Financial Stocks Contribute 76.60% to Total Equity Turnover

By Adedapo Adesanya The House of Representatives has pledged to stop international oil companies (IOCs) operating in the Niger Delta from divestment of their offshore assets without being accountable to the environment. The Chairman of the House of Reps Committee on Host Communities, Mr Dumnamene Dekor, said this during a technical session on the implementation of the Host Communities Development Trusts (HCDT), organised by Spaces for Change (S4C) with support from Ford Foundation. Mr Dekor raised the alarm that since the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act in 2021, host communities have not experienced any positive change, rather have remained

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 Equinor and Chappal Energies have entered into an agreement for the sale of Equinor Nigeria Energy Company (ENEC), which holds a 53.85 per cent ownership in oil and gas lease OML 128, including the unitized 20.21 per cent stake in the Agbami oil field, operated by Chevron. Speaking on the deal, Equinor’s senior vice president for Africa Operations, Ms Nina Koch, said Nigeria has been an important part of Equinor’s international portfolio over the past 30 years, noting that, “This transaction realizes value and is in line with Equinor’s strategy to optimize its international oil and gas

By Dipo Olowookere Local equities rebounded by 0.34 per cent on Wednesday on the back of buying pressure on a few energy stocks and others at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited. According to data from the bourse, the bullish stance was attained despite profit-taking activities in the banking space amid plans by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to recapitalise the industry, leaving the market breadth index negative. This was because the number of price losers was more than the price gainers at 39 and 19 apiece, indicating a weak investor sentiment. Business Post reports that the energy counter grew

By Dipo Olowookere The Chief Executive Officer of Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, Mr Yinka Sanni, has described the performance of the company in the 2019 financial year as impressive. Last week, the company released its audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2019 and the firm, a member of Standard Bank Group, declared a profit after tax of N75 billion, representing an increase over its year end 2018 profit after tax of N74.4 billion. Also, profit before tax for the year ended December 31, 2019 was N90.9 billion, representing a 3 percent increase over 2018 figures which stood

By Adedapo Adesanya The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has suspended the loading of products in Rivers State over extortion by persons it described as “miscreants” aided by security agencies at private depots. The group said it has written letters to the police, the Nigerian Army, the Department of State Security (DSS) and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) on the activities of miscreants who use security agents to disrupt loading of petroleum products in various private depots in the state. The National Public Relations Officer of IPMAN, Mr Ukadike Chinedu, said the collection of illegal

By Adedapo Adesanya Oil prices settled lower in volatile trading on Friday, with both benchmarks recording their biggest weekly declines in months. Brent crude settled 5 cents lower at $76.10 per barrel, while the United States West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude shed 44 cents to trade at $71.02 a barrel. Both crude benchmarks posted weekly losses of around 10 per cent each. It was the biggest weekly decline since April for the U.S. WTI futures and since early August for Brent. Growing recession fears negated any supply woes after weak economic data from China, Europe and the US. Oil prices

By Modupe Gbadeyanka In a bid to encourage foreign investment in Nigeria, the Federal Government has launched an online system that will enable business executives apply for a visa online and collect it on arrival 48 hours later. Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Mr Mohammed Babandede, disclosed on Thursday that the move to ease visa rules in the country followed complaints from foreign executives that obstructive embassy officials made it difficult to enter the country. He said under the new system, travellers must register with the agency and provide details including travel document information, after which a

By Itumeleng Mukhovha On July 1, 2018, South Africa, along with five other countries, became party to the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement (AfCFTA), joining the 44 existing signatories to the agreement. AfCFTA is a treaty between consenting countries whereby a free trade area is constituted which allows member countries to conduct trade with each other without tariffs or other hindrances. The African Union Summit that took place in July this year, saw South Africa, Namibia, Sierra Leone, Lesotho and Burundi take the total signatories to 49 of the 55 member states. However, there is still a long way

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Mr Nsima Ekere, has been grilled by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The former NDDC boss was at the Lagos office of the agency on Wednesday to honour an invitation to him to answer questions surrounding an alleged fraud to the tune of N47 billion. In 2016, a year after losing the governorship primary election of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Akwa Ibom State to Governor Udom Emmanuel, he was appointed as the MD of the commission. He left office in 2018 to

By Dipo Olowookere Since the transfer of Afam Power to Transcorp Plc last week in a N105 billion deal, the demand for the latter’s shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has continued to rise. In the five-day trading week, Transcorp was the second highest gainer on the Lagos exchange, appreciating by 19.72 per cent to close last Friday at 85 kobo per share. In the previous week, the share price of the conglomerate closed at 71 kobo but the news of the acquisition of the natural-gas-fired power generation facility located in Oyigbo, Rivers State made the company’s stocks to

By Ashemiriogwa Emmanuel A Saudi Arabia-backed consortium has finally acquired the English Premier League club, Newcastle United Football Club, after a prolonged legal fight involving concerns about piracy and rights abuses. The deal was concluded after the approval from the Premier League following the assurances that the Saudi state would not have control of the club. This means the idea of the Gulf state looking at Inter Milan as an alternate option has come to an end. In a statement confirming the deal, the Premier League said, “The Premier League, Newcastle United Football Club, and St James Holdings Limited have