Bears Tighten Control of NGX as Appetite for Stocks Wanes

By Adedapo Adesanya Appreciation in the prices of three stocks saw the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed with a 1.36 per cent rise on Friday, November 24 despite efforts by two equities to bring down the market. Aradel Holdings Plc recorded a N79.20 appreciation to sell at N871.20 per share compared to the previous day’s N792.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc increased by N2.82 to close the day at N74.00 per unit versus Thursday’s closing price of N71.14 per unit, and UBN Property Plc jumped by 15 Kobo to finish at N1.65 per share, in contrast to the

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  Oil prices fell on Friday as the release of some hostages in Gaza reduced the geopolitical risk premium and indicated that the Israel-Hamas tensions may not have much effect on the oil market. Brent crude futures depreciated by 84 cents or 1 per cent at $80.58 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude dropped $1.56 or 2 per cent to close at $75.54. There was no settlement for WTI on Thursday owing to the US Thanksgiving holiday. Prices notched their first week of gains in over a month ahead of next week’s meeting of

By Adedapo Adesanya Kenya has continued to maintain its position as Africa’s most remarkable mobile money market as the use of the service hit a historic high in 2021 after users transacted 6.24 trillion shillings (equivalent to $55.1 billion) on phones between January and November in 2021. This indicated a 20 per cent increase from the previous year, surpassing the $45.9 billion transacted in the entire 2020, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) said in a new data released on Monday. The surge in transactions came despite the government removing COVID-19 subsidies at the start of 2021. The Kenyan government

By Ashemiriogwa Emmanuel A top financial institution, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, through the Stanbic IBTC Finance Team, has reconstructed the vocational centre at Borstal Training Institute (BTI) located in Abeokuta, Ogun State. The BTI is an arm of the Nigerian Correctional Service where young offenders are remanded and given both educational and vocational training, used to be a deteriorated structure with very few tools. The poor facility was not able to live up to the purpose of the institute in terms of equipping students with education and skill acquisition. However, the intervention of the Stanbic IBTC Staff Volunteerism Initiative saw

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Lagos zonal office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned one Mr Okey Justin Eze and his company, Ashford Industries Nigeria Limited for allegedly defrauding Bank of Industry (BoI) to the tune of N85 million. Mr Eze was taken to Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo of the Special Offences Court, sitting in Ikeja, Lagos on Thursday, May 2, 2019, on a six- count charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretence from the bank established by the Nigerian government to provide financial assistance to businesses in the country. The accused person, who is the first

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira succumbed to a high demand pressure at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Wednesday, October 13 as it depreciated against the United States Dollar. Business Post reports that during the trading session, the Nigerian currency lost 80 kobo or 0.19 per cent against the greenback to close at N415.10/$1 in contrast to N414.30/$1 it traded at the specialised window on Tuesday. FX supply crunch at the market segment contributed to the downfall of the local currency yesterday and according to data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange, transactions worth

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Bank of Industry (BoI) on Friday launched a N1 billion solar energy fund for use by Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) across the country. The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that the intervention fund aims at providing alternative and renewable energy for small businesses. Mr Waheed Olagunju, the Acting Managing Director of BoI, said at the ceremony that renewable energy would provide healthy and sustainable alternative to the use of harmful fossil fuels. Mr Olagunju said the solar project would afford beneficiaries long-term cost saving advantages, especially in the absence of reliable power supply. He

Scepticism has finally given way to trust and confidence as proprietors move to obey the directive of the Lagos State Government that private schools operators should register their institutions irrespective of their accreditation status. The registration records of the State Ministry of Education Information Management System charged with the responsibility in six education districts revealed that 6083 schools have registered. A breakdown shows that districts 1&11 recorded 1587 and 1089, districts 111&1V have 676 and 1070, while districts V&VI have 1038 and 623 registered schools respectively. Commenting on the development during a tour of the districts to monitor the level

By Dipo Olowookere In line with expectations, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Wednesday, April 15, 2020, lowered the stop rates of treasury bills. The apex bank sold some treasury bills to local investors yesterday and it was projected that the debt instruments would be offered at lower rates. This prediction was based on the rising demand for the investment tool and the present global health crisis has forced some investors to tie their funds to any venture that can fetch them something, no matter how small it is. This reflected in the level of subscription yesterday as a

By Dipo Olowookere Momentum is gathering ahead of the 2016 All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) and organisers will for the first time introduce a think-tank for Africa’s music economic development. The event tagged, Africa Music Business Roundtable (AMBR 2016), holding at the Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, on Friday, November 4, will strategise on the structure of the music industry in Africa, while charting a way forward for development. The Africa Music Business Roundtable promises to be an innovative platform for business networking and interaction among music professionals, music executives, government officials and other stakeholders in the music,