Fidelity Bank 9-month Earnings Drop 3.8% as Profit Jumps 6.8%

By Adedapo Adesanya The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Mr Dele Alake, has assured foreign investors of low production costs as they consider investing in the country’s mining sector. Speaking at the Mines and Money Conference in London, Mr Alake said President Bola Tinubu has embarked on reforms to boost investment by streamlining procedures and reducing hurdles to attract foreign investors. “The country’s geological bounty encompasses over 44 distinct mineral types, found in exploitable quantities across more than 500 locations,” the Minister said, according to a statement by his aide, Mr Kehinde Bamigbetan. “Recently, recognizing the evolving global landscape and

By Adedapo Adesanya  Oil prices rose by more than $1 a barrel on Wednesday as investors focused their attention on an upcoming OPEC+ output policy meeting and looked past a jump in crude stockpiles in the United States. Brent crude futures were up by $1.01 or 1.2 per cent to $82.69 per barrel, and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained $1.16 or 1.5 per cent to close at $77.57 a barrel. Prices were lifted by a media report that the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies such as Russia, known collectively as OPEC+, was considering

By Aduragbemi Omiyale President Bola Tinubu has said the 2024 budget presented to the joint session of the National Assembly on Wednesday was designed to achieve macroeconomic stability, a better investment environment, greater access to social security, poverty reduction and enhanced human capital development. According to him, if these goals are achieved, the standard of living of Nigerians will improve and the citizens will enjoy the dividends of democracy. While presenting the 2024 Appropriation Bills to the parliament yesterday, the President said this was why he christened the budget proposal as the Budget of Renewed Hope. Mr Tinubu told the

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Trading of equities on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) closed on a positive note on Tuesday as modest gains recorded by 22 stocks led by Nigerian Breweries gave a new life to the stock market after its journey to the red zone for days. The market breadth also ended positive today with only 14 losers, however, the volume of transactions and market turnover depreciated by 21.17 percent and 32.93 percent respectively. Business Post reports that the market capitalisation rose by N41.3 billion to settle at N12.6 trillion, while the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by

By Adedapo Adesanya The prospect of Nigeria earning more from crude oil sales rose on Friday after the price of Brent appreciated by $2.16 or 2.37 per cent to $93.27 per barrel. This came amidst the Russia-Ukraine crisis and a deep freeze in Texas that disrupted some oil production in the United States. It was the highest level the oil grade has reached since 2014, while the price of the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures rose by $2.04 or 2.26 per cent to $92.31 per barrel. Recently, supply shortage and political tensions in Eastern Europe and the Middle

By Dipo Olowookere An automobile company listed on the trading platform of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), R.T. Briscoe Nigeria Plc, has been slammed with a huge monetary fine. A document sighted by Business Post over the weekend showed that the company was slapped with a sanction to the tune of N22.1 million. It was gathered that the fine was placed on the firm for its failure to file its financial statements at the due time as required by the listing rules. Recall that RT Briscoe and five other companies on the exchange were the first set to be suspended

By Dipo Olowookere The overnight lending rate significantly increased on Monday to 8.17 percent from 3.33 percent recorded in the last session. This came on the back of system outflows for Wholesale foreign exchange interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). This consequently squeezed system liquidity further to about N150 billion as at close of business yesterday. Also yesterday, the open buy back (OBB) rate went up to 7.58 percent from 2.83 percent in the previous session. According to analysts at Zedcrest Research, the rates are expected to decline slightly today as there are no significant funding pressures expected.

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Acting Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ms Mary Uduk, has said in order to encourage the listing of small companies on the trading floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), there must be financial incentives in place for publicly quoted firms. The SEC chief explained that, “Our case for fiscal incentives for listed companies on the NSE is actually based on experience. “What we are saying is that Nigerian companies doing the same business these foreign companies are doing if they are listed should be encouraged in terms of public procurement or whatever government

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A strategic partnership agreement has been signed between Uganda Bankers Association (UBA) and MasterCard to develop a framework that will strengthen the local financial services sector in support of Uganda’s National Vision 2040. The deal is geared to support the vision and drive collaboration in order to achieve the development and growth the National Payment Ecosystems. The National Vision aims to transform the country into a prosperous African economic powerhouse, where businesses can grow and people are able to prosper. Focus has been placed on anti-fraud and anti-counterfeit initiatives including cyber security; migration of payment cards to

By Adedapo Adesanya Some aggrieved aviation workers, who staged protests at the entrance gates of the Murtala Mohammed Airport 2 (MMA2) Terminal in Lagos State, have terminated their strike and vacated the gates for resumption of flight operations. The action had cost operators millions of Naira as activities were halted when aviation workers under the aegis of the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) blocked the gates on Tuesday morning, disrupting airport operations as airlines suspended flights. The union protested the unprovoked termination of the appointment of 34 aviation workers by the operators of the airport terminal,

By Adedapo Adesanya The World Bank alongside the European Union, China, the United Kingdom and the United States have pledged immediate humanitarian relief worth over €252 million ($297.08 million) to Lebanon. Last Tuesday, the capital city of Beirut was rocked by two huge explosions that have claimed more than 200 and injured 6,000 others. The aid pledged followed a United Nations-backed virtual conference hosted by French President, Mr Emmanuel Macron. The donors thereafter issued a joint statement, pledging solidarity with and support for the Lebanese people. “The participants agreed that their assistance should be timely, sufficient and consistent with the