By Adedapo Adesanya

The Minister of Steel, Mr Shuaibu Audu, says Nigeria is weighing measures to cut loses totalling $4 billion annually in foreign exchange (FX) to imported steel products.

He disclosed this during a press conference on Thursday to announce the maiden National Steel Summit coming up on July 15, 2025, assuring Nigerians that before the expiration of the first term of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, the first section of the Ajaokuta Steel Plant should kickstart operation.

He stated that President Tinubu has been actively working to ensure the utilisation of the abundant raw steel materials in Nigeria and the emergence of a steel sector in the country.

Private players like Africa’s richest man, Mr Aliko Dangote, had initially planned to foray into steel manufacturing, but abandoned plans to enter Nigeria’s steel industry after he said he was facing allegations of increased monopoly in Nigeria’s core sectors. He already has interests in food, energy, and cement sectors.

Mr Dangote earlier set his sights on the Nigerian steel market as a possible venture in the future after successful inputs in food, cement, and energy.

But last year, the billionaire businessman explained that the company’s board decided to avoid the steel industry to prevent accusations of attempting to monopolize it

“About doing a new business which we announced, that is the steel, our board has decided that we shouldn’t do the steel because if we do the steel business, we will be called all sorts of names like monopoly, and imports will be encouraged. So we don’t want to go into that,” he said during an interview at the Afreximbank Afro-Caribbean Trade & Investment Forum in Nassau, The Bahamas, in June 2024.

Mr Dangote called on other Nigerians to invest in the industry to help boost the country’s economy.

Despite the local material wealth, 70 per cent of Nigeria’s yearly steel demand of around 10 million metric tonnes is imported.

Nigeria spends the $4 billion on steel imports annually despite having around 74 steel plants and fabricators across the country, according to the Ministry of Steel Development.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The market capitalisation of NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange crossed the N2 trillion milestone again on Thursday, July 10 after the bourse expanded by 0.62 per cent.

During the trading session, the value of all stocks on the NASD exchange went up by N12.4 billion to finish at N2.005 trillion compared with the preceding day’s N1.992 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) increased by 21.18 points to settle at 3,424.19 points, in contrast to the previous session’s 3,403.01 points.

The alternative stock exchange recorded four price gainers at the session and two price losers.

FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained N3.64 to close at N63.89 per unit versus N60.25 per unit, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc added N1.17 to end at N32.44 per share versus N31.50 per share, Geo-Fluids Plc grew by 40 Kobo to N4.79 per unit from N4.39 per unit, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc chalked up 1 Kobo to quote at 35 Kobo per share compared with the 34 Kobo per share it ended a day earlier.

On the flip side, Afriland Properties Plc lost N1.67 to trade at N19.17 per unit compared with the N17.50 per unit it was sold at midweek, and UBN Property Plc depreciated by 1 Kobo to sell for N1.91 per share compared with the previous day’s N1.92 per share.

Yesterday, the volume of trades declined by 20.1 per cent to 3.08 million units from the 3.9 million units recorded a day earlier, but the value of transactions appreciated by 53.7 per cent to N25.1 million from N16.1 million, and the number of deals increased by 29.2 per cent to 31 deals from 24 deals.

Okitipupa Plc finished the session as the most traded stock by value (year-to-date) with 153.8 million units valued at N4.9 billion, trailed by Air Liquide Plc with 507.2 million units sold for N4.2 billion, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 42.0 million units worth N1.8 billion.

Impresit Bakolori Plc closed the day as the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 536.9 million units sold for N524.8 million, followed by Air Liquide Plc with 507.2 million worth N4.2 billion, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 270.7 million units sold for N486.0 million.

By Adedapo Adesanya

Pressure was on the Nigerian Naira in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Thursday as it gave up 84 Kobo or 0.06 per cent to the US Dollar to close at N1,526.60/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of  N1,525.76/$1.

Similarly, it weakened against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N3.14 to trade at N2,070.29/£1 versus Wednesday’s closing price of N2,067.15/£1 and against the Euro, it lost N1.55 to settle at N1,783.26/€1 compared with the N1,781.71/€1 it was traded at midweek.

However, in the parallel market window, the Naira maintained stability against the greenback at the trading session, closing at N1,530/$1, the same rate it was exchanged a day earlier.

Despite its poor performance in the spot market, the Nigerian currency has endured intense pressure and it is projected to maintain relative stability within the range of N1,550 to N1,635 per Dollar for the rest of 2025, supported by improved investor confidence and planned external borrowings.

According to CardinalStone Research, Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves will close the year at around $41 billion based on external loans worth $3.2 billion, which the Federal Government aims to secure in the second half of 2025 to meet fiscal obligations.

Additional capital inflows from portfolio investors are expected to continue coming, having recently supported the balance and pushed reserves above the $37.27 billion recorded at the end of June.

However, reserves have faced pressure due to sizeable debt repayments and ongoing interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to keep the Naira stable in the face of external shocks.

Meanwhile, the crypto market buzzed on Thursday, with Bitcoin (BTC) reaching new all-time highs after it gained 6.1 per cent to close at $118,196.20, triggering a splendid rally and causing Ethereum price to surpass the $3,000 psychological level.

This come as traders await over $5 billion in crypto options to expire on Friday for cues on market direction in the coming days.

Cardano (ADA) jumped by 12.9 per cent to $0.7010, Dogecoin (DOGE) jumped by 10.2 per cent to $0.1995, Ethereum (ETH) appreciated by 8.1 per cent to $3,017.95, Ripple (XRP) grew by 7.3 per cent to $2.59, Litecoin (LTC) rose by 6.1 per cent to $96.13, Solana (SOL) added 5.3 per cent to close at $165.60, and Binance Coin (BNB) soared by 3.0 per cent to $692.95, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 apiece.