its operating licence. The financial services giant disclosed in a notice on Wednesday that its child company dropped the licence from January 1, 2020, due to the new policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on diaspora remittances. The CBN had last month said banks in the country were free to pay beneficiaries of payments from abroad in the currency of the sender’s country. As a result, Stanbic IBTC said there was no need to continue to

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A total of N3.95 trillion was shared among the federal, states and local government areas of the federation in the first half of 2018 from the Federation Account. A statement from the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) signed by its Director of Communications and Advocacy, Dr Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, disclosed that the disbursements made by the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) represented an increase of 41 percent when compared to the N2.79 trillion disbursed in the first half of 2017 and a 95 percent increase in the N2 trillion disbursed in the first half of 2016.

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira fell by 25 kobo or 0.06 per cent at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment of the foreign exchange market on Thursday, October 22 as the domestic currency ended the day at N386/$1 in contrast to N385.75/$1 it was sold previously. This happened as the demand for forex increased significantly at the segment as fears seemed to have subsized following development across the country. According to data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange, transactions valued at $77.62 million were carried out at the window yesterday in contrast to the $6.05 million exchanged at the midweek session,

By Dipo Olowookere A report has disclosed that play-to-earn (P2E) gaming adoption in Nigeria is expected to reach 33 per cent at the end of 2022, double the present state. In the Finder’s NFT Gaming Adoption Report, it was revealed that 16.05 per cent of Nigerian internet users have used P2E gaming platforms this year, putting the country at number 9 in the world. India has the most gamers at 34 per cent, followed by Hong Kong at 29 per cent, the United Arab Emirates in third at 27 per cent and the Philippines in fifth at 25 per cent.

By Adedapo Adesanya The Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Mr Bosun Tijani, has announced a N1 billion partnership between the ministry and IHS Towers, one of the largest independent communications infrastructure firms in the world, to establish the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) Learning Community. The ministry earlier this month released a 31-page policy document titled Accelerating our Collective Prosperity through Technical Efficiency which outlined plans to boost the country’s economy through the use of technology. It said it would collaborate with other ministries and parastatals, including private sector stakeholders to drive opportunities for startups to facilitate the

By Dipo Olowookere The management of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc has said it has no intention to carry out any rights issue at the moment. At an investor forum organised by the company in Lagos, the Managing Director, Mr Lars Richter, explained that the reason is mainly because of the rise in the construction firm’s shareholders equity to N35 billion. According to Vanguard, Mr Richter, who was represented at the event by the Finance Director, Mr Martin Brack, described 2018 business year as very successful and pivotal year for the company. “Julius Berger successfully overcame many of the tough challenges