Interswitch Lists N23bn Bond on Stock Exchange

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Taxpayers, including organisations and individuals, who are yet to pay their outstanding taxes, will not pay penalties and interests if they make the payments on or before December 31, 2023. This tax default forgiveness was given by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), which explained that it created this window in “recognition of the challenges that many taxpayers have faced in settling their outstanding tax liabilities.” However, it stressed that if the full principal payment is not done before the deadline, defaulters would be forced to pay the outstanding tax liabilities. The Chairman of the FIRS, Mr

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 Modupe Gbadeyanka Strong inflationary pressures in November further negatively impacted companies in Nigeria, with new orders and output both falling as customers were either reluctant or unable to pay higher charges. Purchase prices rose at the fastest pace in almost two years amid exchange rate weakness and higher costs for fuel and materials. According to the latest Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) from Stanbic IBTC, business conditions remained under pressure, scoring 48.0 points last month compared with the 49.1 points it garnered in October 2023. Readings above 50.0 signal an improvement in business conditions, while readings below 50.0 show deterioration.

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 Modupe Gbadeyanka The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has come out to defend Heritage Bank following a report that the financial institution was in distress. The apex bank, in a press statement issued on Tuesday by its Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Mr Isaac Okorafor, disclosed that the bank “is not in distress” as being speculated and urged its depositors to “go about their transactions without fear.” CBN said it is also not true that Heritage Bank was “unable to discharge its obligations to its depositors” and insists “no Nigerian Bank is in distress.” “The CBN, as the industry

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The #TheGreenestLoveofAll Instagram based mobile photo contest organised by Sahara Group has produced a winner. She is Irene Ishengoma, a teacher at St Anne Marie Academy in Dar-Es-.Salaam, Tanzania, who submitted a compelling piece about community led re-forestation aptly titled ‘Together We Can Overcome Environmental Destruction.’ Reacting to her emergence, Ishengoma said, “I am so excited. I really want to thank the Sahara Group for giving me this creative experience. “I feel more connected to matters concerning my natural environment than I ever have before. I’m also looking forward to using my brand new phone to keep

By Adedapo Adesanya The value of the Naira to the US Dollar depreciated heavily by N13 or 1.8 per cent at the Peer-to-Peer (P2P) segment of the foreign exchange (forex) market on Thursday, July 28, trading at N720/$1 compared to N707/$1 on Wednesday as the FX crisis in the country worsens. Also, at the parallel market, the Nigerian Naira lost N5 against the greenback to sell for N710/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N705/$1. At midday, the exchange rate was N715/$1 and by evening, it closed at N710/$1. Meanwhile, the local currency found succour in the Investors and Exporters (I&E)

By Adedapo Adesanya Nigeria is set to boost its gas development initiative through exports to Europe after reaching a new milestone in further opening the domestic and regional gas market via the construction of the multi-billion Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline (TSGP) alongside Algeria and Niger. The oil ministers of the three countries — Mr Mahamane Sani Mahamadou, Minister of Petroleum for the Republic of Niger, Mr Mohamed Arkab, Minister of Energy and Mines, Algeria, and Mr Timipre Sylva, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources of Nigeria as well as the Director Generals of national oil companies (NOCs) of the three African

By Dipo Olowookere Analysts at United Capital Research have advised investors having shares of Access Bank Plc in their holdings to hold them for now. This is because they feel the lender remains modest going by the figures in recently released financial statements for the first quarter of 2019, which are yet to capture the full impact of its merger with Diamond Bank Plc. The analysts noted that things are expected to be very clear when Access Bank finally releases its results for the first half on this year in July. They said for instance, the annualized ROE of 30.9

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Lagos-based asset management and financial advisory giant, FSDH Group, has predicted that stocks in the banking, agriculture, consumer goods and building materials sectors should fetch investors good returns in 2018. In its Weekly Insights tagged ‘Equity Market Ready for Another Rally in 2018,’ the research arm of the firm also said some factors that boosted the local bourse last year would “support the market rally in 2018.” Last year, The Nigerian Stock Exchange All-Share Index (NSE ASI) closed the year 2017 at 38,243.19 points, representing an appreciation of 42.3%. This is the first year-on-year(y-o-y) appreciation since 2014.

By Adedapo Adesanya The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has warned that amid rising digital adoption, youths should be mindful of fraudulent investments that are Ponzi schemes and make conscious efforts to invest in legitimate capital market products. Speaking on the sidelines of the Global Money Week 2023, the Director of the Market Development Department of the commission, Mr Nestor Ikeagu, said partaking in illegal investments could affect the growth of their financial future. Global Money Week (GMW) is an annual awareness-raising campaign on the importance of ensuring that young people from, an early age, are financially aware and are

By Adedapo Adesanya A slight supply disruption of foreign exchange (FX) to the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment of the market caused the Naira to depreciate against United Dollar on Tuesday. Data obtained from the market showed that the value of transactions at the FX window went up by 11.32 per cent or $12.32 million during the session to $121.15 million from the previous day’s $108.83 million. However, the shortage in forex supply put the local currency under pressure and caused its value to go down by 75 kobo or 0.18 per cent as it closed at N414.30/$1 in contrast