Economy
Experts to Speak at 16th Africa Independents Forum
By Dipo Olowookere
Organiser of the Africa Independents Forum, ITE Group Plc, has announced finalising and confirming speakers for the 16th edition of the forum, which takes place on May 24 and 25 in London.
As one of the foremost events on the international Oil and Gas calendar, the 16th Africa Independents Forum brings together all stakeholders in Africa’s upstream oil and gas to review the state of the industry and exchange ideas on game-changing opportunities for the future.
The two-day programme, designed around the theme “Shaping the Continent’s Future in Upstream Oil & Gas”, will kick off with keynote speaker David Fassom, Director of Stellar Energy Advisors Ltd in London, delivering an overview of Africa’s Oil & Gas affairs.
Broken down into six sessions, the subjects explored during the two days will cover crucial aspects of the industry and current and future challenges such as exploration, development and production, oil and gas assets in emerging, undervalued Sub-Saharan Africa and untapped potential in Africa, E&P strategy and corporate investment, finance, risk and contracts.
During the two days, delegates will benefit from invaluable insights from senior-level international speakers involved in Africa’s upstream industry. These include James Phillips, President & CEO, Africa Energy Corp, Cape Town; Maggy Shino, Petroleum Commissioner, Ministry of Mines & Energy, Namibia; Carlos Zacarias, Chairman, Instituto Nacional de Petroleo, Moçambique; and Jim Baban, Managing Director, Heritage Oil, St. Helier, amongst others.
During Session Five, on Day 2, Anthony Gilby, CEO & Managing Director of Brisbane’s Tlou Energy, will present the company’s gas development projects.
“We believe that Tlou is extremely well-positioned to progress with plans for the Lesedi gas-to-power project to achieve first power in 2019, after receiving a request for proposal from the Botswana government to deliver 100MW of power, plus having Independent Power Corporation signed as a development partner.”
An “Outlook for Independents across Sub-Saharan Africa” will be presented by Gail Anderson, Research Director at Wood Mackenzie, renowned resources sector consultancy.
In its global corporate outlook for 2017, Wood Mackenzie forecast that the oil and gas industry will turn cash flow positive for the first time since the downturn, saying that some international Independents and leading US unconventional players will deliver top-ranking performance on production growth metrics, subjects that will be explored further during the forum.
Jasper Peijs, VP of Exploration Africa at BP, will address members of the PetroAfricanus Club – Africa’s oldest established network – at the 79th PetroAfricanus dinner, hosted by ITE at The Waldorf Hilton after the close of the first day of the forum.
Sandy Stash, Group VP for Safety, Sustainability and External Affairs at London’s Tullow Oil, is the guest speaker at the 8th Global Women Petroleum & Energy Club Luncheon, designed to connect women in oil, gas and energy.
Also at the Waldorf, it is co-hosted by ITE and Frontier Communications.
Economy
BNB Price Reflects Changing Dynamics in the Digital Asset Market
Economy
NASD Unlisted Security Index Crosses 4,000-point Benchmark Again
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange achieved a milestone on Friday, April 24, 2026, after five securities on the platform helped with a 1.85 per cent growth.
Data showed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) again crossed the 4,000-point benchmark yesterday.
The index chalked up 73.64 points during the trading day to close at 4,052.59 points compared with the preceding session’s 3,978.95 points, while the market capitalisation added N5.38 billion to finish at N2.424 trillion versus Thursday’s closing value of N2.380 trillion.
The price gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc, which grew by N25.00 to sell at N305.00 per share compared with the previous price of N280.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N6.92 to close at N76.26 per unit versus N69.34 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by N1.00 to N17.00 per share from N18.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 55 Kobo to N99.55 per unit from N99.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 5 Kobo to N2.70 per share from N2.65 per share.
However, there was a price loser, MRS Oil, which dipped by N21.75 to N195.75 per unit from N217.50 per unit.
During the final session of the week, the value of securities jumped 75.2 per cent to N41.3 million from N23.6 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 62.9 per cent to 44 deals from 27 deals, while the volume of securities declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to 447,403 units from 451,522 units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
GNI was also the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units transacted for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Economy
Naira Slips to N1,358/$1 as FX Reserves, Policy Uncertainty Concerns
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira in the currency market on Friday, April 24, as its value depreciated against the major foreign currencies at the close of transactions.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), it lost N4.53 or 0.33 per cent against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,358.44/$1, in contrast to the N1,353.91/$1 it was exchanged on Thursday.
Equally, the domestic currency slipped against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.14 to close at N1,834.02/£1, compared with the previous rate of N1,825.88/£1 and dropped N8.01 against the Euro to sell at N1,590.73/€1 versus N1,582.72/€1.
Also, the Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX desk on Friday by N4 to quote at N1,370/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366/$1, and at the parallel market, it depleted by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the preceding day’s N1,375/$1.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that NFEM interbank turnover surged to N43.562 million across 68 deals, up from N28.117 million the previous day.
Despite the CBN’s reassurance that the recent drop in external reserves is not worrisome, the market remains unsettled by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market as gross reserves continue to decline to $48.4 billion.
The outlook for the Dollar appears supported by broader macro risks, including elevated oil prices tied to the tanker traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a continued US-Iran standoff over ceasefire negotiations.
A look at the digital currency market showed that investors are sitting on the edge as the US Dollar rebounded amid geopolitical and inflation risks despite continued inflows into US spot bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Solana (SOL) rose by 1.2 per cent to sell $86.45, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $0.2517, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0989, Ripple (XRP) improved by 0.3 per cent to $1.43, Ethereum (ETH) soared by 0.2 per cent to $2,316.83, and Binance Coin (BNB) chalked up 0.1 per cent to sell for $637.44.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $0.3235, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.2 per cent to close at $77,562.27, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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