Economy

BoI Backs Entrepreneurship, Local Investments in Kebbi

Published

6 years ago

26/02/2020

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Bank of Industry (BoI) has approved a series of funds for small and medium scale entrepreneurs and another set for two domestic investors in Kebbi State, Nigeria.

This disclosure was made by the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Bank, Mr Olukayode Pitan, on Monday during a courtesy visit to the State House, Birnin-Kebbi, where the delegation was received by Governor Abubakar Bagudu.

Speaking on the loans, Mr Pitan said, “My bank has approved various projects worth N3.9 billion and N2.8 billion to finance small and medium scale entrepreneurs, as well as N1.5 billion to two indigenous investors which are the Zango Kangiwa Farms Limited for its rice project and M-Tech Universal Engineering.

”We are willing to continue to partner with the Kebbi State Government by putting more funds into developmental projects in the state.”

Expanding on the loans granted to the domestic investors, the BoI CEO said the two companies are in the process of meeting conditions but the credits have already been approved for them.

On the agriculture project that the funds will cover, Mr Pitan said it will facilitate the establishment of the Labana rice project in Kebbi, which will help boost local production and create employment.

He further said that the visit to Kebbi State will see further exploration of partnerships that the state could offer so that it could lend its hand to support entrepreneurs as well as local industries and companies.

He said that there has been a strong partnership between both parties even before there was a BoI branch in Kebbi that was launched in October 2017, which had seen a fund give N1 billion to about 22 thousand beneficiaries of the state government programme.

“We will put some money directly into some of the projects in Kebbi State.

“We know that most of the products and the industries the state is investing in are agro-based because it is the area of strength of Kebbi.

“We will be willing to work with Kebbi, we have done quite a bit in Kebbi but want to do more,” he added.

He used the opportunity to call for a collaborative effort with the private sector, to see how they can partner with the Bank of Industry and the Kebbi State government, adding that as part of its drive for industrialization, it would be building an International Technology Hall in the state.

On his part, the Governor, Mr Bagudu said his government would continue to pursue its policy of entrepreneurship and investment drive, explaining that the administration decided to seek the intervention of the Bank of Industry through partnership to ease the establishment of more industries in the state.

“Some Industries have been established in the state which are agro-based such as rice Mills and Tomatoes factory,” he stated further.

Economy

Xenergi in Talks to Acquire 51% Stake in Premier Paints

Published

20 hours ago

17/12/2025

Aduragbemi Omiyale

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

One of the paint makers in Nigeria, Premier Paints Plc, is currently in talks with a new investor, Xenergi Limited, for the purchase of 51 per cent stake in the company.

Xenergi Limited intends to acquire shares of Clover Global Resources Limited and TGHL Capital Limited in the organisation.

Business Post gathered that the new investor will buy 39.02 per cent from Clover Global Resources Limited and 15.20 per cent from TGHL Capital Limited.

The deal, according to a regulatory notice issued on Tuesday on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, will involve about 63 million shares of Premier Paints.

At the current share price of the paint producer, this should be about N630 million as it closed at N10.00 per unit on NGX on December 16, 2025.

“Subject to obtaining required regulatory approvals, the transaction is expected to close before January 31, 2026.

“The company will continue to inform the public of the progress of the transaction,” the disclosure signed by the company secretary, Alozie Nwokoro, said.

Economy

Naira Trades Flat Across FX Market Windows as CBN Moves to Ease Pressure

Published

22 hours ago

17/12/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira was flat against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Tuesday, December 16, retaining the previous closing value of N1,451.82/$1.

In the same vein, the local currency saw no movement against the Pound Sterling and the Euro in the spot market during the session at N1,943.98/£1 and N1,705.74/€1, respectively.

Also, the Nigerian Naira remained unchanged in the black market yesterday at N1,475/$1 and was N1,460/$1 at the GTBank forex counter.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has strengthened US Dollar supply with $250 million to authorised dealer banks at the official window cumulatively as foreign portfolio investors, exporters and non-bank corporate supply dripped.

The spread between official and other non-regulated markets decreased to N30.59$/1 from N44.57/$1, from the previous week, research subsidiary of Coronation Merchant Bank Limited said in a report.

FX analysts said foreign exchange inflows through the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market decreased to $716.3 million from $844.70 million in the previous week , a 15 per cent drop in a week.

Foreign portfolio investors accounted for the highest share of inflows at 32.98 per cent, followed by exporters at 30.84 per cent, the CBN (17.36 per cent), Non-bank Corporates (16.94 per cent), others (0.72 per cent) and Individuals (0.63 per cent).

On Monday, Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased to 14.45 per cent in November 2025, down from 16.05 per cent recorded in October, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), representing a decrease of 1.6 percentage points month-on-month and marks a significant moderation compared to the same period last year.

As for the cryptocurrency market, there was some recoveries after overall capitalization falling below $3 trillion for the third time in a month. Large-cap assets, particularly those with Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) exposure, are experiencing selling pressure as institutional investors reassess risk.

Ripple (XRP) appreciated by 1.5 per cent to $1.92, Litecoin (LTC) expanded by 1.5 per cent to $78.91, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 0.8 per cent to $0.1308, Solana (SOL) went up by 0.4 per cent to $127.60, Binance Coin (BNB) grew by 0.3 per cent to $865.40, and Bitcoin (BTC) gained 0.2 per cent to sell at $86,735.17.

On the flip side, Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 1.0 per cent to $0.3802 and Ethereum (ETH) slumped by 0.4 per cent to $2,935.85, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) were flat at $1.00 each.

Economy

Stock Investors’ Portfolios Swell N14bn as Index Rises 0.01%

Published

23 hours ago

17/12/2025

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

A marginal 0.01 per cent rise was recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Tuesday. This was different from the flattish mode of the market the previous day.

Investor sentiment remained bullish as Customs Street finished with 31 price gainers and 26 price losers, implying a positive market breadth index.

Aluminium Extrusion topped the gainers’ log after it improved its price by 10.00 per cent to N9.35, Guinness Nigeria appreciated by 9.98 per cent to N263.40, Multiverse expanded by 9.95 per cent to N12.15, MeCure Industries also soared by 9.95 per cent to N45.85, and Sovereign Trust Insurance advanced by 9.89 per cent to N4.11.

Conversely, Haldane McCall led the losers’ chart after it shed 9.93 per cent to settle at N3.72, Veritas Kapital lost 9.09 per cent to close at N1.60, LivingTrust Mortgage Bank also declined by 9.09 per cent to N3.50, and Linkage Assurance depreciated by 5.71 per cent to N1.65.

During the trading day, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 21.23 points to 149,459.11 points from the previous day’s 149,437.88 points and the market capitalisation increased by N14 billion to N95.281 trillion from N95.267 trillion.

Yesterday, traders transacted 1.0 billion equities for N21.8 billion in 23,701 deals compared with the 553.1 million equities valued at N13.3 billion traded in 28,907 deals on Monday, representing a decline in the number of deals by 18.01 per cent, and a surge in the trading volume and value by 80.80 per cent and 63.91 per cent apiece.

Access Holdings traded 385.8 million stocks worth N7.7 billion, Champion Breweries transacted 111.8 million shares valued at N817.8 million, Sterling Holdings exchanged 85.5 million equities for N589.9 million, FCMB sold 74.7 million shares valued at N791.5 million, and First Holdco transacted 51.9 million equities worth N1.8 billion.