Economy
Lawsuit Challenging Proposed Lafarge Sale to Chinese Firm Resumes Wednesday
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos will resume hearing a suit challenging the proposed sale of Lafarge Africa Plc to Chinese firm, Huaxin Cement Limited on Wednesday, June 11.
This follows a major legal blow to Lafarge Africa and its parent company, Holcim Group, after the court dismissed a motion seeking to challenge its jurisdiction to hear the case.
The suit was initiated by Strategic Consultancy Limited, a Nigerian firm and shareholder in Lafarge Africa, over what it described as a “surreptitious” divestment of the company’s 83.81 per cent majority shares held by Holcim Group.
The planned sale to Huaxin Cement, a Chinese-based multinational, is at the centre of the controversy.
Business Post reports that the Senate had also raised an embargo to the deal.
The court is expected to examine whether the transaction violates Nigerian laws, including the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020.
Others are the Securities and Exchange Commission Act, and the Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) Act, especially in relation to minority shareholder rights and dealings with foreign entities not registered in Nigeria.
Lafarge Africa, which is publicly listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, became a dominant force in the local cement market after acquiring 83 per cent stake in three former federal government-owned cement firms during the privatisation exercises of 2001 and 2002.
Holcim Group, a Swiss multinational and majority owner of Lafarge Africa, had notified the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of an ongoing internal restructuring.
However, Strategic Consultancy alleged that the planned share divestment was conducted secretly and without giving local shareholders, including itself, the right of first refusal or opportunity to acquire the shares.
Meanwhile the suit, filed against Lafarge Africa, Holcim Group, the NGX, and the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, noted that the transaction undermines the rights of minority shareholders and involved unlawful dealings with unregistered foreign corporations.
Recall that the May 15 proceedings presided over by Justice Lewis Allagoa ruled against Lafarge’s preliminary objection contesting its jurisdiction.
The objection, raised by Mr Babatunde Fagbohunlu (SAN) for Lafarge and Mr Uzoma Azikiwe (SAN) for Holcim Group, was dismissed following arguments from Mr D.A. Awosika (SAN), counsel to Strategic Consultancy Limited.
“The 1st and 2nd defendants’ motion objecting to the Court’s jurisdiction is hereby dismissed,” Justice Allagoa had ruled.
However in a further twist, the court ordered that Caricement BV (Netherlands) and Associated International Cements Ltd (England) be joined as the 5th and 6th defendants, respectively.
Both entities were identified by the respondents as beneficial owners of the shares in question.
“The court also granted leave to serve the new parties with court documents outside Nigeria
“It is hereby ordered that the persons sought to be joined herein and hereby joined as prayed and leave to issue and serve the originating summons out of jurisdiction is hereby granted,” the judge held back then.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has defended its decision to allow Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) to invest in the parent companies of their custodians, insisting that adequate safeguards are in place to protect contributors’ funds.
The director-general of the pension regulator, Ms Omolola Oloworaran, speaking on Tuesday during the Meet the Press Briefing at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said the commission’s decision to relax the investment restriction followed a comprehensive risk assessment that found minimal conflict of interest.
She explained that under PenCom’s investment regulations, PFAs are only permitted to invest pension assets in carefully selected instruments that meet stringent criteria, including profitability, strong credit ratings and proven track records.
According to her, the commission regularly reviews its investment regulations, conducts routine examinations and spot checks on PFAs to ensure strict compliance with established risk management guidelines.
“PFAs cannot just go into the stock market and buy any kind of stock. There are strict guidelines. Companies must demonstrate profitability, have a proven track record and satisfy other criteria before pension funds can invest,” she said.
Ms Oloworaran noted that each PFA also operates under the oversight of a board, an investment committee and a risk management committee, providing additional layers of governance to safeguard contributors’ funds.
She said PenCom recently issued a circular allowing PFAs to invest in the parent companies of their custodians after determining that the potential conflict of interest was negligible.
The PenCom boss explained that the parent companies involved are largely Tier-1 banks, including First Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Zenith Bank, which she described as A-rated institutions with strong financial foundations.
She said the policy was intended to widen investment opportunities for pension funds without compromising safety.
Using Stanbic IBTC as an example, Ms Oloworaran explained that if its custodian is Zenith Bank, the previous restriction prevented the pension administrator from investing in Zenith Bank shares despite the bank’s strong performance.
“We reviewed the risks and any potential conflict of interest and found the risks to be very low. That is why we opened that investment window,” she said.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Analysts at Meristem Research have predicted that the inflation rate for June 2026 in Nigeria should marginally rise to 15.95 per cent on a year-on-year basis from the 15.93 per cent reported in May 2026.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is expected to release inflation numbers for last month later today, Wednesday, July 15, 2026.
In its report sighted by Business Post, Meristem Research said it expects inflationary pressures to re-emerge across key economies in the near term, as the re-escalation of the US-Iran conflict has reignited upward pressure on global oil prices.
It disclosed that this marks a sharp reversal from most of June, when the ceasefire between the two countries helped drive oil prices lower, raising expectations of some relief on the inflation front.
With conflicts now flaring up again, oil prices are likely to increase again, and the anticipated easing in energy-driven inflation may not materialise as broadly as earlier envisaged.
“Nonetheless, some relief is likely from the food segment, where robust supply conditions across major producing regions and softening demand should continue to ease food price pressures,” it stated.
The team also explained that it projected a 15.95 per cent inflation rate because of the lingering effects of persistent food price pressures.
“However, we expect core inflation to moderate as the sharp reversal in energy prices begins to filter through to transportation, distribution, and other energy-related costs, easing underlying price pressures.
“On a month-on-month basis, the combined effect of lower petrol prices, a relatively stable Naira, and the gradual pass-through of reduced energy costs across the supply chain should exert further downward pressure on inflation.
“Based on our assessment, food inflation is expected to remain the key swing factor, as seasonal pre-harvest supply constraints are likely to offset some of the gains from lower logistics costs,” it said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The duo of Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and Afriland Properties Plc weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.61 per cent on Tuesday, July 14.
CSCS Plc saw its stock value drop N9.08 to close at N82.40 per share compared with the preceding session’s N91.48 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc slid by 17 Kobo to sell at N15.00 per unit versus N15.70 per unit.
The losses recorded by the two securities pulled back the market capitalisation by N41.64 billion to N2.546 trillion from N2.587 trillion, and cracked the NASD Security Index (NSI) by 69.36 points to 4,242.31 points from 4,311.67 points.
It was observed that the exchange witnessed two price advancers during the session, led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which gained N1.37 to end at N151.37 per share compared with the previous day’s N150.00 per share, and Food Concepts Plc chalked up 5 Kobo to settle at N2.50 per unit versus N2.45 per unit.
The volume of securities traded by market participants surged by 50.7 per cent to 13.7 million units from the previous 9.1 million units, while the value of securities went down by 79.7 per cent to N65.2 million from N320.4 million, and the number of deals crashed by 3.6 per cent to 27 deals from the previous session’s 28 deals.
At the close of transactions, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with the sale of 3.4 billion units for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc, which exchanged 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units transacted for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the trading day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million.
Pingback: Court Orders Status Quo in Lafarge Africa Sale Row | Business Post Nigeria