By Dipo Olowookere

Strong investor sentiment persisted at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Wednesday after the market breadth finished positive with 34 appreciating stocks and 17 depreciating stocks.

Customs Street closed higher by 0.54 per cent during the trading session after ABC Transport led the gainers’ chart with a 9.86 per cent rise to settle at N1.56.

Further, VFD Group improved its value by 9.62 per cent to N17.10, Learn Africa expanded by 9.54 per cent to N3.56, Regency Alliance soared by 9.43 per cent to 58 Kobo, and Africa Prudential rose by 8.63 per cent to N15.10.

On the flip side, Tripple G depreciated by 10.00 per cent to N1.98, MRS Oil went down by 9.95 per cent to N157.50, Abbey Mortgage Bank lost 9.95 per cent to trade at N8.79, John Holt declined by 9.68 per cent to N7.00, and Austin Laz shed 9.57 per cent to sell for N1.89.

Yesterday, investors traded 744.8 million equities worth N18.3 billion in 11,226 deals compared with the 353.3 million equities valued at N7.2 billion sold in 13,734 deals on Tuesday, indicating a decline in the number of deals by 18.26 per cent and a jump in the trading volume and value by 110.81 per cent and 154.17 per cent, respectively.

Fidelity Bank led the activity log with 388.8 million shares sold for N7.8 billion, GTCO exchanged 47.0 million stocks valued at N2.9 billion, Universal Insurance transacted 41.9 million equities worth N21.0 million, Access Holdings traded 30.6 million shares valued at N705.6 million, and Tantalizers exchanged 23.0 million equities worth N52.8 million.

Business Post reports that the banking and the consumer goods indices gained 2.93 per cent and 1.25 per cent apiece, the insurance and the energy sectors fell by 0.81 per cent and 0.09 per cent, respectively, and the industrial goods and commodity industries closed flat each.

The All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 538.69 points at midweek to 105,283.67 points from 104,744.98 points and the market capitalisation grew by N338 billion to N66.159 trillion from N65.821 trillion.

By Adedapo Adesanya

Oil prices slipped by 2 per cent on Wednesday as the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) mulled accelerating its oil output increases in June.

Brent crude was down by $1.32 or 1.96 per cent to $66.12 a barrel while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude depreciated by $1.40 or 2.2 per cent to $62.27 per barrel.

Reuters reported that several OPEC+ members will suggest more oil output hikes in June for a second consecutive month as disputes between members over compliance with production quotas worsen.

It was reported that some wanted to increase output by a similar volume to the May increase ahead of a May 5 meeting where eight OPEC+ countries will meet to decide the June output plan.

The May and potential June hikes are part of a plan by Russia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Iraq, Algeria, Kazakhstan and Oman to gradually unwind their most recent output cut of 2.2 million barrels per day.

OPEC+ also has 3.65 million barrels per day of other output cuts in place until the end of next year to support the market.

There was ease in the market following a report that US President Donald Trump may cut tariffs on Chinese imports.

There is now a possibility that the China tariffs are likely to come down to between 50 per cent and 65 per cent.

This came as US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he believes that excessively high tariffs between the US and China will have to come down before trade negotiations can proceed.

Also, President Trump has backed away from the threat of firing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell after days of criticising the US central bank for not cutting interest rates, easing investor fears about economic uncertainty.

Crude oil inventories in the US saw an increase of 200,000 barrels during the week ending April 18, according to new data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) released on Wednesday.

However, both gasoline (petrol) and distillate inventories fell more than expected.

On Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported a different story, showing a large draw of 4.565 million barrels in US crude oil inventories with large draws in gasoline and distillate stocks.

The US had also issued new sanctions targeting an Iranian shipping magnate whose network handles Iranian liquefied petroleum gas and crude oil worth hundreds of millions of Dollars.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Nigerian government is planning to offer tax incentives to firms investing in key sectors such as agriculture and energy to boost projected growth.

This is part of a new scheme known as the Economic Development Incentive (EDI), which will address long-standing inefficiencies in the current Pioneer Status Incentive (PSI).

The proposed investment-driven incentive framework is designed to stimulate real economic activity by tying tax relief directly to verifiable investments and part of the country’s ongoing tax reform efforts.

The Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, disclosed this in a keynote address at BusinessDay’s Policy Intervention Series held on Tuesday, April 22 in Lagos.

He said a review of the PSI revealed structural flaws that have undermined its effectiveness.

“Once granted a pioneer status, companies may import goods classified as pioneer products tax-free, effectively allowing them to operate without tax obligations—even with minimal value addition to the economy,” he said.

The incentives will mainly be in the form of a multiyear tax credit that companies can use to reduce what they owe the government, Mr Oyedele further explained.

He said investments in sectors including agriculture, energy and manufacturing will enjoy the tax credit based on a prescribed minimum amount of investment for a period ranging from 10 to 20 years.

Mr Oyedele also reiterated that the country has initiated reforms to boost tax revenue as a share of gross domestic product to 18 per cent by 2027 from 13.6 per cent in 2024, adding these proposals seek to drive growth in priority sectors of the economy.

Also, investors in utility projects like power, waterways and ports will have to invest at least N200 billion to qualify for the tax credit.

He explained that if a company invests N10 billion in Year 1, it earns a N500 million tax credit each year for five years and if an additional N5 billion is invested in Year 2, that new investment begins its own five-year 5 per cent cycle—N250 million annually until Year 6 and if the company continues investing progressively, each round of investment starts a new five-year cycle of tax credits, potentially extending the benefit period up to 10 years.

The tax maven further stated that if a business has a N15 million tax liability in a given year and applies N25 million in tax credits, its liability is wiped out entirely, with the N10 million balance rolled over to subsequent years and that if a company fails to follow through on its investment plan or halts capital deployment, unused credits are forfeited and this accountability mechanism ensures that only consistent and credible investments are rewarded.