Futures Pointing to Slightly Lower Open on Wall Street

By Dipo Olowookere The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited commenced the first trading session in December 2023 on a bullish note, with a marginal growth of 0.08 per cent. Sustained buying pressure kept Nigerian stocks in the positive territory, extending the dominance of the bulls on Customs Street, though the turnover waned. Business Post observed that investors cherry-picked equities in the banking and the energy sectors during the session, leaving them rising by 1.14 per cent and 0.05 per cent, respectively. However, the insurance counter lost 1.10 per cent, the consumer goods index depreciated by 0.08 per cent, and the industrial

By Adedapo Adesanya A milk-producing company, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria, helped the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange return to the green territory by 0.54 per cent on Wednesday, November 29. The firm improved its value by N3.50 in the midweek session to settle at N73.50 per share compared with the previous day’s closing price of N70.00 per share. It suppressed the 10 Kobo decline posted by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which ended lower at N17.00 per unit versus Tuesday’s value of N17.10 per unit. Consequently, the market capitalisation of the alternative stock exchange went up by N6.28 billion to

By Dipo Olowookere The last trading day of November 2023 on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended on a bullish note by 0.11 per cent on Thursday. Mild bargain-hunting in industrial goods equities like Lafarge Africa, supported by Airtel Africa, GTCO and other financial stocks left the market in the green territory at the close of business. Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 81.91 points to settle at 71,365.25 points compared with the preceding day’s 71,283.34 points, and the market capitalisation grew by N44 billion to N39.052 trillion from N39.008 trillion. Business Post reports that the

By Adedapo Adesanya The trio of Newrest Asl Plc, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, and Acorn Petroleum Plc made the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange appreciate by 0.14 per cent on Friday, December 1. The three gainers pressed down the 8 Kobo loss reported by UBN Property Plc, which closed the trading session at N1.52 per unit compared with the preceding day’s value of N1.60 per unit. During the trading day, Newrest Plc gained N1.46 to close at N16.10 per share compared with Thursday’s closing price of N14.64 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc moved up by 60 Kobo to end the

By Dipo Olowookere Minister of Health, Mr Osagie Ehanire, has called for more investment in oxygen generators, saying situations have showed that they are more needed in the management of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) than ventilators. Last week, Mr Ehanire inspected the 063 Nigeria Air Force COVID-19 Observation, Treatment Centre located at a side of the 063 NAF Hospital along the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport Road, Abuja. The facility is about 25-bed COVID-19 Observation and Treatment Centre with a Small Operation Theatre (when that becomes necessary) and sections to treat serious symptomatic COVID-19 cases, observation and treatment of mild and asymptomatic

By Dipo Olowookere The board of Sterling Bank Plc has announced a change in the brand identity of the financial institution. In a statement signed by its Company Secretary/Chief Legal Counsel, Justina Lewa, the lender explained that the look of the bank was change to reflect its new state. Sterling Bank said with the new logo, the bank is in a good position to roll out more innovative services and strengthen its corporate identity in order to occupy an even greater share of space in the consumers’ minds. According to the statement, the new symbol of the bank’s identity became

By Dipo Olowookere In a bid to trim their exposure to the equity market and possibly diversify into other asset classes, investors on Thursday rebalanced their portfolios and sold off some of their holdings in Conoil, BUA Foods, GTCO, Oando, Airtel Africa, Zenith Bank and 16 others. The hiking of the benchmark interest rate to 13.0 per cent by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently and the disclosure on Wednesday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) that inflation in May rose by 17.71 per cent have given investors an opportunity to review their investment strategy. The Nigerian Exchange

By Adedapo Adesanya The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved the establishment of the African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation. The foundation is a new groundbreaking institution that will significantly enhance Africa’s access to the technologies that underpin the manufacture of medicines, vaccines, and other pharmaceutical products. Rwanda will host the African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation. A common benefits entity, the foundation will have its own governance and operational structures. It will promote and broker alliances between foreign and African pharmaceutical companies. The African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation will strengthen local pharmaceutical companies to engage in local production initiatives with systematic technology learning and

By United Capital Research Every business/industry is expected to go through four stages of development, from the first product entry to its eventual decline (Start-up, Growth, Maturity and Decline stages). Each stage has its own unique characteristic. The Nigerian ecommerce industry is currently perceived to be at the growth stage, having seen a number of investments in the space in the past. However, the Nigerian online retailing business, though filled with potential, continues to struggle to break-even. Recent data from the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) showed a 9.8%y/y rise in GSM internet subscription to 100.2mn as at Jan-18. Yet, the

By Adedapo Adesanya A total of 15 teams have emerged as regional semi-finalists in the first Nigerian Content Science and Technology Innovation Challenge (STIC) for higher institutions in Nigeria. The competition, which was opened in November 2020, is sponsored by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and implemented by Enactus Nigeria. The semi-finalists were picked from higher institutions across the country, five respectively from the North, West and South/Eastern regions. Each team in the competition is made up of two undergraduates and their schools include University of Ilorin, University of Jos, Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Federal University,

By Dipo Olowookere A deal for an investment worth $1 billion has been completed between the Bauchi State government and China. The deal, according to a statement by Mr Abubakar Al-Sadique, the Press Secretary to Governor Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar, will cover agriculture, solid minerals and tourism. Mr Al Sadique further said the Chinese investors are also planning to establish 100MW solar power project in the state to boost power generation. Under the memorandum of understanding, the Chinese investors would provide 70 percent of the resources, while Bauchi state government provides the remaining 30 percent, the statement explained. “With the saturation

By Okechukwu Keshi Ukegbu Franklin D. Roosevelt aptly captures the collective responsibility of citizens in governance thus: “Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a President and senators and congressmen and government officials, but the voters of this country”. After the May 29, the euphoria that greeted Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu’s second term victory will subside as the drummers will withdraw their drums, and the dancers will recede for work, which is the major essence of governance to assume the centre stage. The expectations in