Economy
Asian Equities Close Mixed on Friday
By Investors Hub
Asian stocks ended mixed on Friday as investors reacted to conflicting messages about the state of U.S.-China trade talks.
Trade deal optimism waned a little bit after reports suggested that a plan to roll back tariffs in phases has met opposition from some advisers to U.S. President Donald Trump.
Chinese shares ended lower even as data showed China’s exports and imports contracted less than expected in October. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index shed 14.53 points, or 0.5 percent, to finish at 2,964.18, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 196.09 points, or 0.7 percent, to 27,651.14.
Chinese exports fell 0.9 percent year-on-year in dollar terms, declining for the third straight month. Economists had expected a 3.9 percent slump following September’s 3.2 percent contraction.
Imports declined 6.4 percent from a year earlier, slower than the forecast of a 7.8 percent fall. This was the sixth consecutive decrease, reflecting subdued demand.
Japanese shares hit a 13-month high after data showed the country’s household spending rose at the fastest pace on record in September. The average of household spending in Japan rose an annual 9.5 percent in real terms in September, beating forecasts for an increase of 7.0 percent following the 1.0 percent gain in August.
The Nikkei 225 Index rose 61.55 points, or 0.3 percent, to 23,391.87, while the broader Topix closed 0.3 percent higher at 1,702.77, its highest level in more than a year.
Automaker Toyota rallied 2.2 percent after announcing a $1.8 billion share buyback. Medical equipment maker Terumo soared 13.4 percent and department store operator Isetan Mitsukoshi jumped 11.7 percent after posting strong quarterly earnings.
On the other hand, cosmetics maker Shiseido slumped 8.3 percent after lowering its full-year forecast.
Australian markets ended little changed with a negative bias. Financials extended gains from the previous session, with banks ANZ, Commonwealth and NAB rising between 0.2 percent and half a percent.
An overnight rally in oil prices lifted energy stocks, with Woodside Petroleum rallying 2 percent after raising its estimate for dry gas reserves at its Scarborough project. Santos advanced 1.5 percent and Origin Energy climbed 2.1 percent.
Meanwhile, gold miner Evolution Mining slumped 5.8 percent, Newcrest lost 4.6 percent and Norther Star Resources plunged 6.6 percent as gold lingered near one-month lows on positive trade-related headlines.
News Corp. lost 5 percent after impairment charges against its advertising business resulted in the media company reporting a first quarter loss.
REA Group tumbled 3.6 percent as it reported a 14 percent decrease in first-quarter group earnings excluding joint ventures and associates.
Seoul stocks turned lower as investors locked in some recent gains. The benchmark Kospi dropped 7.06 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,137.23, with technology stocks pacing the decliners. Samsung Electronics fell 1.5 percent and SK Hynix declined 1.6 percent.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Senate has passed a bill to repeal and re-enact the law establishing the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), paving the way for the regulatory agency to be renamed the Insurance Regulatory Commission (IRC).
The legislation, titled the Insurance Regulatory Commission (Establishment) Bill, 2026, was passed after the Senate considered and adopted the report of its committee on banking, insurance and other financial institutions.
The Chairman of the committee, Mr Adetokunbo Abiru, the senator representing Lagos East, who presented the report, stated that the proposed legislation was necessary because the existing National Insurance Commission Act of 1997 had become outdated and no longer reflected the realities of Nigeria’s evolving insurance industry or global regulatory standards.
According to the Senate, the decision to change the Commission’s name was informed by the need to eliminate confusion associated with the existing designation and to better reflect the institution’s regulatory mandate within Nigeria’s insurance industry.
The bill also provides legal protection for the commission and its officers against adverse claims arising from the lawful execution of their statutory duties.
However, he noted that the commission’s enabling law had become obsolete, exposing significant regulatory gaps that required urgent legislative intervention.
‘The current National Insurance Commission Act 1997 is outdated and does not adequately address the emerging economic growth, needs and development of the insurance business,” the lawmaker said.
He explained that the new legislation seeks to strengthen the independence of the commission by empowering it to make regulatory decisions without undue influence in the country’s insurance sector.
According to him, the bill also enhances the commission’s authority to exchange information and collaborate with domestic and international regulatory bodies, issue regulations, guidelines, standards and directives on insurance-related matters, and intervene more effectively in financially distressed insurance companies to protect policyholders and preserve financial stability.
This marks yet another move to strengthen the country’s insurance sector following the enactment of the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) of 2025 and the industry-wide recapitalisation exercise, which will wrap up by July 31.
By Adedapo Adesanya
About 143 companies that successfully passed the technical and prequalification stages of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission’s (NUPRC) 2025 Licensing Round will, today, compete for 50 oil and gas blocks at the commercial bid conference in Abuja, the final stage in the allocation process for the assets.
The commission said only the prequalified companies have been invited to attend the event, which will hold at the Conference Centre of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, stressing that participation is strictly by invitation.
The commercial bid conference will determine the successful bidders for oil and gas assets located across Nigeria’s producing and frontier basins.
The 50 blocks comprise 16 onshore blocks and 18 shallow water blocks in the Niger Delta, one deep offshore block, three onshore blocks in the Benin Basin, four in the Anambra Basin, four in the Chad Basin, and four in the Benue Trough.
According to the commission, the winning bids will be determined through a transparent evaluation process based on clearly defined commercial parameters. These include the signature bonus offered by bidders, the proposed work programme commitment and the level of performance security provided. The final selection will be based on a weighted technical and commercial score.
The licensing round is being conducted under the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, which requires a transparent and competitive process for the award of petroleum assets.
NUPRC had announced the commencement of the 2025 Licensing Round on November 11, 2025, before opening the online bid portal on December 1, 2025, to enable interested companies to register and participate in the exercise.
To ensure prospective investors fully understood the requirements, the commission organised a pre-bid conference on January 14, 2026, at Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos. The event provided detailed explanations on the licensing guidelines and bidding procedures to registered participants and other stakeholders.
Registration and submission of prequalification documents closed on February 27, 2026, while the prequalification evaluation was completed on March 16, 2026.
NUPRC disclosed that 286 companies initially submitted applications for prequalification.
Following the evaluation process, 196 companies were cleared to participate in the technical and commercial bid stages.
The prequalified 143 companies eventually submitted a total of 200 bids for the available oil and gas blocks. These companies are now set to compete at the commercial bid conference, where the financial offers will be opened and evaluated to determine the eventual winners.
The licensing round is expected to attract fresh investment into Nigeria’s upstream petroleum sector, boost exploration activities across both producing and frontier basins, increase crude oil and gas reserves, and support the country’s drive to grow production and government revenue.
It also underscores the regulator’s commitment to implementing a transparent, competitive and investor-friendly licensing regime under the Petroleum Industry Act.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has retained all key monetary policy parameters following the conclusion of its two-day meeting on July 21, 2026, on Tuesday, maintaining its tight monetary policy stance to curb inflation and support macroeconomic stability.
According to the Governor of the apex bank, Mr Yemi Cardoso, who chaired the committee, the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), which serves as the benchmark interest rate, remains at 26.50 per cent. The MPC also retained the asymmetric corridor around the MPR at +50 basis points and -450 basis points.
In addition, the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) for commercial banks was left unchanged at 45.00 per cent, while the CRR for merchant banks remains at 16.00 per cent. The committee also retained the CRR on non-Treasury Single Account (Non-TSA) public sector deposits at 75.00 per cent, with the liquidity ratio at 30.00 per cent.
The decision reflects the apex bank’s continued commitment to containing inflationary pressures through a restrictive monetary policy while safeguarding the resilience of Nigeria’s financial system amid ongoing macroeconomic adjustments.
By keeping all policy tools unchanged, the MPC signalled its intention to continue managing excess liquidity in the banking sector and maintain stability in financial markets.
The move is also expected to provide greater policy certainty for investors and businesses monitoring the country’s monetary policy direction.
The latest decision also means borrowing costs are likely to remain elevated in the near term as the central bank continues to prioritise price stability over monetary easing.
Analysts had expected the CBN committee to retain the rate after Nigeria’s headline inflation came in at 15.91 per cent as of June 2026, marking a slight decline from 15.93 per cent in May.
However, even as overall price growth has moderated significantly compared to previous periods, food inflation remains a persistent challenge, accelerating to 17.52 per cent in June.
