Economy
Gains in Dangote Cement, GTBank Grow NSE Index by 1.46%
By Dipo Olowookere
The local stock market grew by 1.46 per cent on Monday following gains printed by Dangote Cement, GTBank, Lafarge Africa and 12 others.
The good results released by the likes of Dangote Cement and Lafarge Africa impressed investors, who bought their shares at the market during the session.
At the close of transactions, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 355.88 points to 24,783.61 points from 24,427.73 points, while the market capitalisation expanded by N180 billion to N12.923 trillion from N12.743 trillion.
Dangote Cement was the highest price gainer yesterday, gaining N7.60 to sell at N141.80 per unit, while GTBank grew by N1.65 to close at N23.30 per share.
Furthermore, Lafarge Africa appreciated by N1.05 to finish at N12 per unit, Zenith Bank rose by 40 kobo to settle at N15.90 per unit, while UBA gained 15 kobo to sell at N6.15 per share.
Conversely, Seplat was the biggest price loser on Monday. The share price of the energy stock depreciated by N34.70 to sell at N312.70 per share.
CAP lost N1.85 to finish at N17.10 per unit, Julius Berger went down by N1.05 to N16 per share, Berger Paints declined by 60 kobo to close at N5.50 per share, while Cadbury Nigeria depreciated by 55 kobo to sell at N6.70 per share.
The activity chart was mixed yesterday with the volume of stocks transacted by market participants down by 2.41 per cent to 170.0 million units from 174.2 million units.
However, the value of the transactions was flat at N2.4 billion, while the number of deals increased by 16.47 per cent to 4,336 from 3,723.
Shares of Flour Mills were the most attractive to investors on Monday and the company traded 30.5 million units worth N518.1 million during the session.
Lafarge Africa transacted 28.1 million shares for N335.8 million, FBN Holdings traded 10.0 million stocks valued at N49.8 million, GTBank exchanged 9.0 million equities for N201.6 million, while UBA traded 8.3 million units worth N50.4 million.
For the sectoral performance, the banking and industrial goods indices closed higher by 3.71 per cent and 3.34 per cent respectively.
The oil/gas sector lost 5.70 per cent on Monday, while the insurance counter depreciated by 1.81 per cent, with the consumer goods index down by 0.32 per cent.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Nigeria slightly surpassed its quota set by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in July 2026.
In the month under review, the country produced about 1.57 million barrels of crude oil per day.
It was the third consecutive month Africa’s largest oil-producing nation was meeting its monthly quota, set to stabilise the price of the commodity on the global market by the oil cartel.
Data released by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) on Wednesday showed that the 1.5 million barrels per day ceiling for Nigeria was surpassed last month.
The agency disclosed in a statement today that the country produced 1.505mbpd of crude oil and 0.17mbpd of condensate, bringing the combined daily production to 1.67mbpd.
In the month under review, the daily peak production of crude oil and condensate was 1.78mbpd, while the lowest daily production was 1.57mbpd.
Although Nigeria met its OPEC quota in the month of July, the statistics show that on a month-on-month basis, production fell by 4 per cent.
This was attributed to the decline in production due to operational challenges experienced at the Erha and Akpo fields, which impacted crude oil output during the period under review.
These disruptions constrained production volumes and contributed significantly to the overall reduction in national crude oil output.
Despite the challenges, production operations across most other producing assets remained relatively stable, with operators implementing measures aimed at maintaining production efficiency and minimising the impact of operational constraints, NUPRC stated.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The over 9 billion shares of Lasaco Assurance Plc issued to shareholders of the company via a rights issue have been listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
The equities were brought to Customs Street on Wednesday by the organisation, increasing its total issued and fully paid-up share capital.
Lasaco Assurance, which scaled the recapitalisation hurdle of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) in July 2026, raised fresh capital from the capital market to shore up its capital base.
The underwriting firm got about N18.5 billion from the rights issue, which involved the issuance of 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares at a unit price of N2.00.
The exercise was on the basis of five new ordinary shares for every existing six ordinary shares held as of the close of business on Friday, February 20, 2026.
Confirming the listing of the additional stocks of Lasaco Assurance today, the Head of Issuer Regulation Department of NGX RegCo, Mr Godstime Iwenekhai, announced in a circular that, “Trading licence holders are hereby notified that an additional 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each of Lasaco Assurance Plc were today, Wednesday, August 12, 2026, listed on the daily official list of Nigerian Exchange Limited.
“The additional shares arose from the company’s rights issue of 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N2.00 per share on the basis of five new ordinary shares for every existing six ordinary shares held as of the close of business on Friday, February 20, 2026.
“With the listing of the additional 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares, the total issued and fully paid-up share capital of Lasaco Assurance Plc has now increased from 11,083,585,855 to 20,319,907,401 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) has said the successful recapitalisation of the insurance industry will strengthen the sector’s ability to support financial stability and economic growth.
NIA Chairman, Mrs Ebelechukwu Nwachukwu, said a well-capitalised insurance industry would be better positioned to meet its obligations promptly, underwrite complex and large-scale risks and serve as a dependable pillar of the Nigerian economy.
She made the remarks while commending the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) for its structured implementation of the new minimum capital requirements under the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025.
Mrs Nwachukwu said NAICOM’s clear guidelines, systematic verification process, defined timelines and rigorous supervision had provided operators with a credible framework for navigating the recapitalisation exercise.
She described the outcome as a major milestone for the industry and congratulated the 43 insurance and reinsurance companies that have successfully met the prescribed minimum capital requirements.
According to her, the exercise represents “a major win not just for regulators and operators, but for policyholders, investors and the wider Nigerian economy.”
Mrs Nwachukwu said the association would continue to work with NAICOM and other stakeholders to consolidate the gains of the exercise, with emphasis on sustainable industry growth, stronger market conduct and improved consumer confidence.
The official also expressed solidarity with the eight companies still undergoing final verification and regulatory review, urging them to remain confident as NAICOM completes the process within the 14-day review period.
The NIA chairman assured policyholders and the wider business community that the insurance industry would emerge from the recapitalisation exercise stronger, more resilient and better positioned to contribute to Nigeria’s economic development.
