Economy
AXA Mansard Extends Double Awoof Promo
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The two promotional schemes of AXA Mansard Insurance Plc, AXA Mansard Awoof Xtra and Double-Double Promo, have been extended till June 2024 to allow more Nigerians and its customers whose policies were still active to benefit from the promo offerings.
Business Post reports that the AXA Mansard Awoof Xtra and Double-Double are designed for the third-party and comprehensive motor insurance categories, respectively.
According to the company, when customers buy or renew their comprehensive insurance policy under the Double-Double scheme, such customers will get free fire insurance for their home to the tune of the vehicle sum assured.
On the other hand, under the Awoof Xtra promo scheme, customers who buy or renew their third-party motor insurance from AXA Mansard will also get gifts ranging from vouchers to phones, airtime, and other amazing prizes.
The Chief Client Officer of, AXA Mansard, Ms Rashidat Adebisi, explained that the objective of the promotions is to get more Nigerians to protect themselves and build resilience against uncertainties.
She disclosed that extending the promo period till mid-year would give more people the opportunity to enjoy the benefits and consequently contribute to the need for increased insurance penetration in the country.
“For us at AXA Mansard, we will continue to push the boundaries to find increased ways of getting more Nigerians to embrace the insurance culture.
“We are convinced that one way to drive insurance penetration in Nigeria is for more people to see insurance in action. Our citizens can’t see insurance in action when they don’t have insurance policies.
“So, we believe extending this promo will allow more Nigerians to try out insurance and know that it is as rewarding as any other financial service they are used to.
“We are very passionate about this and a cause that we have deliberately pursued with our regulators and other industry stakeholders.
“We have invested in it over the years, so extending the promo duration is to further show our unwavering commitment. It is in line with our purpose as a company, it is consistent with our value of customer first, and it fits very well for the economic realities of this time,” Ms Adebisi further said.
On his part, the chief executive of AXA Mansard Insurance, Mr Kunle Ahmed, said that the two promotional schemes have again proven AXA Mansard’s unalloyed commitment to the growth of the insurance sector in Nigeria, explaining that the choice of motor and fire insurance as anchor products is very deliberate.
“We understand that motor insurance is one insurance product that most Nigerians can relate to in terms of understanding.
“So, we see this as an opportunity to leverage that advantage to, on the one hand, get more people to insure their vehicles and, on the other hand, get more Nigerians to try out home insurance in the process.
“We believe that this initiative alongside others will help drive the level of penetration and will get more Nigerians to try out insurance and let them experience how it works by them,” he stated.
He further said, “We have invested heavily in insurance education over the years. We will continue to do that.
“But this year, we are taking that investment a step further by giving free fire insurance to cover the home of every customer who insures their vehicle comprehensively with us.
“You will agree with me that this is a considerable investment, but one that we are convinced must be done, and as a leader in this industry, we are committed to continuing this initiative.”
Economy
Nigeria Led Africa’s Upstream Oil, Gas Investments in 2024
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria ranked as Africa’s leading destination for upstream oil and gas investment in 2024, new research from market intelligence firm, Wood Mackenzie, has shown, accounting for three out of four Final Investment Decisions (FIDs) announced by global oil and gas majors, totaling $13.5 billion.
The FIDs announced within the Nigerian market included Shell’s $122 million investment in the Iseni Gas Project, TotalEnergies’ $566 million commitment to the Ubeta Gas Project and Shell’s approval of the Bonga North Tranche 1 project valued at around $5 billion.
According to the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Energy, Ms Olu Verheijen, these investments reflected Nigeria’s ongoing efforts to unlock its hydrocarbon potential through investor-friendly policies and strategic global partnerships.
Last year, Nigeria introduced several initiatives to create a conducive environment for oil and gas investors, including new tax incentives aimed at attracting up to $10 billion in natural gas investments.
Nigeria, which is Africa’s largest oil producer, also offered tax relief for gas investors, reducing corporate income tax and extending capital allowance benefits – for deepwater gas projects.
Other policies include the Presidential Directive on Local Content Compliance Requirements 2024 to address the reduction in oil and gas investments caused by high operating costs compared to global markets.
Also, the Presidential Directive on Reduction of Petroleum Sector Contracting Costs and Timelines 2024 reduces the time spent to award contracts for oil and gas projects.
In addition to the directives, Nigeria also launched its 2024 oil and gas licensing round, offering 19 blocks for exploration, demonstrating its commitment to continued collaboration with local, regional and international partners.
Market analysts note that with this momentum, further FIDs are anticipated, including TotalEnergies’ expected $750 million commitment to the Ima Shallow Gas Project in 2025.
Economy
UBN Property Triggers 0.22% Loss at NASD OTC Exchange
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a 0.22 per cent decline on Monday, January 20, with the market capitalisation shedding N2.35 billion to close at N1.073 trillion compared with the preceding session’s N1.075 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) going down by 6.79 points to wrap the session at 3,105.12 points compared with 3,111.91 points recorded in the previous session.
It was observed that the loss recorded on the first trading day of the week was triggered by UBN Property Plc, which crashed by 20 Kobo to trade at N2.00 per share versus last Friday’s N2.20 per share.
However, the share price of Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc went up by 4 Kobo to 40 Kobo per unit from 36 Kobo per unit, it could not stop the bourse from going down at the close of transactions.
The activity chart showed that on Monday, the volume of securities traded by investors increased by 57.9 per cent to 767,610 units from the 486,215 units traded in the preceding session, while the value of shares traded yesterday slumped by 17.7 per cent to N2.3 million from the N2.8 million recorded in the preceding trading day, as the number of deals declined by 14.3 per cent to 12 deals from the 14 deals carried out in the previous trading day.
At the close of transactions, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 4.1 million units worth N162.9 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with a turnover of 9.1 million units valued at N44.0 million, and 11 Plc with the sale of 55,358 for N14.5 million.
Also, Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc closed the day as the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 25.3 million units sold for N5.9 million, Geo-Fluids Plc came next with 9.1 million units valued at N44.0 million, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 4.1 million units worth N162.9 million.
Economy
Naira Weakens to N1,550/$1 at Official Market, Gains N5 at Black Market
By Adedapo Adesanya
The value of the Naira weakened against the US Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Monday, January 20 amid FX pressures associated with this period.
Most people who came into the country for Christmas and New Year holidays are already going back and are in need of forex, putting pressure on the local currency.
Also, the poor performance of the domestic currency could be attributed to end to the 42-day access granted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to Bureaux de Change (BDC) operators to buy forex at official price.
According to data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange, the Nigerian Naira lost 0.16 per cent or N2.47 on the greeback yesterday to sell at N1,550.05/$1, in contrast to last Friday’s rate of N1,547.58/$1.
Similarly, the Naira slumped against the Pound Sterling in the spot market on Monday by N23.39 to trade at N1,906.98/£1 versus N1,883.59/£1 and depreciated against the Euro by N23.14 to sell for N1,613.48/€1 compared with last Friday’s N1,590.34/€1.
However, in the parallel market, the Nigerian currency improved its value against the Dollar during the session by N5 to quote at N1,665/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,670/$1.
As for the cryptocurrency market, it turned red yesterday as the US President, Mr Donald Trump, didn’t bring up the much-expected subject of crypto in his inauguration speech on Monday afternoon.
Mr Trump had promised a far more friendly crypto policy stance than the previous administration but in the long speech that announced his plans in the coming days, he didn’t make mention of Bitcoin or crypto.
Just over the weekend, the President ignited a speculative frenzy with the Friday evening launch of the Trump meme coin, which was shortly followed by a meme coin associated with his wife, Melania.
Dogecoin (DOGE) crumbled yesterday by 6.3 per cent to $0.3419, Solana (SOL) slumped by 4.7 per cent to $235.32, Cardano (ADA) fell by 3.6 per cent to $0.9777, and Litecoin (LTC) moderated by 1.9 per cent to $114.98.
Further, Ethereum (ETH) went down by 1.7 per cent to $3,241.36, Binance Coin (BNB) retreated by 1.4 per cent to $693.30, Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 1.2 per cent to $3.06, and Bitcoin (BTC) tumbled by 0.8 per cent to $101,746.99, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
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