Futures Pointing to Initial Strength on Wall Street

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The online stock trading platform of one of the leading brokerage firms in Nigeria, Morgan Capital Securities Limited, i-Trade, has experienced a technical glitch. This technical issue has made it difficult for its clients to carry out transactions on the popular platform. Morgan Capital’s i-Trade platform is popular among retail investors in the Nigerian capital market, especially those trading equities on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, because of its lower fees. The company has already assured its customers that it was working to restore services, providing an alternative to them. “This is to inform

By Dipo Olowookere In one week, investors bought and sold 2.543 billion shares worth N38.644 billion in 36,138 deals on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited. In the preceding trading week, a total of 2.425 billion shares valued at N22.665 billion were transacted by investors in 33,230 deals. It was observed that financial stocks led the activity chart as usual with 1.721 billion units worth N18.281 billion in 17,151 deals, contributing 67.68 per cent and 47.30 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively. Conglomerates equities trailed with 200.584 million units valued at N1.546 billion in

By Aduragbemi Omiyale An application and proprietary solution for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria, known as Aleph Express, has been launched by Aleph Group. A statement from the firm explained that Aleph Express provides a platform for MSMEs to create and maintain a free e-commerce website, create a product catalogue, set local delivery options, manage, record and process orders while gaining meaningful insights to drive growth. The platform also provides one unified inbox that integrates WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram, to enable businesses to efficiently engage and sell – all in one place. In addition, Aleph Express provides

By Adedapo Adesanya The Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) has expressed its readiness to partner with the Lekki Deep Seaport by promoting the seamless movement of cargo and the efficiency of the nation’s ports. The NSC Executive Secretary, Mr Pius Akutah, gave the assurance when the Managing Director, Lekki Port LFTZ Enterprise Limited (LPLEL) – promoters of Lekki Deep Seaport, Mr Du Ruogang, led the port’s management on a courtesy visit to the NSC in Lagos. Mr Akutah, who commended the Lekki Deep Seaport management for the visit, said the council would partner with the port in areas that would boost

By Sodeinde Temidayo David President Muhammadu Buhari has been advised by the United States to look beyond military options in resolving conflicts within the country. The American government, through the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) in Washington DC, gave this advice in a discussion convened by the agency titled Peace in Nigeria, how to build it, and America’s role. The conference featured different US officials and Nigerian leaders, including other diplomats from both countries. At the symposium, the need to strengthen the responsiveness of state institutions, address grievances and perceptions, were discussed and this lead to the suggestion for

By Adedapo Adesanya As the planned construction of the seventh gas processing plant of the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) commonly known as Train-7 project commences, the Nigeria Police Force has set up a tactical team for crisis management and security in Bonny. This was put in place following the move by the Deputy Senate President, Mr Ovie Omo-Agege and the Inspector General of Police, Mr Mohammed Adamu, to engage with the host communities and relevant stakeholders in providing a secured environment for the project. The duo spoke in Bonny Island over the weekend during a familiarisation visit to

By Dipo Olowookere Worried by the use of harmful chemicals to preserve food consumed by citizens, federal government recently held a crucial meeting with stakeholders in the agricultural sector. The meeting was chaired by Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr Audu Ogbeh, in Abuja and had beans farmers, marketers and quality control various agencies in attendance. Some days ago, a video went viral in the country showing a wholesaler of beans using a popular insecticide, Sniper, to keep away weevils from the beans. Though some commenters said the practice was not new, medical experts and nutritionists said the consumption

By Dipo Olowookere In order to traders in Kenya benefit from increased efficiency, Information for Trade in Kenya (InfoTrade Kenya) has launched its web portal, www.InfoTradeKenya.go.ke, consolidating more than 120 documents and procedures required for import and export business in Kenya on one online platform. The portal is estimated to serve at least 1.5 million users per month and consolidates 73 documents under exports, 52 under imports and one under transits (cross border trade) thus ensuring a shorter period in the export and import processes. Completion and launch of the information portal makes Kenya the first country in the East

By Dipo Olowookere After much delay, the Senate has finally agreed to screen nominees of President Muhammadu Buhari for the position of Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Also to be screened are nominees for membership of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) sent to the upper parliament for confirmation. At the plenary on Tuesday, a member of the Senate, Mr Rafiu Ibrahim, raised a point of order at the plenary today, urging his colleagues to consider the nominees. Mr Ibrahim, who doubles as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions, pointed out

By Adedapo Adesanya The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed last week (Week 30) with a positive return in its NASD unlisted securities index (NSI) as it rose by 0.01 per cent to close at 706.52 points as against 706.44 points of the preceding week, which ended on Friday, July 17, 2020. This came as investors gained N60 million in value as the market capitalisation closed at N518.99 billion compared to N518.93 billion in the preceding week. However, the week saw a 95.9 per cent decrease in the total value of trades as investors transacted shares worth N7.9 million versus

By Dipo Olowookere The sum of $210 million was made available to authorised traders in the foreign exchange market in the country on Tuesday by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). This was part of efforts by the apex bank to prevent scarcity of the foreign currency at the market for those who genuinely need forex to complete their transactions. A statement issued on Tuesday by the Director of Corporate Communications Department at the CBN, Mr Isaac Okorafor, disclosed that the $210 million was injected into Nigerian Inter-Bank Foreign Exchange market at the close of business on Tuesday. He explained

In order to enable the seamless settlement of trades across Africa as it starts trading in a few weeks, the Lagos Commodities and Futures Exchange (LCFE) has indicated its readiness to partner with Ecobank, a pan African financial institution with operations with over 30 countries. Managing Director of LCFE, Mr Akin Akeredolu-Ale, said the agency needs a bank that has the required African spread and superior technology like that of Ecobank that can support it to accomplish its mandate to formalize trade across the continent. He said the exchange was determined to give Africa trade the needed structure that will