Foreign Investor Increases Stake in Okomu Oil

By Adedapo Adesanya Brent crude futures surged by 2.8 per cent or $2.59 on Wednesday to the highest settlement in 2023 at $96.55 per barrel after a steep drop in crude stocks in the United States compounded worries of tighter global supplies. The price of the US West Texas Intermediate crude futures (WTI) climbed by 3.6 per cent or $3.29 to $93.68 as the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a crude oil inventory draw of 2.2 million barrels for the week to September 22 in the country. In the preceding week, the agency posted an inventory draw of 2.1 million

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The Vice President, Mr Kashim Shettima, has said Nigeria is in dire need of foreign direct investment (FDI) more than ever before, tasking domestic and foreign investors to make Nigeria their investment hub because efforts are being made to formulate business-friendly policies. Mr Shettima, while speaking when he hosted the management of First Surat Group, as well as top management of MTN Nigeria at the presidential villa in Abuja, charged MTN Nigeria to facilitate and spearhead digital mobile money and digital education. He assured that President Bola Tinubu was willing to partner with various stakeholders in the

By Adedapo Adesanya The prices of Brent futures and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures went down by about 1 per cent on Friday, due to macroeconomic concerns and sustained profit-taking. Data showed that Brent fell by 7 cents to $95.31 per barrel and WTI depreciated by 92 cents to $90.97. Prices rose about 30 per cent in the third quarter of the year helped by the production cuts by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (OPEC+). This action squeezed global crude supply. Brent was about 2.2 per cent in the week and 27 per cent

By Adedapo Adesanya The Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, has cleared the air regarding recent reports on the transfer of funds to the Joint Tax Board (JTB) by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) under the erstwhile chairman, Mr Muhammad Nami, for the tax reform committee. In a statement on Friday, he revealed that N5 billion was paid to the board to fund activities of the team set up by President Bola Tinubu, noting that “The committee’s budget includes provisions for a national Data for Tax project which the JTB had been

By Dipo Olowookere The management of TAJBank has again promised to continue to provide an excellent service to its customers through its various channels. This reassurance was given by the Divisional Head Operations of TAJBank, Mr Saheed Ekeolere, in commemoration of the International Customer Service Week which held from October 5 to 9, 2020. The financial institution celebrated the week themed Dream Team with a series of exciting initiatives to reward its customers. “As a young institution built on strong core values such as customer centricity, we have set what some may call, impossibly high standards in our pursuit of

By Adedapo Adesanya The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has approved the production of Chloroquine for clinical trials, but not as a cure for the coronavirus. Director-General of NAFDAC, Mrs Mojisola Adeyeye, made this announcement on Friday at the NAFDAC headquarters in Lagos. Worldwide, the race to find a vaccine for coronavirus also known as COVID-19 is ongoing. Yesterday, President Donald Trump announced that his administration has approved the use of the drug to combat the disease, but the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) later countered him. The FDA then clarified in a subsequent statement

By Dipo Olowookere In the discharge of his mandate as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) mediator for The Gambia, President Muhammadu Buhari has activated the process for the execution of his task. One of the outcomes of the just-concluded ECOWAS Summit held on December 17, 2016 in Abuja was the decision to designate President Muhammadu Buhari as the Mediator for The Gambia with Mr John Mahama, the out- going President of Ghana as Co-Mediator. The Summit also gave the terms of reference to include ensuring the safety of the President-Elect, Mr Adama Barrow, the political leaders and

By Aduragbemi Omiyale A significant increase in the value of imports in the first quarter of 2021 has left Nigeria with a trade deficit of N3.9 trillion. A report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed that in the period under review, the country recorded a total merchandise trade of N9.8 trillion, 6.99% higher than the value recorded in Q4 of 2020 and 14.13 per cent higher than the figures in the same period of 2020. The agency stated that the export component of this trade was N2.9 trillion, representing 29.79 per cent of the total trade, while

By Adedapo Adesanya Shell has disclosed that Nigeria benefited most from its social investment spending in 2019 as it invested $40 million through its three subsidiaries operating in the country. This was disclosed in its Nigerian Briefing Notes released on Thursday. Shell said the investments were done through Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO), and Shell Nigeria Gas (SNG). They were used in the provision of access to affordable healthcare, educational support, enterprise support, accelerating access to energy, and providing assistance and safety. The multinational company explained in the last 14 years, it has

By Aduragbemi Omiyale Four additional millionaires have emerged in the Ecobank Super Rewards promo introduced due to popular demand by customers of the financial institution. The latest millionaires are Ikeanyi Ugwu representing FCT/Northern Region; Mr and Mrs Bidemi Adeboye, representing Lagos Region; Oghogho Ikede, representing Midwest and South West Region; and Theodore Scott-Emuakpor representing South East, and South-South Region. They won N1 million each in the Ecobank Super Rewards Scheme Season 2, a four-month campaign which ran between November 2021 and February 2022. It was gathered that a total of 800 customers won N25,000 weekly in batches of 50 per

By Adedapo Adesanya The International Finance Corporation (IFC), as part of moves to boost healthcare accessibility, has announced a $12.7 million loan to a Kenyan healthcare provider, Avenue Group Limited. The loan will support the company’s strategy to grow its healthcare offering and boost its patient reach by 20 per cent over the next five years. With the fresh injection, the company will develop new healthcare facilities and upgrade existing hospitals and clinics to expand its primary care footprint and improve its secondary and tertiary offerings. Avenue currently serves more than 430,000 patients a year and is part of the

By Dipo Olowookere A new report released by Baker McKenzie, a multinational law firm, has predicted an increase in global deal activity next year. The report, titled Global Transactions Forecast, which is in its third edition, attributed this rise to the easing of key economic and political risks as well as the emergence of positive macroeconomic deal drivers. It specifically noted that deal making in Nigeria looks set to increase in 2018 and 2019 after a period of policy uncertainty which saw M&A transactions decrease. Conditions in South Africa are also predicted to improve, but this will depend on political