Economy
FMDQ Holds Nigerian Debt Capital Markets Sensitisation Session
By Dipo Olowookere
Providing an enabling environment for businesses and their associated activities to thrive remains a key goal of governments and indeed, a main driver of economic growth. It is for this reason and more that the Ease of Doing Business Reform lends itself a barometer to measure reforms, including but not limited to regulatory framework, government policies, security etc., that seek to make the business climate more conducive for business.
It is in this vein that FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange, having taken on the role of an advocate, providing relevant advice to government and regulators, as well as a catalyst for infrastructure capital through the Nigerian debt capital markets (DCM), hosted the maiden DCM Ease of Doing Business Sensitisation Session, facilitated by the Enabling Business Environment Secretariat (EBES) of the Office of the Vice President of Nigeria.
The FMDQ DCM Sensitisation Session was aimed to provide an avenue for key officials of the EBES to update and educate stakeholders in the Nigerian DCM on specific initiatives emanating from the implementation of the recent National Action Plans (NAP) and the impact on their businesses.
The well-attended session afforded DCM stakeholders an opportunity to provide feedback to the EBES on the challenges currently being experienced on the back of the reforms, as well as to proffer suggestions/key modalities for ensuring that the implementation of the NAP precipitates the optimal enabling environment for conducting business in Nigeria.
Present at the function were key representatives from the government agencies/institutions, including but not limited to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC); and members of the FMDQ Debt Capital Markets Development (DCMD) Project Implementation Committees.
Others were from the Financial Markets Dealers Association (FMDA), Association of Corporate Treasurers of Nigeria (ACTN), Association of Issuing Houses of Nigeria (AIHN), Capital Market Solicitors Association (CMSA), Fund Managers Association of Nigeria (FMAN), Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA), and Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp).
Welcoming guests to the Session, Tumi Sekoni, Associate Executive Director, Capital Markets, FMDQ, highlighted that as an OTC Exchange with the aspirations of becoming fully integrated and diversified, the emergence of government policies/reforms and how these affect our varied stakeholder categories is of crucial importance for the acceleration of market deepening activities, as well as national economic growth and development.
Sekoni said it was in this belief of shared prosperity, therefore, that FMDQ partnered with EBES in support of the OTC Exchange’s strategic mission to empower the financial markets to be innovative and credible, in support of the Nigerian economy.
During her presentation at the programme, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, stated that the “FMDQ DCM Ease of Doing Business Sensitisation Session is a laudable initiative from the private sector that provides the opportunity for the government to share with the DCM community all completed and on-going business environment reforms that have been achieved so far.”
She said, “Since July 2016, the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) of the EBES has continued to closely collaborate with ministries, departments and agencies of government; the legislature and judiciary, as well as state governments, the organised private sector and civil society.”
According to her, “These reforms have enhanced transparency and reduced the time, cost and number of procedures in interacting with government agencies by streamlining and automating previously manual processes in public service delivery.
“The efforts of EBES have been empirically validated by external indices such as the World Bank Doing Business report, where Nigeria moved up an unprecedented 24 points over a three year period.
“Today, we are pleased to receive feedback from our DCM stakeholders on challenges as well as improvements in the Nigerian business environment as we jointly strive to make Nigeria a progressively easier place in which to do business.”
As part of its mandate to make the Nigerian financial markets Globally Competitive, Operationally Excellent, Liquid and Diverse (GOLD), FMDQ, through the Regulation Consolidation Sub-Committee of its DCMD Project, continues to champion initiatives aimed at making it easier for DCM stakeholders to access and raise capital even as this continues to positively impact the broader economy.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Despite signs that Nigeria’s headline inflation is easing, rising food prices continue to threaten the country’s inflation outlook, the chief executive of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Mr Muda Yusuf, has warned.
He noted that structural inflationary pressures in the real economy remain pronounced despite improving macroeconomic stability.
In a policy brief released following the inflation report, he noted that headline inflation eased marginally, while month-on-month change moderated from 1.75 per cent to 1.66 per cent, indicating that headline inflation has largely plateaued.
According to him, the dominant concern in the latest inflation report is the renewed acceleration in food inflation.
This growth, he said, suggested that food prices have resumed an upward trajectory after a brief period of moderation.
Warning that a renewed increase in food inflation has significant economic and social implications, he stressed that food inflation remained the biggest driver of Nigeria’s cost-of-living crisis, stressing that rising food prices continue to erode household purchasing power, worsen poverty and food insecurity while weakening the inclusiveness of the current reform programme.
He maintained that sustained moderation in food prices is critical to improving citizens’ welfare and strengthening public confidence in the ongoing economic reforms.
Acknowledging the easing of core inflation as encouraging, he drew attention to the persistence of urban inflation.
At 16.08 per cent, urban inflation exceeded the national headline inflation rate of 15.91 per cent, while month-on-month urban inflation increased from 1.99 per cent to 2.13 per cent.
According to Mr Yusuf, the figures indicated that inflationary pressures remained particularly intense across urban centres.
He attributed the rising urban inflation partly to increasing population displacement from rural communities affected by insecurity, expressing worry that as more households migrate to urban areas, demand for housing, transportation, utilities and other essential services would increase, adding to inflationary pressures and creating additional urbanisation challenges.
Addressing insecurity in farming communities, he said, was important not only for protecting lives and property and boosting agricultural output but also for easing cost pressures in urban centres, adding that the June CPI data reinforced the view that Nigeria’s inflation challenge is predominantly structural rather than monetary.
On the monetary policy outlook, he said the data do not justify further monetary tightening, arguing that headline inflation has largely stabilised.
The CPPE chief expected the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to retain the current monetary policy rate at its next meeting, adding that the priority is for monetary and fiscal authorities to work together to accelerate structural reforms to expand food supply, improve logistics, reduce energy and production costs, lower debt service costs, as well as strengthen domestic value chains.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Additional shares of Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc have been listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
The new equities were added to the company’s existing stocks on Customs Street on Thursday, July 16, 2026, a notice from the bourse confirmed.
Business Post reports the total new ordinary shares of Sterling Holdings listed yesterday were 13,812,239,000 units.
They were from the offer for subscription of 12,581,000,000 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each sold for N7.00 per share, which was oversubscribed by investors.
The financial institution brought the new shares to the stock exchange to increase its total issued and fully paid-up shares to 65,929,251,414 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each from 52,117,012,414 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each.
“Trading licence holders are hereby notified that an additional 13,812,239,000 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each of Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc were on Thursday, July 16, 2026, listed on the daily official list of Nigerian Exchange Limited.
“The additional shares listed on NGX arose from the company’s offer for subscription of 12,581,000,000 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N7.00 per share.
“With the listing of the additional shares, the total issued and fully paid-up shares of Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc have now increased from 52,117,012,414 to 65,929,251,414 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each,” the notice read.
By Adedapo Adesanya
President Bola Tinubu has signed a Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, establishing a new framework to coordinate the regulation of virtual assets across government agencies as Nigeria seeks to curb fraud while supporting innovation in the digital economy.
The Executive Order, which takes immediate effect, creates a Virtual Asset Council chaired by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to harmonise oversight of cryptocurrencies, tokenised assets, stablecoins, and other digital assets without creating a new regulator.
As part of the new framework, the CBN will establish a regulatory sandbox that will allow eligible firms to test virtual asset products, blockchain solutions, and related services under regulatory supervision before they are introduced to the wider market.
The development was disclosed in a statement issued on Friday by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga.
According to the presidency, the Executive Order responds to the growing complexity of virtual assets, which increasingly cut across the traditional boundaries of currencies, securities, commodities, and payment systems.
The fragmented regulatory environment has left gaps that have exposed Nigeria to money laundering, terrorism financing, cybersecurity and data privacy risks, fraud, and revenue losses.
The government said some unregistered operators have exploited these regulatory gaps to defraud unsuspecting Nigerians, resulting in significant financial losses.
“The Order is designed to close these gaps through supervisory coordination, without introducing new layers of regulation or displacing the mandates of existing agencies,” the statement read.
Under the new framework, the Virtual Asset Council will be chaired by the CBN, with the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) serving as vice chairs. Other members include the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
The Council will provide policy direction, improve cooperation among participating agencies, and work with the Attorney General of the Federation to develop a harmonised legal and institutional framework for the sector.
The Executive Order also establishes a Virtual Asset Office, which will serve as the Council’s operational arm. The office will be domiciled at the CBN and will coordinate information sharing, applications, and reporting among the participating agencies through a shared supervisory technology platform.
The presidency stressed that the Executive Order does not create a new regulator or transfer statutory powers from existing agencies, clarifying that instead, each institution will continue to exercise its existing mandate while working within a coordinated framework.
Under the arrangement, registration of virtual asset businesses will depend on the nature of the service being offered.
Activities classified as securities will continue to be regulated by the SEC, while payment, settlement, custody, and other services involving non-security virtual assets will fall under the CBN.
Where there is uncertainty over regulatory jurisdiction, the Virtual Asset Council will determine the appropriate supervising agency.
“The sandbox will provide a controlled environment in which eligible operators can test and operate virtual asset products, services, and blockchain-based solutions under close supervision, enabling the participating agencies to assess the implications for monetary sovereignty, financial stability, market integrity, consumer protection, financial inclusion, and revenue administration before products reach the wider market,” the statement added.
According to the presidency, the sandbox will enable regulators to evaluate the implications of emerging products for financial stability, monetary sovereignty, consumer protection, financial inclusion, market integrity, and revenue administration.
The central bank is expected to announce further details of the sandbox.
