Asian Equities Rise as Investors Ignore Renewed US, China Trade Dispute

By Adedapo Adesanya The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) on Thursday asked Nigeria to produce about 1.5 million barrels of crude oil per day in 2024, lower than the 1.78 million barrels per day benchmark it proposed in the 2024 Appropriation Bill presented to the National Assembly on Wednesday for passage. The output ceiling was around 1.8 million barrels per day before it was cut down to 1.5 million barrels yesterday at the group’s virtual meeting, a huge blow to Nigeria’s revenue target for the fiscal year. OPEC had tasked three consultancies – IHS, Rystad

By Dipo Olowookere The last trading day of November 2023 on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended on a bullish note by 0.11 per cent on Thursday. Mild bargain-hunting in industrial goods equities like Lafarge Africa, supported by Airtel Africa, GTCO and other financial stocks left the market in the green territory at the close of business. Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 81.91 points to settle at 71,365.25 points compared with the preceding day’s 71,283.34 points, and the market capitalisation grew by N44 billion to N39.052 trillion from N39.008 trillion. Business Post reports that the

By Adedapo Adesanya The trio of Newrest Asl Plc, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, and Acorn Petroleum Plc made the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange appreciate by 0.14 per cent on Friday, December 1. The three gainers pressed down the 8 Kobo loss reported by UBN Property Plc, which closed the trading session at N1.52 per unit compared with the preceding day’s value of N1.60 per unit. During the trading day, Newrest Plc gained N1.46 to close at N16.10 per share compared with Thursday’s closing price of N14.64 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc moved up by 60 Kobo to end the

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Taxpayers, including organisations and individuals, who are yet to pay their outstanding taxes, will not pay penalties and interests if they make the payments on or before December 31, 2023. This tax default forgiveness was given by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), which explained that it created this window in “recognition of the challenges that many taxpayers have faced in settling their outstanding tax liabilities.” However, it stressed that if the full principal payment is not done before the deadline, defaulters would be forced to pay the outstanding tax liabilities. The Chairman of the FIRS, Mr

By Dipo Olowookere One of the leading airline operators in Nigeria, Aero Contractors, has announced the indefinite suspension of its operations, citing the rising cost of maintenance, inflation and foreign exchange (FX) scarcity, amongst others as the reason for its action. In a statement issued on Monday, the company, which is the oldest airline in the country, said the suspension of its flight operations will become effective Wednesday, July 20, 2022. The firm said in the past months, it has been struggling to remain in business despite “the high cost of maintenance, skyrocketing fuel prices, inflation, and forex scarcity” and

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Nigeria, Mr Lee In-tae, has said his country will work together with the federal government to make the economy stronger and support the country to develop its derivatives market. Speaking on Wednesday in Abuja at the official opening of a seminar on the operations and regulations on derivatives market in Nigeria under the Knowledge Sharing Programme (KSP), the Korean envoy said Nigeria has a lot to gain from his country’s economic growth. He expressed confidence that the launching of the first KSP project will serve as a cornerstone for the

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Some computers, printers and other office tools were distributed to various Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in the Kwara State civil service on Friday by Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq. Mr AbdulRazaq said he decided to equip the civil service with modern tools in order to make the workers more efficient for the benefit of the state. According to him, his administration discovered that most of the offices either did not have these items or the ones they had were not working. He said the civil service is a good system with good people which only requires adequate tools

By Dipo Olowookere For allegedly selling shares belonging to investors without their consents, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has blacklisted a stockbroker, Mr Uduma Arunsi. Mr Arunsi is an executive director of Royal Trust Securities Limited, one of the brokerage companies approved by the exchange to trade shares in Nigeria. He is also a non-executive director on the board of Multiverse Mining & Exploration Plc. In a notice sighted by Business Post on Monday, the exchange said Mr Arunsi was also involved in misconduct and was punished for that. He was not the only stockbroker sanctioned and blacklisted from the

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The Norwegian Investment Fund for developing countries, Norfund, has described Nigeria as Norway’s most important market in Africa, noting that efforts are being made to increase investments in the giant of the continent. Nigeria is one of the biggest economies in Africa and has the largest market because of its population of over 200 million, according to the government. At an event held in Lagos recently, Norfund said it intends to drive development in Nigeria and create jobs through investments in the private sector. “Set to become the world’s third most populated country, Nigeria is Norway’s most

By Dipo Olowookere Nigerian shares snapped a four-day losing streak on Thursday ahead of the Easter break, which begins tomorrow, to appreciate by 1.72 percent. This came as earnings updates continued to impress investors, who had waited patiently for massive release of results today, being the last day for release of 2017 earnings as well as the last trading day of the month of March 2018. Earlier results released by some market heavyweights had failed to inspire investors as most of them churned out what traders were already expecting with no surprises. Business Post reports that today’s trading was positive

By Adedapo Adesanya The United Kingdom government has said it will not block Newcastle United FC takeover from a Saudi Arabia-backed consortium. The Middle-Eastern Kingdom was recently reported to be involved in a proposed £300 million takeover of the English football outfit alongside American and British investors. However, Amnesty International and Qatar-based TV giant, beIN Sport, have called on the UK government to block the deal. The UK Culture Secretary, Mr Oliver Dowden, has. however, clarified that there is no plan to block the buy-out, despite allegations against Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman regarding the death of journalist Jamal