Equities Lose N426bn as Index Crashes to 23,572.75 Points

By Adedapo Adesanya  Angola, one of Africa’s top crude oil producers and a key member of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), has officially rejected the proposed production quota for the year 2024 and may even exit the group. This was signalled by Mr Diamantino Pedro Azevedo, Angola’s Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, confirming the nation’s decision and indicating a divergence from OPEC’s suggested allocations for both member and non-member countries. The announcement was made during the 26th OPEC+ Meeting on Thursday, where the organisation proposed 1.11 million barrels of crude oil per day production quota for

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 Modupe Gbadeyanka Business owners in Lagos have been assured of more incentives by the state governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who added that this is part of his administration’s commitment to reforms aimed at improving the ease of doing business and enhancing investment opportunities. Speaking at the commissioning of the newly-built wet hair production factory of Godrej Nigeria Limited, the Governor said his government would continue to pursue actions that would eliminate red tapes and regulatory impediments hindering the growth of businesses in the state, thereby demonstrating his willingness for continued collaboration with the private sector to improve the livelihood

By Adedapo Adesanya The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) on Thursday asked Nigeria to produce about 1.5 million barrels of crude oil per day in 2024, lower than the 1.78 million barrels per day benchmark it proposed in the 2024 Appropriation Bill presented to the National Assembly on Wednesday for passage. The output ceiling was around 1.8 million barrels per day before it was cut down to 1.5 million barrels yesterday at the group’s virtual meeting, a huge blow to Nigeria’s revenue target for the fiscal year. OPEC had tasked three consultancies – IHS, Rystad

By Dipo Olowookere High Commissioner Jonathan Drew opened a conference on FinTech on Wednesday 25 January, a joint initiative from the British High Commission in Mauritius, the Financial Services Promotion Agency and the Board of Investment. The conference explored the development of Mauritius as a FinTech hub for the Sub-Saharan Africa region. A panel of experts, led by Nicole Anderson, CEO of FinTech Circle Innovate, shared their insight on how the British FinTech model can be applied in Mauritius to implement innovative solutions in the financial services sector and drive economic growth. In the presence of Her Excellency Dr Ameenah

By Dipo Olowookere Chairman of MTN Group, Mr Mcebisi Jonas, has disclosed that the telecommunications giant will take nothing less than $1.6 billion from its operations in Nigeria to strengthen its network and systems. Mr Jonas, during a visit to President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House in Abuja on Tuesday, said the leading GSM network provider was interested in boosting the nation’s economy through various investments. “We are fully aligned with the strategic agenda of government, and are committed to strengthening the digital economy of the country,” Mr Jonas informed his host. He explained that the visit along with

By Tenebe Anthonia The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has thrown its weight behind the issuance of social bonds for the execution of new or existing projects with positive social outcomes. Business Post reports that in March 2020, the African Development Bank (AfDB) launched $3 billion three-year social bonds to help ease the negative economic effect of coronavirus disease. The CEO of the exchange, Mr Oscar Onyema, while speaking on Wednesday at a webinar on Capital Markets in a Pandemic, said the COVID-19 pandemic has propped up the social bonds investments. According to him, before now, attention had been on the

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Barely two weeks after their retirement from the military, President Muhammadu Buhari has nominated all the immediate past service chiefs as ambassadors. Recall that on January 26, 2021, after calls from several quarters, Mr Buhari approved the resignation of the Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonisakin; the Chief of Army Staff, Lt-General Tukur Buratai; the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ekwe Ibas; and the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar. They were replaced by Major-General Leo Irabor as the Chief of Defence Staff; Major-General I. Attahiru as the Chief of Army Staff;

By Dipo Olowookere The industrial action embarked upon by organised labour in Nigeria since Thursday, September 27, 2017, has been suspended. The strike was called off by leaders of the group on Sunday, September 30, 2018. Workers in Nigeria had refused to work since last Thursday as a result of failure of authorities to increase their wages, which has the lowest presently pegged at N18,000. They want this increased to N56,000 as a result of inflation in the country. Briefing newsmen on Sunday afternoon in Abuja, President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Mr Ayuba Wabba, explained that the action

By Adedapo Adesanya Crude oil prices received rose on Wednesday after the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported an inventory draw of 4.1 million barrels for the week to July 23, confirming a strong demand. Brent crude traded at $74.60 per barrel after gaining 12 cents or 0.16 per cent, while the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) appreciated by 61 cents or 0.85 per cent to trade at $72.26 per barrel. The inventory draw of 4.1 million barrels recorded for the week was higher than the build of 2.1 million barrels reported for the previous week. The American Petroleum Institute (API) had

By Adedapo Adesanya The nation may soon be thrown into another crisis of fuel scarcity if nothing is done about the 14-day ultimatum given to the federal government by the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG). The group said it would be forced to embark on an industrial action if some legitimate welfare and membership-related issues are not conclusively addressed at the end of the period. In a statement released jointly signed by NUPENG President, Mr Williams Akhoreha and General Secretary, Mr Olawale Afolabi, the union said the decision was reached during a special national delegates conference

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Members of the public have been advised to do proper investigation before entrusting their hard-earned money to any investment firms in the country. In a statement issued on Friday, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said before making any investment, professionals should first be consulted for advice. According to the apex capital market regulator, while it is under a duty to protect investors, a duty which it has continued to discharge, such duty does not include recovering funds for investors who against reason and public notices, invest in products promoted by unregistered/unregulated entities. It therefore warned the