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Economy

CBN Explains How to Access N250bn Gas Investment Loan

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Domestic Gas Supply

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Monday released the modalities for the implementation of an intervention facility worth N250 billion for the National Gas Expansion Programme (NGEP).

In order to make Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) the fuel of choice for transportation and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) the fuel of choice for domestic cooking, captive power and small industrial complexes, the government introduced the NGEP.

Under the NGEP, the CBN is providing N250 billion loan to help stimulate investment in the gas value chain.

According to the apex bank, large-scale projects under the intervention will be financed under the Power and Airlines Intervention Fund (PAIF), in line with existing guidelines regulating the PAIF, while small-scale operators and retail distributors will be financed by the NIRSAL Microfinance Bank (NMFB) and/or any other Participating Financial Institution (PFI) under the Agribusiness/Small and Medium and Medium Enterprises Investment Scheme (AgSMEIS).

The CBN said those who qualify for the credit facility are operators in the gas processing plants business as well as gas cylinder manufacturing plants sector.

Also, those interested in doing the business of L-CNG regasification modular systems, autogas conversion kits or components can apply for the loan.

The central bank stated that the loans would be given with an interest rate “not more than 5.0 per cent p.a. (all-inclusive) up to February 28, 2021, thereafter, interest on the facility shall revert to 9 per cent p.a. (all-inclusive) effective from March 1, 2021.”

It said for manufacturers, processors and wholesale distributors, the term loan “shall be determined based on the activity and shall not exceed N10 billion per obligor [with a maximum] working capital of N500 million per obligor.”

Also, for SMEs and retail distributors, the term loan “shall be determined based on the activity and shall not exceed N50 million per obligor [with a maximum] working capital of N5 million per obligor.”

It said applicants must submit applications through any Participating Banks (PBs) to the CBN with documents, including relevant endorsements and permits from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources (MPR) for the project.

Upon approval, the CBN will conduct an internal review of the application to ensure compliance with the guidelines before the release of the loan within five working days.

However, the CBN stressed that there would be periodic monitoring of projects financed under the scheme jointly with the PB and MPR.

View the full guidelines HERE

Modupe Gbadeyanka is a fast-rising journalist with Business Post Nigeria. Her passion for journalism is amazing. She is willing to learn more with a view to becoming one of the best pen-pushers in Nigeria. Her role models are the duo of CNN's Richard Quest and Christiane Amanpour.

Economy

Xenergi in Talks to Acquire 51% Stake in Premier Paints

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Premier Paints Plc1

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.

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Economy

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

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Naira-Denominated Assets

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.

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Economy

Stock Investors’ Portfolios Swell N14bn as Index Rises 0.01%

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stock investors' portfolios

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.

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