Economy
Customs Street Shells 0.69% on Sustained Profit-Taking
By Dipo Olowookere
The key performance indicators of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) remained bearish on Tuesday after a 0.69 per cent loss influenced by persistent profit-taking in the banking space.
Inflationary pressures and others are forcing investors to rebalance their portfolios as they make efforts to adjust to new realities.
Yesterday on Customs Street, the banking index closed 1.31 per cent lower, while the insurance sector depreciated by 0.06 per cent. The duo inflicted a loss on the exchange and weakened the impact of the 0.16 per cent growth posted by the consumer goods counter and the 0.04 per cent expansion printed by the industrial goods sector. The energy space closed flat during the session.
At the close of trades, the All-Share Index (ASI) decreased by 346.49 points to 49,644.92 points from 49,991.41 points, while the market capitalisation fell by N187 billion to settle at N26.778 trillion in contrast to Monday’s N26.965 trillion.
Investor sentiment remained weak as most stocks came under selling pressure due to the need to book profit to minimise loss. A total of 18 equities retired on the decliners’ lodge, while 11 stocks were on the advancers’ chart.
NPF Microfinance Bank posted the highest loss as its value declined by 7.83 per cent to N1.53, Regency Assurance fell by 7.69 per cent to 24 Kobo, Livestock Feeds depreciated by 5.60 per cent to N1.18, NGX Group contracted by 4.76 per cent to N20.00, while Zenith Bank moderated by 3.57 per cent to N20.25.
Unilever Nigeria was the highest price gainer yesterday as its price rose by 9.43 per cent to N13.35, CAP grew by 7.58 per cent to N17.75, Chams expanded by 7.14 per cent to 30 Kobo, Sterling Bank improved by 5.48 per cent to N1.54, while Sovereign Trust Insurance gained 3.70 per cent to settle at 28 Kobo.
The activity chart was mixed on Tuesday as the trading volume shrank by 30.82 per cent to 139.0 million units from 200.9 million units, the trading value, however, increased 88.50 per cent to N2.7 billion from N1.5 billion, while the number of deals rose by 6.82 per cent to 4,247 deals from the preceding day’s 3,976 deals.
Sterling Bank maintained its position as the most traded stock yesterday after it transacted 18.3 million units valued at N27.4 million, while Transcorp trailed with the sale of 13.2 million units worth N14.0 million. Zenith Bank sold 12.5 million shares for N257.9 million, GTCO traded 9.2 million equities worth N183.1 million, and UBA exchanged 7.7 million stocks for N55.2 million.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Nigeria slightly surpassed its quota set by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in July 2026.
In the month under review, the country produced about 1.57 million barrels of crude oil per day.
It was the third consecutive month Africa’s largest oil-producing nation was meeting its monthly quota, set to stabilise the price of the commodity on the global market by the oil cartel.
Data released by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) on Wednesday showed that the 1.5 million barrels per day ceiling for Nigeria was surpassed last month.
The agency disclosed in a statement today that the country produced 1.505mbpd of crude oil and 0.17mbpd of condensate, bringing the combined daily production to 1.67mbpd.
In the month under review, the daily peak production of crude oil and condensate was 1.78mbpd, while the lowest daily production was 1.57mbpd.
Although Nigeria met its OPEC quota in the month of July, the statistics show that on a month-on-month basis, production fell by 4 per cent.
This was attributed to the decline in production due to operational challenges experienced at the Erha and Akpo fields, which impacted crude oil output during the period under review.
These disruptions constrained production volumes and contributed significantly to the overall reduction in national crude oil output.
Despite the challenges, production operations across most other producing assets remained relatively stable, with operators implementing measures aimed at maintaining production efficiency and minimising the impact of operational constraints, NUPRC stated.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The over 9 billion shares of Lasaco Assurance Plc issued to shareholders of the company via a rights issue have been listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
The equities were brought to Customs Street on Wednesday by the organisation, increasing its total issued and fully paid-up share capital.
Lasaco Assurance, which scaled the recapitalisation hurdle of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) in July 2026, raised fresh capital from the capital market to shore up its capital base.
The underwriting firm got about N18.5 billion from the rights issue, which involved the issuance of 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares at a unit price of N2.00.
The exercise was on the basis of five new ordinary shares for every existing six ordinary shares held as of the close of business on Friday, February 20, 2026.
Confirming the listing of the additional stocks of Lasaco Assurance today, the Head of Issuer Regulation Department of NGX RegCo, Mr Godstime Iwenekhai, announced in a circular that, “Trading licence holders are hereby notified that an additional 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each of Lasaco Assurance Plc were today, Wednesday, August 12, 2026, listed on the daily official list of Nigerian Exchange Limited.
“The additional shares arose from the company’s rights issue of 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N2.00 per share on the basis of five new ordinary shares for every existing six ordinary shares held as of the close of business on Friday, February 20, 2026.
“With the listing of the additional 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares, the total issued and fully paid-up share capital of Lasaco Assurance Plc has now increased from 11,083,585,855 to 20,319,907,401 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) has said the successful recapitalisation of the insurance industry will strengthen the sector’s ability to support financial stability and economic growth.
NIA Chairman, Mrs Ebelechukwu Nwachukwu, said a well-capitalised insurance industry would be better positioned to meet its obligations promptly, underwrite complex and large-scale risks and serve as a dependable pillar of the Nigerian economy.
She made the remarks while commending the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) for its structured implementation of the new minimum capital requirements under the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025.
Mrs Nwachukwu said NAICOM’s clear guidelines, systematic verification process, defined timelines and rigorous supervision had provided operators with a credible framework for navigating the recapitalisation exercise.
She described the outcome as a major milestone for the industry and congratulated the 43 insurance and reinsurance companies that have successfully met the prescribed minimum capital requirements.
According to her, the exercise represents “a major win not just for regulators and operators, but for policyholders, investors and the wider Nigerian economy.”
Mrs Nwachukwu said the association would continue to work with NAICOM and other stakeholders to consolidate the gains of the exercise, with emphasis on sustainable industry growth, stronger market conduct and improved consumer confidence.
The official also expressed solidarity with the eight companies still undergoing final verification and regulatory review, urging them to remain confident as NAICOM completes the process within the 14-day review period.
The NIA chairman assured policyholders and the wider business community that the insurance industry would emerge from the recapitalisation exercise stronger, more resilient and better positioned to contribute to Nigeria’s economic development.
