Bulls Tighten Grip on NSE as Index Rises 0.74%

By Adedapo Adesanya The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Mr Dele Alake, has assured foreign investors of low production costs as they consider investing in the country’s mining sector. Speaking at the Mines and Money Conference in London, Mr Alake said President Bola Tinubu has embarked on reforms to boost investment by streamlining procedures and reducing hurdles to attract foreign investors. “The country’s geological bounty encompasses over 44 distinct mineral types, found in exploitable quantities across more than 500 locations,” the Minister said, according to a statement by his aide, Mr Kehinde Bamigbetan. “Recently, recognizing the evolving global landscape and

By Adedapo Adesanya A milk-producing company, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria, helped the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange return to the green territory by 0.54 per cent on Wednesday, November 29. The firm improved its value by N3.50 in the midweek session to settle at N73.50 per share compared with the previous day’s closing price of N70.00 per share. It suppressed the 10 Kobo decline posted by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which ended lower at N17.00 per unit versus Tuesday’s value of N17.10 per unit. Consequently, the market capitalisation of the alternative stock exchange went up by N6.28 billion to

By Adedapo Adesanya  The federal government, through the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), has announced plans to invest $1.1 billion to fully rehabilitate decaying port infrastructure at TinCan, Apapa, Rivers, Delta, Calabar, and Onne ports as part of efforts to improve the efficiency of the nation’s existing ports. Out of the estimated 47,000 kilometres of coastline in Africa, Nigeria makes up about 853 kilometres, creating the perfect opportunity to get access to its much-needed revenue. This coastline and a 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone make up Nigeria’s coastline in the Gulf of Guinea. The coastline equals a maritime area of

By Dipo Olowookere The local stock market appreciated by 0.17 per cent on Friday on the back of sustained bargain-hunting in the key sectors of the bourse. It was observed that investors showed interest in the banking, insurance and consumer goods counters as they rose by 1.09 per cent, 0.56 per cent, and 0.08 per cent, respectively. Traders cherry-picked stocks in the segments and hope that their prices would rise next week as the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited prepares for Christmas break. Business Post reports that in the midst of the buying pressure, some investors sold off some shares, especially

By Dipo Olowookere Gubernatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State, Mr Jimi Agbaje, has been warned to cease from blackmailing and assassinating the character of the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Bola Ahmed Tinubu. This warning was given by the Lagos State Youth Organizing Secretary of the APC, Mr Idris Aregbe, while reacting to Mr Agbaje’s campaign for ‘freedom for Lagos’ during a youth round table meeting where he hosted hundreds of Lagos youths discussing the further development of the state. Mr Aregbe said “at this age and time in Nigerian politics,

By Jerome-Mario Chijioke Utomi The barrage of reactions and commentaries that trailed the recently published disturbing pictures that drew the attention of the Delta State government to the visibly distressed structures, dilapidated classrooms with fallen ceilings, windows and doors at Oyoko Primary School, Abavo, Ika South Local Government Area of the state has again given credibility to the belief that a free press is not a privilege but an organic necessity in a great society. For without reliable and intelligent reporting, the government cannot govern. For there is no adequate way in which it can keep itself informed about what

By Dipo Olowookere A total volume of 213,693,964 transactions valued at N19.33 trillion were recorded in the Nigerian banking sector in the third quarter of 2017, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed. The figures, according to the stats office, were obtained from data on Electronic Payment Channels in the Nigeria Banking Sector. The NBS, in its report released on Wednesday and obtained by Business Post, disclosed that the NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP) transactions dominated the volume of transactions recorded during the period under review. It said 97,530,856 volume of NIP transactions valued at N13,963 billion were recorded in

By Dipo Olowookere The weakening of the Naira continued on Thursday when it closed at N516 against the Dollar at the parallel market. The local currency had opened for the day at N510 per Dollar on Thursday morning and remained stable till afternoon before plunging to the new all-time low of N516 to the Dollar in the evening. Since the beginning of this week, the Naira has continued to hit new all-time lows. On Monday, the Nigerian currency hit a new low of N506 from N503 it traded last Friday, while on Tuesday, it closed at N507 and on Wednesday,

By Adedapo Adesanya  Prices of crude oil rebounded on Monday by more than five percent, starting a recovery from losses recorded last week. This growth followed renewed hopes that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) will agree to cut production when they meet on March 5 and 6. Yesterday, the Brent crude gained 5.5 percent or $2.73 to trade at $52.40 per barrel after the futures shed over 14 percent last week. On its part, the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose by 5.47 percent equivalent to $2.45 to settle at $47.21 per barrel.

By Adedapo Adesanya  Oil rose on Thursday, October 17, as a result of weaker dollar and the announcement that the United Kingdom and the European Union reaching a deal on Brexit. The international benchmark Brent crude oil went up by 52 cents or 0.88 percent to trade at $59.94 per barrel, while the United States’ West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil was also up 69 cents or 1.29 percent to settle at $54.05 per barrel. Also, industry data showed a larger build-up in US inventories than what was expected as it went by 9.3 million barrels to 434.9 million barrels

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, has explained why the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has embarked on borrowing spree to fund the budget and infrastructural projects across the country. Speaking at a press conference marking the conclusion of the 2017 World Bank/International Monetary Fund Annual Meetings in Washington DC, United States, the Minister said government must borrow more to put projects in place that will engage citizens, which will in turn increase revenue to repay back the loans. Mrs Adeosun said Nigeria’s debt-to-gross domestic product ratio remains the lowest; at 19 percent compared with most