Appointment of TCN Boss Won’t Affect AFDB’s Loan—Fashola

By Adedapo Adesanya The federal government has set plans in motion to raise $200 million from philanthropic individuals and organisations as part of efforts to create jobs and support Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria. Nigeria is home to over 36.9 million MSMEs, comprising 96.7 per cent of all businesses in Nigeria. According to data, 67 per cent of these businesses are youth-owned. MSMEs contribute over 45 per cent to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), with 98.8 per cent of them in the micro cadre. They account for nearly 90 per cent of the jobs in the

By Adedapo Adesanya The duo of Aradel Holdings Plc and 11 Plc landed the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange in the green territory by 0.84 per cent on Monday, November 27. The two energy stocks overpowered losses posted by two other securities admitted to the alternative stock exchange, leaving the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) closing higher by 7.22 points to 864.51 basis points from 857/29 points, as the market capitalisation of the exchange increased by N9.78 billion to N1.171 trillion from N1.162 trillion. Aradel Holdings Plc saw its share price continue to soar as it rose by N28.80 to

By Dipo Olowookere The positive momentum witnessed at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited continued on Monday with a 0.17 per cent leap at the close of business. Buying pressure, particularly in a few blue-chip equities, kept the bulls at Customs Street during the trading session, though the consumer goods space succumbed to profit-taking by 0.99 per cent. But hope was kept alive by the gains reported by the other key sectors of the market, with the banking counter growing by 1.71 per cent, and the industrial goods index appreciating by 0.01 per cent, while the insurance and energy sectors remained

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira appreciated against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Friday, November 27 as expectations of renewed confidence that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) would offer stability to the market. Before the market closed, there were indications that the CBN Governor, Mr Olayemi Cardoso, would share his plans for the Nigerian economy at a dinner for bankers in Lagos and this boosted a fresh hope, considering he had not offered a direction prior then. In the official market, the domestic currency gained N161.44 or 16.9 per cent against the Dollar

By Adedapo Adesanya The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange extended its stay in the red territory after it lost 0.26 per cent on Tuesday, November 7 following the poor performance of FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc. The company depreciated by N1.51 to close at N74.40 per unit compared with the previous day’s N75.91 per unit, causing the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) to slide by4.77 points to end the day at 828.31 points compared with the previous day’s 335.08 points. In the same vein, the market capitalisation of the unlisted securities exchange went down by N6.45 billion to close the trading

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom) and the Executive Secretary of the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) have been asked to explain to the House of Representatives Committees on Pension and Public Service Matters why they have failed to pay federal civil service retirees their pensions for nine months. This directive was given to the officials after a lawmaker from Edo State, Mr Sergius Ose-Ogun, moved a motion on the matter on the floor of the lower chamber of the National Assembly in Abuja on Tuesday. Also to appear before the panels are the Head

By Kester Kenn Klomegah At least 13 oil and gas companies are interested in Mozambican oil and have delivered bids for the prospection and exploration of hydrocarbons in response to the sixth licensing round for exploration and production concessions, the country’s Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy has said. According to Radio Mozambique (RM) news report, oil giants such as ExxonMobil, and Total Energies have delivered bids, as have the two Russian companies Rosneft and Novatec. But the Russian bids are unlikely to be considered serious contenders following the strict sanctions imposed by the United States and European countries in

By Dipo Olowookere The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited depreciated by 0.09 per cent on Tuesday as investors sold off some equities that have recorded price appreciation in the past days. The profit-taking and weak investor sentiment contributed to the dwindling of the stock exchange yesterday as traders continue to watch happenings in the macroeconomic environment closely. Some of them have an eye on the inflation data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBC) this week, as well as decisions of central banks of key global economies on interest rates. Trading data obtained by Business Post revealed that investors cut their

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A subsidiary of Diageo Plc of the United Kingdom, Guinness Nigeria, on Tuesday, released its Q2-17/18 results, showing an improvement from what was obtained in the first quarter results. Specifically, the brewer’s net profit increased to N2.09 billion against the N2.44 billion loss recorded last year. This was mainly buoyed by continued revenue growth, better margin, and lower opex and finance charges. The net profit was equally higher compared to Q1-17/18’s N41.4 million, but below our N2.70 billion estimate and consensus expectation of N2.8 billion. In addition, the company’s revenue grew by 11 percent year-on-year and 36

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Usman Alkali Baba, has been ordered by the House of Representatives to prosecute the killers of one Sylvester Oromoni, a student of Dowen College, Lekki, Lagos. The death of the Dowen student has sparked reactions on social media for some days. This was triggered by the video of the painful dying moment of the boy released by his family. Sylvester was allegedly beaten to death by five students of the school over his refusal to join a cult group, according to the family of the deceased. The Lagos State Police Command

By Modupe Gbadeyanka An activist investor, Mr Gbadebo Olatokunbo, who doubles as the co-founder of Nigeria Shareholders Solidarity Association (NSSA), has advised investors to be careful in subscribing to the much-anticipated listing of shares of MTN Nigeria on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). Recently, CEO of MTN Group, Mr Rob Shuter, disclosed that shares of the telecommunication firm would be listed on the NSE by introduction by June 2019. According to Mr Shuter, “We have decided though to pursue the listing by means of a listing by introduction. It is phase one” of the listing. He said after the listing

By Adedapo Adesanya The European Commission has proposed a deal to accelerate natural gas imports from Egypt in a bid to reduce its reliance on Russian gas. With Egypt ramping up efforts to become a major liquefied natural gas (LNG) player through increased exploration, production and infrastructure build-up and modernization, the North African country is well-positioned to expand energy exports to Europe while addressing African energy demand. Owing to its strategic location in close proximity to European markets as well as its success as a gas exporter, Egypt has emerged as an ideal supplier for Europe in the wake of