Domestic Currency Gains 0.21% as Cryptos Hit $2trn Valuation

By Adedapo Adesanya  Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) has secured a $300 million loan from the Export-Import Bank of China (CEXIM) to drive increased trade finance and investment across the African continent, fostering economic growth and development. The infrastructure solutions provider on the continent announced the successful signing of the landmark agreement on the sidelines of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) Annual meetings in Egypt. The 3-year credit facility is a significant development in AFC’s long-standing relationship with CEXIM. The two institutions have collaborated since 2018, with AFC receiving $400 million in bilateral loans from CEXIM to date. According to

By Bliss Okperan The exchange rate instability in the country is already giving small business owners sleepless nights and it threatens their investments. This concern was raised recently by the National Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Association of Small-Scale Industrialists, Mr Segun Kuti-George. He emphasised that business owners would have to increase their prices because of the unavoidable consequence of the current exchange rate crisis in Nigeria. According to him, if consumers are unable to meet up with the increase in the cost of goods and services, businesses would be forced to shut down their operations, which would, in turn,

By Adedapo Adesanya A 0.54 per cent growth was recorded by the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Monday, September 25, after the duo of FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc witnessed improvements in the share prices. The milk producer gained N1.39 during the session to end at N73.59 per unit compared with last Friday’s value of N72.20 per unit, while the Nigerian depository company grew by 70 Kobo to sell at N18.20 per share versus N17.50 per share. At the close of transactions, the total value of the unlisted securities market jumped by N6.21

By Adedapo Adesanya The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange continued its weekly positive run as it extended its gains by 0.41 per cent in the 38th week of trading in this year. The bullish posture was supported by the improvements in the share prices of six companies admitted to the alternative stock exchange in Nigeria. This increased the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI) by  2.30 points from 805.65 points in the previous week to 808.95 points, as the market capitalisation of the bourse was relatively unchanged on a week-on-week at N1.140 trillion. Food Concepts Plc led the price gainers’ after

Adedapo Adesanya  The management of BUA Group has promised to crash prices of major food items it produces like sugar, flour, pastas and many others. Since 2016, when Nigeria slipped into recession, the purchasing power of Nigerians has remained low. Though inflation rate in the country has been on a steady decline, prices of food items have continued to rise and last month, the Nigerian government closed its borders to tackle smuggling of food items into the nation. This action by government has caused prices of foodstuff to skyrocket at the market and at the moment, the price of a

By Dipo Olowookere Sunlight’s Laraba’s World train has been visiting malls across Abuja to meet with loyal consumers and the experiences have been wonderful. Last weekend, the train was at the Silverbird Mall in Abuja, where consumers had so much fun as they engaged in activities to win various prizes. They also had the opportunity to meet with Nafisat Abdulhamid (Hajia Hadiza in the drama series). This weekend, the Sunlight Laraba’s World train will be at Ceddi Plaza also in Abuja this Saturday, October 8 and Sunday, October 9. Consumers would have the opportunity to meet with the cast and

By Investors Hub European stocks have started the New Year in the red despite a mostly positive session in Asia. The dollar has weakened against most major currencies, including the euro and pound, weighing on sentiment. European bond yields rose after ECB Executive Board member Benoit Coeure reportedly said there is “a reasonable chance” the ECB’s 2.55 trillion euros stimulus program will not be extended again when it expires in September. While the German DAX Index has fallen by 0.7 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.?s FTSE 100 Index are both down by 0.6 percent. On the

By Dipo Olowookere Trading on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) ended on a bad not on Thursday due to a loss recorded by the market capitalisation. The market lost N16 billion at the close of trading after sliding to N9.675 trillion from N9.691 trillion. Also, the All-Share Index (ASI) dropped to 28,166.42 points from 28,21.57 points. The highest index point attained in the course of trading was 28,214.57 basis points, while the lowest and average index points closed at 27,839.93 and 28,057.87 basis points, respectively. From the NSE daily statistics, a total of 22 stocks made the losers’ chart, while

By Adedapo Adesanya One of Africa’s property technology (proptech) startups, Spleet Africa, has been selected for MetaProp’s 2021 Accelerator Programme, making it the first from the continent to join the Accelerator programme. The MetaProp Accelerator is the world’s foremost proptech accelerator, founded by MetaProp; a New York-based venture capital firm focused on the real estate technology industry. As part of the accelerator’s 22-week coaching and advisory period, Spleet will also receive up to $250,000 in funding from the VC. Speaking on the development, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Spleet, Mr Adetola Adesanmi, said joining the accelerator is a catalyst

By Dipo Olowookere Trading on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) remained in the red zone on Wednesday as investors continue to offload their stocks across different sectors. At the close of business today, the local bourse went down by 1.07 percent with the YtD returns deflating to 6.69 percent. The All-Share Index (ASI) slipped 441.16 points to settle at 40,802.08 points, while the market capitalisation went down by N159.4 billion to close at N14.740 trillion. The volume equities sold on the floor of the exchange increased today by 51.66 percent, but the value went down by 11.72

By Cordros Research Unilever Nigeria Plc released its result yesterday and it showed revenue and net profit grew by 36.6% y/y and 142.7% y/y respectively. Compared to our estimate, the reported revenue was ahead by 2% while PAT lagged by 37% on significantly higher-than-expected (278% variance) finance charges. Finance costs increased by 48% y/y and 25% q/q, on the repayment of short term USD intercompany loans. As at end September, gross debt stood at N7.96 billion, the lowest since Q1-14, suggesting – and validated by the N30.7 billion outflow reported under financing cash flow – that management has commenced the

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has declared that Africa’s rise in technology is unstoppable, noting that his state will continue to play a prominent role in the ecosystem. The Lagos Governor made this declaration at the GITEX Africa Digital Summit in Morocco, where the state government sponsored 25 startups in partnership with the Dubai World Trade Centre to demonstrate its commitment to fostering innovation and entrepreneurship. GITEX Africa Morocco is Africa’s largest and most influential tech and startup event, renowned for showcasing technological advancements, innovations, and digital transformation. The event provided a platform for