Economy
Investors Lose N58bn on Weak Sentiment, Sell-Off
By Dipo Olowookere
It was another bad day on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) on Tuesday as the trading platform further closed bearish by 0.23 per cent amid sustained profit-taking.
The absence of a positive trigger retained the weak investor sentiment as the market closed with 16 appreciating stocks and 28 depreciating stocks led by Conoil and Jaiz Bank, which lost 10.00 per cent each to settle at N23.85 and 72 kobo respectively.
University Press went down by 9.97 per cent to N2.62, NEM Insurance declined by 9.87 per cent to N3.56, while RT Briscoe dropped 9.68 per cent to quote at 56 kobo.
On the flip side, Niger Insurance topped the gainers’ table after its share price rose by 9.52 per cent to 23 kobo, Consolidated Hallmark Insurance increased by 8.47 per cent to 64 kobo, Cutix grew by 8.30 per cnt to N2.48, NGX Group gained 6.97 per cent to trade at N22.25, while UPDC appreciated by 5.56 per cent to sell for 95 kobo.
Unity Bank was the most traded stock at the market yesterday, selling 525.3 million units valued at N262.5 million, followed by GTCO, which sold 29.4 million units worth N766.3 million.
UBA transacted 18.0 million shares valued at N151.2 million, Zenith Bank traded 14.3 million stocks worth N383.0 million, while Japaul exchanged 13.2 million equities for N4.6 million.
At the close of trades, investors bought and sold 754.9 million shares valued at N3.6 billion in 4,330 deals as against the 291.9 million shares worth N2.9 billion traded in 4,792 deals, indicating an increase in the trading volume by 158.64 per cent, a growth in the trading value by 27.41 per cent and a decline in the number of deals by 9.64 per cent.
The key sectors of the NGX were awful on Tuesday as they all closed in the negative territory, with the insurance counter losing 2.16 per cent, the consumer goods space declining by 2.15 per cent, the energy sector shedding 0.77 per cent, the industrial goods counter depreciating by 0.12 per cent and the banking sector dropping 0.06 per cent.
The All-Share Index (ASI) on its part lost 108.26 points to close at 47,154.35 points as against the previous day’s 47,262.61 points, while the market capitalisation shed N58 billion to finish at N25.414 trillion in contrast to Monday’s N25.472 trillion.
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.
