IMF to Help Togo with $238m ECF Arrangement

By Adedapo Adesanya The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange improved by 0.12 per cent on Wednesday, September 20, with the unlisted securities index expanding by 1.00 points to end the day at 806.29 points as against the 805.29 points it recorded at the previous session. During the trading day, the market capitalisation of the alternative stock exchange increased by N1.42 billion to close at N1.139 trillion compared with Tuesday’s closing value of N1.138 trillion. It was observed that the bulls overcame the bears on Wednesday, with the bourse closing with three price gainers and two price losers. Aradel Holdings Plc

By Adedapo Adesanya The average price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, surged by 230.8 per cent on a year-to-year basis to N626.70 per litre in August 2023 versus N189.46 per litre in the same period of 2022. This is according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) Price Watch (August 2023), which showed that the average retail price increased on a month-on-month basis by 4.39 per cent from N600.3 per litre in July. The skyrocketing cost of petrol came as President Bola Tinubu, during his inauguration speech on May 29,

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The federal government has expressed its readiness to work closely with the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited to attract startups to the stock exchange. The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Mr Bosun Tijani, said the government would use the newly created NGX Technology Board to achieve this goal. Speaking at a tech event themed Invest in Africa’s Future- Let’s Talk About Exits on Thursday in the United States, he noted that Nigeria had been grappling with its over-dependence on oil in the last few years, adding that diversifying from heavy reliance on a single sector like

By Adedapo Adesanya The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed in the green territory after it chalked up by 0.37 per cent on Friday, September 22, as three securities finished on the price gainers’ chart and one stock closed in the price losers’ table. This raised the market capitalisation of the OTC Exchange by N4.24 billion to N1.143 trillion from the previous day’s N1.139 trillion, as the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI) increased during the session by 3.00 points to finish at 808.95 points compared with Thursday’s 805.95 points. At the close of transactions, investors traded a total of 10.7

By Dipo Olowookere The local stock market started the week on the wrong foot on Monday as political uncertainties continued to weigh in on the market. Yesterday, the Nigerian blogosphere was dominated by a report by Financial Times claiming President Donald Trump of the United States of America (USA) allegedly told his aides that he does not want to meet someone as “lifeless” as President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria again. In April 2018, both leaders met at the White House and Mr Trump had commended his guest for his anti-corruption fight. With the President likely certain to contest the February

By Kester Kenn Klomegah The African Development Bank (AfDB), which sets its primary tasks of contributing to the continent’s economic and social development by providing the necessary concessional funding for projects and programmes, as well as offering and coordinating assistance in capacity-building activities, has now embarked on various post-COVID-19 initiatives throughout the continent, especially in the least developed African countries. In the latest was the mid-March event where potential investors have examined more than $50 billion of curated bankable projects in key priority sectors identified in the Africa Investment Forum’s 2020 Unified Response to COVID-19 initiative. The sectors include agriculture

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A high-interest hybrid current account with zero bank charges called UnionAccelerate has been created by Union Bank for owners of medium-sized businesses across the country. It is part of the top Nigerian lender’s efforts to give lifeline to the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) sector of the economy, which has always been neglected. UnionAccelerate is a full-featured innovative banking solution that helps manage the challenges of high overhead costs and restrictive bank deductions experienced by businesses across the country. Union Bank’s Executive Director, Commercial Banking, Mr Kunle Sonola, who spoke on this innovation, explained that, “Offering zero

By Kester Kenn Klomegah With its 1.3 billion people, Africa accounts for about 16% of the world’s human population. Africa, comprising 54 countries, is the world’s second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. As the coronavirus spreads around the world, many eyes are on Africa. The number of coronavirus infections in Africa has reached 33,085, while 1,465 people died from the virus-related causes across the continent, the World Health Organization (WHO) Africa said on April 28. South Africa accounts for the biggest number of infections (4,793) and 90 deaths. Algeria, meanwhile, has the biggest coronavirus death toll (432) and 3,517

By Ahmed Rahma The Lagos State University College of Medicine (LASUCOM) has asked all students to self-isolate after three of them tested positive for COVID-19. In a statement issued on Thursday, the institution said the incident has forced the management to order the immediate closure of its hostel facilities for decontamination. According to the Coordinator, Centre for Information, Press and Public Relations of Lagos State University, Mr Ademola Adekoya, the roommates of the students who tested positive and their associates are being tested. Mr Adekoya also informed that the college was providing psychological support to the three students and their

By Adedapo Adesanya The Information and Communication Technology (Telecommunications) sector contribution to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the fourth quarter of 2019 increased to N2.6 trillion. This contribution was part of the N19.5 trillion in the last quarter of last year. The Nigerian GDP data, which was released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday, showed that in the last quarter of 2019, the economy rose to 2.55 percent and as a major driver of the non-oil Sector, the sector recorded a growth rate of 8.5 percent in real terms, year on year. This indicated that the

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Fitch Ratings has revised the Outlook on 4 Nigerian banks to Negative from Stable and affirmed the Long-Term Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) of 10 banks and financial institutions. The affected institutions are Zenith Bank Plc, First Bank of Nigeria Ltd, United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA), Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (GTBank), Access Bank Plc, Diamond Bank Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, Union Bank Plc, First City Monument Bank Limited (FCMB), Wema Bank Plc and the bank holding company, FBN Holdings Plc (FBNH). The National Ratings of Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, as well as its bank holding company, Stanbic

By Adedapo Adesanya The World Bank Group has disclosed that it will have COVID-19-related projects in 100 countries by the end of April. President of the institution, Mr David Malpass, said this while giving his address at the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) virtual meeting. Mr Malpass said that the world bank had been focused on taking fast and broad-based action, especially for the poorest countries during the current global pandemic. He said that the bank was taking steps to provide unprecedented financing to help countries respond to the crisis. “The World Bank Group has been focused on taking