GSK to Shut Operations in Nigeria, Quit Stock Exchange

By Adedapo Adesanya The duo of Aradel Holdings Plc and 11 Plc landed the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange in the green territory by 0.84 per cent on Monday, November 27. The two energy stocks overpowered losses posted by two other securities admitted to the alternative stock exchange, leaving the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) closing higher by 7.22 points to 864.51 basis points from 857/29 points, as the market capitalisation of the exchange increased by N9.78 billion to N1.171 trillion from N1.162 trillion. Aradel Holdings Plc saw its share price continue to soar as it rose by N28.80 to

By Adedapo Adesanya  Oil prices fell on Friday as the release of some hostages in Gaza reduced the geopolitical risk premium and indicated that the Israel-Hamas tensions may not have much effect on the oil market. Brent crude futures depreciated by 84 cents or 1 per cent at $80.58 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude dropped $1.56 or 2 per cent to close at $75.54. There was no settlement for WTI on Thursday owing to the US Thanksgiving holiday. Prices notched their first week of gains in over a month ahead of next week’s meeting of

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira depreciated in the opening session of the week in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Monday, November 27 against the Dollar by N19.71 or 2.5 per cent as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Olayemi Cardoso, said the lender was committed to clearing a backlog of foreign exchange (forex). “We have initiated the payment of unsettled forward foreign exchange obligations, and these payments will continue until all obligations are cleared,” he told bankers last Friday during a dinner speech in Lagos. However, his assurance could not ease the pressure

By Adedapo Adesanya  President Bola Tinubu has written to the House of Representatives seeking the approval for an $8.6 billion and €100 million external borrowing plan for critical infrastructure in areas such as power, roads, water, railway, and health. The President also forwarded the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Supplementary Budget to the lower chamber for consideration. Meanwhile, the President will present the 2024 budget to the National Assembly on Wednesday. This was after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved a 2024 budget of N27.5 trillion. The approval followed the review of the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) earlier passed by the

By Adedapo Adesanya  The Brent crude, the global benchmark, traded above $63 per barrel on Friday, November 15, 2019 as oil prices gained following fresh optimism over phase one of a potential US-China trade deal lifting prospects for energy demand. The deal, which was described by US President Donald Trump as the “phase one” deal, would put in motion settlements to a long lasting trade war that had seen both countries place tariffs on goods. The Brent, following the latest development surrounding the effect of this on the oil market, traded up at $63.29 per barrel, gaining $1.01 equivalent to

By Dipo Olowookere The proposed voluntary winding up of RAK Unity Petroleum Company Plc has been approved by shareholders of the organisation. The authorisation for the folding up of the company was given at its 18th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on Friday, June 4, 2021, at the Shell Hall, Muson Centre, Onikan, Lagos. A notice from the energy firm said that the shareholders were unanimous in approving the proposal put forward by the board of the company at the gathering. It was also agreed at the meeting that Mrs Chinwe Chiwete of the law firm of EPIC Legal, which

By United Capital Research If history is any indication of the future, we see reasons to believe that the Nigerian equity market could get a Christmas rally in December. First, history shows us that the All-Share Index (ASI) has averaged a return of 2.8 percent in the final month of the year since 1998 – second only to May which has averaged 5.3 percent. Also, in the past 21 years, the market has only seen four negative monthly returns in December (specifically in 2001, 2005, 2008, 2009) – the lowest of any other month. Thus, the probability that there would

BCW (Burson Cohn & Wolfe), was named Global Agency of the Year at PRovoke Media’s 2020 Global SABRE Awards ceremony, which was held virtually on October 21. The global communications agency, an affiliate to CMC Connect BCW in Nigeria, was praised for its innovative new client offerings, attracting exceptional new talent and delivering consistently strong performances across all regions. “It is thrilling for BCW to be named Global Agency of the Year just two years after the launch of our brand,” said Donna Imperato, Global CEO, BCW. “Our leaders and teams have worked so hard to exceed all expectations for

By Modupe Gbadeyanka About eight Tax Appeal Tribunals have been reconstituted by the federal government across the country. The tribunals are expected to arbitrate over disputes arising from the operation of federal tax laws and regulations in the country. The reconstitution of the tribunals was in accordance with Section 2(1) of the Fifth Schedule of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Establishment Act. They were situated in the six geo-political zones as well as Lagos and Federal Capital Territory (FTC) Abuja. Each Tribunal is made up of a Chairman and four Commissioners knowledgeable in the laws, regulations, norms and practices

By Dipo Olowookere Leading tier-two Nigerian lender, Fidelity Bank Plc, has continued to soar higher, posting a double-digit growth in the first quarter of 2019. In its financial statements for the period ended March 31, 2019 released today, the bank grew its gross earnings by 11.81 percent to N48.4 billion from N43.3 billion, while fee and commission income went up by 39.52 percent to N6.5 billion from N4.7 billion. In the period under review, the interest and similar income rose to N38.7 billion from N37.7 billion, with the impairment charge closing at N1 billion as at March 31, 2019 against

By Dipo Olowookere There was a huge demand for some large-cap equities at the market on Friday and this triggered the 0.48 per cent growth recorded by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). The buying interest in the stocks lifted the value of 13 companies and at the close of transactions, Airtel Africa was the highest price gainer after chalking up N51.50 to sell at N640 per unit. Mobil Oil appreciated by N19.20 to finish at N228 per share, Ardova gained 45 kobo to close at N14.45 per unit, Zenith Bank grew by 40 kobo to N23.95 per share, while C

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Presidential Fertilizer Initiative of the Buhari Administration has started yielding results, with the production of more than 4,000 metric tonnes of locally-blended fertilizer in the first week of operation. The Initiative was approved by President Muhammadu Buhari in December 2016, to achieve the local production of one million metric tonnes of blended Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium (NPK) Fertilizer for the 2017 wet season farming. Prior to December 2016, Nigeria’s stock of blended Fertilizer was shipped into the country as fully-finished products, even though Urea and Limestone, which constitute roughly two-thirds of the component of each bag,