Moody’s to Acquire Bureau van Dijk for €3b

By Aduragbemi Omiyale An application and proprietary solution for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria, known as Aleph Express, has been launched by Aleph Group. A statement from the firm explained that Aleph Express provides a platform for MSMEs to create and maintain a free e-commerce website, create a product catalogue, set local delivery options, manage, record and process orders while gaining meaningful insights to drive growth. The platform also provides one unified inbox that integrates WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram, to enable businesses to efficiently engage and sell – all in one place. In addition, Aleph Express provides

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Business owners in Lagos have been assured of more incentives by the state governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who added that this is part of his administration’s commitment to reforms aimed at improving the ease of doing business and enhancing investment opportunities. Speaking at the commissioning of the newly-built wet hair production factory of Godrej Nigeria Limited, the Governor said his government would continue to pursue actions that would eliminate red tapes and regulatory impediments hindering the growth of businesses in the state, thereby demonstrating his willingness for continued collaboration with the private sector to improve the livelihood

By Dipo Olowookere In one week, investors bought and sold 2.543 billion shares worth N38.644 billion in 36,138 deals on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited. In the preceding trading week, a total of 2.425 billion shares valued at N22.665 billion were transacted by investors in 33,230 deals. It was observed that financial stocks led the activity chart as usual with 1.721 billion units worth N18.281 billion in 17,151 deals, contributing 67.68 per cent and 47.30 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively. Conglomerates equities trailed with 200.584 million units valued at N1.546 billion in

By Adedapo Adesanya Oil fell on Monday as traders approached the market with caution over plans by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) to cut production in the first quarter of 2024. Brent crude futures lost 85 cents or 1.08 per cent to finish at $78.03 a barrel while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures depreciated by $1.03 or 1.39 per cent to sell at $73.04 per barrel. OPEC+ announced voluntary production cuts at its meeting last week and this has raised doubts about whether or not producers would fully implement them. Investors

By Dipo Olowookere All is now set for the 2018 edition of Africa Banking & Finance Conference, which begins on Tuesday, April 10 and 11 in Lagos. The theme of the programme is ‘Sustaining the Momentum in the Financial Inclusion Agenda’ and notable figures in the industry have been pencilled down to grace the occasion. The conference is expected to trigger practical, regional and national investments in initiatives that will support the adoption of structural and policy changes to facilitate financial inclusion for all. During the conference, workable and implementable plan of action would also be initiated. Those expected to

By Dipo Olowookere President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Mr Mohammed Abubakar Adamu, an Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of Police, to act as the Inspector General of Police (IGP). Mr Adama replaces Mr Ibrahim Idris, who retired from service on Tuesday, January 15, 2019 after clocking 60 today. A statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday by the police spokesman, Mr Jimoh Moshood, said Mr Idris has been directed by the President to handover to Mr Adamu. “The President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria has consequently directed that the outgoing Inspector General of Police, IGP Ibrahim Kpotun

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The board of Ellah Lakes Plc has agreed to a business combination with an agro company, Telluria Limited, which is expected to strengthen Ellah Lakes’ balance sheet, restore customer confidence, provide access to new markets while enhancing operations that will ultimately drive profitability and deliver value to shareholders. This decision was taken at the board meeting of the firm held on Wednesday, June 12, 2019 and a Director in Telluria, Mr Chuka Mordi, was appointed to be the new managing director of Ellah Lakes Plc effective June 12, 2019. Mr Mordi takes over from Mr Frank Ellah,

By Dipo Olowookere Passengers seeking to travel to Europe, especially Germany could not hide their joy when Lufthansa resumed flight operations on Thursday, December 3, 2020, after an eight-month suspension. The respected airline again welcomed its passengers yesterday at the Lagos airport on board of its resumed nonstop flight from Frankfurt/Germany. The leading German carrier will offer up to five weekly departures from Lagos to Frankfurt and from Tuesday, December 8, 2020, it will also connect Abuja with three weekly departures. All long-haul flights depart from Nigeria in the evening as overnight flights, arriving in Lufthansa’s main hub Frankfurt in

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The desire to deepen financial literacy among children has made the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) Group Plc to expose some students to the different capital market opportunities. This was done last Thursday through a virtual X-Tour to commemorate the annual Global Money Week, with the students of Children’s International School honoured with the digital closing gong ceremony to bring trading activities on the exchange to a close at 2:30pm. The theme of the Global Money Week for 2021 was Take Care of Yourself, Take Care of Your Money with the slogan, Learn. Save. Earn. The Global Money

By Jerome-Mario Utomi Aside from the time-honoured belief that the poverty of any country is felt by the quality and quantity of food to its citizens, it is important to state abinitio that this piece was principally inspired by two separate but related promptings. First is the study report which among other observations states that over the past century in the United States of America (USA), there exists a shift in the locations and occupations of urban consumers. It explained that in 1900, about 40% of the total population was employed on the farm, and 60% lived in rural areas.

By Dipo Olowookere In order to reduce the wasteful use of allocations of local councils in Nigeria by Governors, the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) has set out some rules. In a notice yesterday, the agency said the new rules will take effect from June 1, 2019. In the new guidelines, the amount standing to the credit of local government councils of a state shall be distributed among the local government councils of that state” and not for other purposes. It was emphasised from next month, “Any bank that allows any transaction from any local government account without monies first

By Dipo Olowookere On Friday, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) released $254.3 million to the retail segment of the Nigerian inter-bank foreign exchange market. The amount was released by the central bank to meet the forex needs of companies in the airline, agricultural, raw materials and petroleum sectors. Spokesman of the CBN, Mr Isaac Okorafor, noted that the amount was provided after the apex bank received bids from forex dealers at a retail auction on Wednesday. Mr Okorafor said the $254.3 million was part of the interventions of the central bank to boost forex liquidity. He promised that all