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Economy

Mobilist Exits Investment in InfraCredit

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InfraCredit

By Adedapo Adesanya

The United Kingdom’s MOBILIST programme has successfully exited its investment in Nigeria’s Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) to five Nigerian pensions funds, boosting local investment in infrastructure and strengthening Nigeria’s financial markets.

MOBILIST is a flagship UK programme, managed by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) that supports investment solutions that help deliver the climate transition and the United Nation’s Global Goals in developing economies.

According to a statement, MOBILIST’s exit represents the biggest trade in InfraCredit’s shares since its listing by introduction on the NASD Over-the-counter (OTC) Exchange Plc in April this year.

The transaction enabled the five domestic institutional investors, which is made up of pension funds and insurers, to take up shareholding in InfraCredit.

Business Post reports that four of these funds did not participate in the initial listing.

InfraCredit is Nigeria’s first and only domestic creditor guarantor, issuing Naira-denominated guarantees that help to mitigate risk for investors and improve the creditworthiness of Nigerian infrastructure debt instruments. These guarantees enable Nigerian institutional investors to invest in instruments used to finance infrastructure projects.

The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth, & Development Office (FCDO), through MOBILIST, had invested N9.5 billion ($6 million) in Infracredit’s listing, which saw the company raise a total of N27 billion ($17.7 million) after attracting investment from two local pension funds.

The listing broadened InfraCredit’s domestic institutional shareholder base and gave the company access to new sources of capital, expanding its capacity to provide guarantees for new infrastructure projects.

InfraCredit also benefited from technical assistance, and catalytic investments facilitated by MOBILIST, Financial Sector Deepening Africa (FSDA), British International Investments (BII), the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), and FCDO-Nigeria. These contributions have played a critical role in de-risking local investments and mobilising domestic institutional capital towards green infrastructure projects.

The secondary sale of MOBILIST’s shares extends this impact, offering liquidity to untapped buyers who are natural long-term private sector equity holders but who did not participate at the initial point of listing.

Following the secondary sale, Nigerian pension funds will collectively own more than 27 per cent of InfraCredit’s ordinary equity, reinforcing domestic institutional ownership and governance of a strategically important financial institution, alongside the public sector capital (including the UK) which remains invested in the company.

Speaking on the deal, the British Deputy High Commissioner (Lagos), Mr Jonny Baxter, said, “The UK consistently prioritises transformational investments that unlock commercial markets. InfraCredit is one such example, an indigenous guarantee platform which is now attracting Nigerian institutional investors. To date, InfraCredit has facilitated over N300 billion in financing, valued at more than $500 million equivalent indexed at issuance, in support of infrastructure development across Nigeria.

“We’re excited to see this momentum continue to grow, driven increasingly by domestic capital and delivering strong returns to Nigerian investors. A win-win where more infrastructure is built to support Nigerian businesses, and more value returned to Nigerian stakeholders.”

On his part, the CEO of InfraCredit, Mr Chinua Azubike, said, “This secondary transaction is a proud milestone for InfraCredit and for Nigeria’s financial markets. It reinforces our long-term ownership vision that catalytic foreign investment can pave the way for sustained domestic institutional participation at scale.

“We are delighted to welcome four new Nigerian pension funds to our ownership base, a reflection of deepened market confidence and the growing role of local investors in financing Nigeria’s sustainable future.”

Adding his input, MOBILIST Programme Lead within FCDO, Mr Ross Ferguson said, “MOBILIST’s investment in InfraCredit proved the potential of using public markets to mobilise private – and importantly – local investment in sectors driving sustainable development and growth. The programme’s exit only reinforces this potential and highlights how innovative development finance can generate impact beyond an initial investment by contributing to the creation of deeper, more liquid capital markets while recycling capital for future investments.”

Adedapo Adesanya is a journalist, polymath, and connoisseur of everything art. When he is not writing, he has his nose buried in one of the many books or articles he has bookmarked or simply listening to good music with a bottle of beer or wine. He supports the greatest club in the world, Manchester United F.C.

Economy

Unlisted Securities Market Rises 0.59% Week-on-Week

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Nigeria's unlisted securities market

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange increased by 0.59 per cent in Trading Week 16 of 2026, with the market capitalisation adding N13.58 billion to settle at N2.329 trillion compared with the previous week’s N2.315 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI) up by 22.70 points to 3,893.15 points from 3,870.45 points in week 15.

Over the course of five trading sessions of the week, the total volume of stocks transacted by market participants went down by 50.2 per cent to 3.87 million units from 7.77 million units, but the value increased by 20.9 per cent to N150.9 million from N124.9 million. These trades were carried out in 162 deals across 20 stocks.

The most traded stock by value for the week was Okitipupa Plc with N46.7 million, followed by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with N36.3 million. Friesland Campina Wamco Nigeria Plc recorded N31.9 million, MRS Oil Plc posted N14.6 million, and 11 Plc achieved N12.6 million.

The most active stock by volume was Geo-Fluids Plc with 1.5 million units, and trailed by UBN Property Plc with 0.828 million units. CSCS Plc traded 0.609 million units, Friesland Campina Wamco Nigeria Plc quoted 0.325 million units, and Okitipupa Plc sold 0.26 million units.

Last week, 11 securities recorded movements, with eight on the green side and three on the red side.

MRS Oil Plc gained N33.75 to close at N197.75 per unit versus N164.00 per unit, Nipco Plc which rose by N31 to N344.00 per share versus N313.00 per share, Okitipupa Plc appreciated by N20 to N280.00 per unit from N260.00 per unit, Friesland Campina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by N5.21 addition to N97.21 per share from N92.00 per share, NASD Plc chalked up N1.14 to sell at N38.50 per unit versus N37.36 per unit, Food Concepts Plc appreciated by 26 Kobo to N2.94 per share from N2.68 per share, Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc increased by 6 Kobo to 63 Kobo per unit from 57 Kobo per unit, and Lighthouse Financial Plc expanded by 6 Kobo to 72 Kobo per share from 66 Kobo per share.

Conversely, 11 Plc lost N10.22 to quote at N212.08 per unit versus N222.30 per unit, CSCS Plc declined by N5.50 to N58.00 per share from N63.50 per share, and First Trust Mortgage Bank Plc shrank by 2 Kobo to N2.30 per unit from N2.32 per unit.

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Economy

World Bank Report: FG Counters Claims of Diverted Federation Earnings

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dampen growth in Nigeria

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The federal government has said there is no iota of truth in reports making the rounds that a significant portion of federation earnings is being “diverted”.

The claims came from a recent World Bank report, which the government said the media misinterpreted as “hidden spending.”

In a statement signed on Sunday by the Minister of State for Finance, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, the federal government emphasised that the characterisation of the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) deductions as “waste” or missing funds was “incorrect,” noting that the World Bank report presented the deductions as statutory transfers, savings and investments, security-related expenditures, cost-of-collection charges, refunds to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), and transfers and interventions benefiting subnational governments.

“It is important to emphasise that refunds and transfers to states and other tiers of government are not leakages. They represent legitimate fiscal flows, including repayments of obligations and statutorily backed allocations,” the statement said.

It was further stressed that, “The World Bank explicitly notes that reforms implemented in early 2026, including the recently signed Executive Order to safeguard remittance of petroleum revenues, are already addressing concerns around deductions, and are expected to improve transparency while increasing revenues available to all tiers of government by about 0.4 per cent of GDP annually.”

“Misinterpreting one aspect of the analysis without acknowledging the progressive reforms and measures already introduced to enhance distributable federation revenues gives a distorted picture,” it submitted.

The Nigerian authorities averred that the broader message of the World Bank report is positive and forward-looking, as economic growth is becoming more broad-based across sectors, inflation is declining due to deliberate policy actions, Nigeria’s external position has strengthened, and debt indicators have improved.

The government declared that the World Bank did not say in the report that “Nigeria’s fiscal system is collapsing or that reforms have failed. Rather, it states that reforms are working, and they must be sustained and deepened to translate macroeconomic gains into inclusive growth.”

The statement appealed to “stakeholders, media organisations, and the public to engage constructively with fiscal information and avoid twisted interpretations that may undermine reform efforts and fuel public discord.”

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Economy

Nigerian Stocks Attract N195.3bn Investments in One Week

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Nigerian stocks

By Dipo Olowookere

On the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited last week, 3.588 billion shares valued at N195.313 billion exchanged hands in 254,553 deals, higher than the 3.361 billion shares worth N151.948 billion traded in 229,442 deals a week earlier.

Over a quarter of these transactions were centred around the trio of Sterling Holdco, Access Holdings, and Zenith Bank, which specifically accounted for 1.038 billion stocks worth N46.081 billion in 33,067 deals, contributing 28.92 per cent and 23.59 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value, respectively.

They helped the financial equities to lead the activity chart with 2.498 billion units sold for N94.005 billion in 111,052 deals, contributing 69.62 per cent and 48.13 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively.

Services stocks traded 329.034 million units valued at N3.452 billion in 14,050 deals, and energy shares transacted 152.472million units worth N42.511 billion in 19,022 deals.

In the week, 61 equities appreciated versus 25 equities in the previous week, as 36 stocks depreciated compared with 54 stocks of the preceding week, while 49 shares remained unchanged, in contrast to 67 shares of the previous trading week.

Trans-Nationwide Express gained 60.48 per cent to sell for N6.05, Ecobank appreciated by 46.30 per cent to N67.30, Stanbic IBTC rose by 36.63 per cent to N188.55, Royal Exchange improved by 29.37 per cent to N1,85, and Aradel grew by 28.93 per cent to N1,649.00.

On the flip side, Coronation Insurance lost 14.38 per cent to close at N2.50, Ikeja Hotel declined by 14.36 per cent to N33.40, International Energy Insurance shrank by 13.80 per cent to N3.06, Academy Press slumped by 12.57 per cent to N7.65, and Honeywell Flour crumbled by 11.01 per cent to N19.00.

Business Post reports that the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 6.57 per cent to 217,167.57 points, and the market capitalisation advanced by 6.60 per cent to N139.827 trillion, as the demand for Nigerian stocks soared.

Also, all other indices finished higher apart from the insurance and growth indices, which fell by 0.04 per cent and 0.99 per cent, respectively.

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