Lafarge Africa Repays N33.6bn Bond from Internally Generated Cash Flow

By Adedapo Adesanya The key performance indicators of the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange remained unchanged at the close of transactions on Tuesday amid a mixed activity level chart. Business Post reports that the stalemate occurred after the NASD OTC exchange recorded no price gainer or loser, as the prices of stocks on the platform closed flat. Also, the total value of the alternative equity market, measured by the market capitalisation, remained unchanged at N1.138 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI) closed flat at 805.29 points. During the trading session, investors traded a total of 501,437 units of

A recently unveiled comprehensive report by experts at Traders Union (TU) has outlined the golden hours for Forex trading in India. As the global market wades through waves of unpredictability, Indian traders have been presented with a detailed guide on when to dive in. While it’s a well-known fact that the Forex market operates around the clock, not all hours are equal. As per the Traders Union report, the sweet spot for Forex trading in India lies between 6.00-12.00 GMT and 18.00-0.00 GMT. These windows promise maximum liquidity, tight spreads, and minimal slippage, factors that are crucial for profitable trading.

By Dipo Olowookere The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited witnessed a pullback of 0.03 per cent on Wednesday after investors took a second look at their exposure to local equities, though as some were dumping, a few were mopping up. According to data obtained by Business Post, traders bought and sold 566.6 million shares worth N5.4 billion during the trading session in 8,201 deals compared with the 676.7 million shares valued at N5.9 billion traded in 7,659 deals on Tuesday, implying a rise in the number of deals by 7.08 per cent and a decline in the trading volume and value

By Modupe Gbadeyanka It was a bad week for the Nigerian currency at the Investors’ and Exporters’ (I&E) foreign exchange window. The local currency suffered a 0.09 percent loss against the Dollar at the market segment, closing at N360.32/$. This decline was amid the weekly injections by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) of $210 million into the forex market. A look at the intervention showed that $100 million was allocated to Wholesale (SMIS), $55 million to the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises and $55 million also to the invisibles segment to cater for medical bills, school fees, travel allowances and

By Adedapo Adesanya Following a drop to its export numbers in 2019, Dangote Cement has announced plans to start exporting from its Congo Republic plants to neighbouring countries. It was reported that last year, the company’s export in Nigeria fell by 41 percent due to the border closure policy of the federal government as part of its backward integration project and to curb smuggling of contrabands and weapons into the country through porous openings. This policy, which abruptly started in August 2019, has affected many manufacturing companies as they have been unable to bring in or export products out of

By Dipo Olowookere Nigeria and Algeria are to resuscitate the Bi-National Commission and the several economic agreements between the two countries. Vice President, Mr Yemi Osinbajo, made this known after the meeting the Algerian President, Mr Abdelaziz Bouteflika. “We discussed a very wide, variety of issues. As you know, Nigeria and Algeria have had very strong relations over the years and we are also partners in the Bi-National Commission. We are resuscitating that Commission…I am sure some of you are aware of the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline, as well as the Trans-Saharan Fibre Optic projects. These are some of the economic

By Adedapo Adesanya The federal government is making efforts to sensitise states governments on the need to develop the mineral sector for the benefit of Nigerians. This is part of continuous efforts to ensure the diversification of the nation’s economy, build a prosperous economy, eradicate corruption and poverty as well as provide security for all. The Minister of State Mines and Steel Development, Mr Uchechukwu Sampson Ogah, made this known during a courtesy visit to Rivers State Governor, Mr Nyesome Wike, in Port Harcourt recently. Mr Ogah stated that the collaboration between the federal and the state government would ensure

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira appreciated against the US Dollar at the black market and the Peer-to-Peer (P2P) arms of the foreign exchange (forex) market on Wednesday but recorded a marginal loss at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window. In the parallel market, the domestic currency gained N3 against the greenback to sell at N727/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of N730/$1. Also, in the P2P window, the local currency appreciated against the American Dollar by N9 to trade at N751/$1 compared with the previous day’s rate of N760/$1. Business Post reports that the Naira eased off the scare

By FSDH Research Yields on the Nigerian Treasury Bills (NTBs), particularly on the 364-day tenor, are likely to drop with the plan of the Debt Management Office (DMO) to refinance the NTBs through foreign debt. The DMO hinted recently that the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) plans to issue about US$3bn in foreign debt of longer tenor, to refinance the domestic debt particularly the high-cost NTBs. The plan is in line with the debt management strategy of the FGN for 2016-2019, with the overall objective of reducing its total cost of borrowing to achieve the country’s strategic target of an

By Dipo Olowookere The management of Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has released date of its next Capital Market Committee (CMC) meeting. A statement issued by the apex capital market regulatory agency in Nigeria disclosed that the important meeting will take place on Wednesday, August 8, 2018. The next day, the committee will address members of the media in Lagos to brief them of outcome of the meeting. “The 2018 second Capital Market Committee (CMC) meeting has been scheduled to hold on Wednesday, 8th August, 2018 at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island Lagos. “The usual interface with members

By Ikenna Lansar Aghaji The housing sector of Nigeria has been experiencing deficit since the civil war in the 60’s, and the lack of enthusiasm by subsequent governments to take responsibility for this anomaly has caused an increase in this situation nationwide; both in the rural and urban settlements which are either qualitative or quantitative respectively. Housing deficit is not peculiar to Nigeria only but to the world. However, the reasons for the shortage of housing units in Nigeria are cases of national concern. Looking at how long the government has tried to curb these issues; one would be left