Banking Stocks Grow Investors’ Portfolios by N5bn Thursday

By Adedapo Adesanya  President Bola Tinubu has written to the House of Representatives seeking the approval for an $8.6 billion and €100 million external borrowing plan for critical infrastructure in areas such as power, roads, water, railway, and health. The President also forwarded the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Supplementary Budget to the lower chamber for consideration. Meanwhile, the President will present the 2024 budget to the National Assembly on Wednesday. This was after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved a 2024 budget of N27.5 trillion. The approval followed the review of the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) earlier passed by the

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira depreciated in the opening session of the week in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Monday, November 27 against the Dollar by N19.71 or 2.5 per cent as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Olayemi Cardoso, said the lender was committed to clearing a backlog of foreign exchange (forex). “We have initiated the payment of unsettled forward foreign exchange obligations, and these payments will continue until all obligations are cleared,” he told bankers last Friday during a dinner speech in Lagos. However, his assurance could not ease the pressure

By Adedapo Adesanya The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded yet another positive week-on-week performance after stretching its gains by 1.44 per cent in Week 47. This expanded the portfolios of NASD investors by N17 billion in the week to N1.162 trillion from the N1.145 trillion recorded in Week 46, as the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) increased by 12.16 points to 857.29 points from 845.13 points in the previous week. The trading week was with three price gainers and three losers, with Aradel Holdings Plc on top of the advancers’ chart after it grew by 10 per cent to finish

By Bliss Okperan, Adedapo Adesanya  The cost of cooking a pot of jollof rice, one of the most consumed foods daily in Nigeria, has surged by 37.4 per cent, according to research carried out by Business Post. Using market data and the most recent food price watch by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), major food items in making the delicacy, including rice, groundnut oil, tomatoes, and onions, among others have recorded a massive increase within the past year, making it hard for the average Nigerian to survive. According to NBS, 1 kilogram of Rice cost N757.06 in 2023 as

By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh While Russia’s interest in sub-Saharan Africa is nothing new, Russian authorities have realized that it’s time to move back primarily to reclaim its economic footprints and to find old Soviet-era allies, but that step comes with new challenges, especially from other foreign players and the changing internal political and economic conditions in Africa. Long before it held its first symbolic summit in October 2019, many experts indicated in several policy reports that “Russia has often failed to capitalize on the historical connection between Moscow and those African elites who had been educated in the Soviet Union

By Dipo Olowookere Owners of ships in Nigeria have kicked against the imposition of 15 percent Customs duty on their vessels, describing this as unfair especially when vessels belonging to foreign nationals pay as low as one percent. The aggrieved persons, who spoke on the issue yesterday under aegis of Ship Owners Association of Nigerian (SOAN), want government to review the policy to save the industry in Nigeria. President of SOAN, Mr Greg Ogbeifun, said at a stakeholders meeting organized by the Alumni of Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron, that the policy has put Nigerian ship-owners at a very disadvantaged

By Modupe Gbadeyanka In May 2019, Eurobond worth N200 million issued by Diamond Bank Plc is expected to be due for repayment and with Access Bank merging with Diamond Bank, the tier-1 lender would be expected to repay the bond holders at maturity. Renowned rating agency, Fitch Ratings, says it expect Access Bank to be able to settle the debt and not default. In a statement issued on Wednesday, Fitch, which maintained the Rating Watch Negative (RWN) on Access Bank ratings following the completion of the merger with Diamond Bank Plc, said it “expects Access Bank to repay the $200

By Adedapo Adesanya The board of directors of top consumer goods company, PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc, has announced that it would be paying final dividend worth N595.6 million to its shareholders for the year ended May 31, 2019. A breakdown of this payment showed that the company is paying a dividend of 15 Kobo per ordinary share, the same amount it paid to investors in the company for the 2018 financial year. In a notice to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) signed on behalf of the company by Abiola Laseinde, the cash reward would be paid electronically to shareholders on

By Dipo Olowookere President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday directed the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) to inject N2 billion into each of the 12 new universities established by the Federal Government in 2011. Mr Buhari, who spoke as a visitor to the maiden convocation of the Federal University, Wukari in Taraba, said that the amount was to fund critical infrastructure in the institutions. The President, presently away in London due to health reasons, was represented at the event by Dr Bello Kumo, the Director Academic Standards in the National Universities Commission (NUC). At the occasion, the President also directed that

By Modupe Gbadeyanka No fewer than 72 desk officers have commenced training on the administration of pension and gratuity in Oyo State. The Commissioner for Establishments and Training in the state, Mr Siju Lawal, disclosed that the workshop aims to improve pension and gratuity administration through digital so as to jettison the old system of analogue which also causes delay, and loss of documents, among other factors. He expressed optimism that at the end of the training, Oyo State will boast efficient and effective pension and gratuity administration in the public and civil service. The Commissioner urged the participants to

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Nigeria’s overnight interbank lending rate rose sharply on Friday despite the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) not conducting an Open Market Operations (OMO) auction. This, Business Post reports, may be due to the banks’ funding for CBN forex auction earlier in the day. Our correspondent reports further that the overnight rate jumped to 12.17 percent on Friday from 4.67 percent on Thursday. Also, the Open Buy Back (OBB) rate increased to 11.60 percent yesterday from 3.83 percent recorded the previous day. As market players anticipate the resumption of OMO sale next Monday, the system liquidity is expected

By Adedapo Adesanya The African Export and Import Bank (Afreximbank) has advised that for the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) to become a success, the continent must check corruption and illicit financial flows. President of the bank, Mr Benedict Oramah, gave this advice at the virtual 2020 Africa Business Ethics Conference with the theme Tackling Corruption to Reduce Poverty and Unemployment in Africa: A Necessity for Building Resilience to Global Risks, which was organised by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) in partnership with the Centre for International Private Enterprise (CIPE). Mr Oramah, who was represented by