Naira Appreciates to N738/$1 at I&E Amid 138.6% Surge in FX Trades

By Dipo Olowookere Profit-taking persisted on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, as investors refused to tone down their profit-taking activities. It was observed that the market is gradually entering panic mode due to macroeconomic instability in the country, especially with the exchange rate of the Naira to the Dollar going above N1,000 in the parallel market. A stockbroker with one of the leading brokerage firms in the country, who asked not to be named, said the local bourse was witnessing panic selling due to investors liquidating their shares for Dollars. “This trend will continue for a while

By Adedapo Adesanya The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.38 per cent on Friday, September 30, with N4.16 billion added to the value of the bourse, closing at N1.105 trillion compared with Thursday’s value of N1.101 trillion. The market witnessed the improvement a day after the shares of VFD Group were yanked off the trading platform, with the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI) closing higher by 3.06 points to settle at 815.65 basis points versus the previous day’s 812.59 basis points. There were three gainers led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which improved by N1.31 to close at

By Dipo Olowookere The board of Capital Hotels Plc has announced the creation of an escrow account for the payment of about N1.6 billion to minority shareholders of the company. The hospitality firm is leaving the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited after years on the nation’s main stock exchange. In a notice signed by Alex Ugwuanyi, the organisation said the account was created with CardinalStone Registrars Limited and has been sufficiently funded for payment “to shareholders” who “have accepted to exit” the firm by selling their holdings. Recall that in March 2023, shareholders of Capital Hotels approved the request of the

By Adedapo Adesanya The Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, has cleared the air regarding recent reports on the transfer of funds to the Joint Tax Board (JTB) by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) under the erstwhile chairman, Mr Muhammad Nami, for the tax reform committee. In a statement on Friday, he revealed that N5 billion was paid to the board to fund activities of the team set up by President Bola Tinubu, noting that “The committee’s budget includes provisions for a national Data for Tax project which the JTB had been

By Adedapo Adesanya Nigeria is reportedly among countries the United States under the President Donald Trump administration is planning to restrict her citizens into its territory if an executive order expanding visa restrictions to seven countries is finally signed. The other countries include Belarus, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Sudan and Tanzania. According to reports, the Trump administration might not place full visa bans on these countries as the restriction may be limited to certain types of visas like the business or visitor visa popularly referred to as B1/B2 visa type. It was also stated that Mr Trump is expected to announce

By Dipo Olowookere Foremost airline in Nigeria, Arik Air, has been taken over by the Federal Government through the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON). The takeover was announced by the government on Thursday following crisis rocking the company. Last December, some aggrieved workers shutdown the company due to its inability to pay them for months. Speaking on the takeover today, AMCON explained that the move is to instil sanity in the country’s aviation sector and prevent a major catastrophe. Spokesman of the agency, Mr Jude Nwauzor said, “The development will afford Arik Airlines, which is the largest local carrier

By Dipo Olowookere The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has threatened to sanction capital market operators (CMOs) found to be frustrating the e-dividend mandate process. A few years ago, the agency, as part of efforts to find a solution to the perennial unclaimed dividend in the nation’s stock market, introduced the electronic registration and payment of the cash reward to the bank accounts of investors. But despite this, some shareholders still find it difficult to get their return on investment because of some bottlenecks faced when processing the e-dividend mandate form. Speaking at a post-Capital Market Committee (CMC) meeting press

By Investors Hub The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a sharply lower opening on Wednesday, with stocks likely to give back ground after trending higher in recent sessions. Concerns about the economic impact of a global trade war are likely to weigh on the markets after President Donald Trump?s administration proposed new tariffs on China. Trump has ordered U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to begin the process of imposing tariffs of 10 percent on an additional $200 billion of Chinese imports. The move comes after the U.S. imposed a 25 percent tariff on $34 billion worth of Chinese

By Dipo Olowookere In fulfilment of his campaign promise that his administration would come up with a new housing policy that will make all residents in the state have access to shelter irrespective of their social status, tribe or income, Lagos State government has unveiled affordable housing units spread across the three Senatorial Districts. Speaking at the unveiling of the new housing policy in Epe, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode stated that the policy was in line with the set objectives of his administration to make life more comfortable and easy for all Lagosians irrespective of their status, tribe or level of

By Dipo Olowookere The nation’s stock exchange rebounded on Tuesday by 0.02 per cent on the back of fresh bargain hunting by investors, especially in banking and energy equities. Strong indications that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will retain key monetary rates yesterday also inspired the renewed confidence investors had in the market. At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited rose by 11.24 points to 45,939.51 points from 45,928.27 points, while the market capitalisation increased by N6 billion to N24.755 trillion from N24.749 trillion. On the price movement chart, there were

By Dipo Olowookere The management of BUA Cement Plc has commenced the process of sourcing loans for the expansion of its plant in Kalambaina, Sokoto State. The board of the cement giant confirmed this in a statement filed to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Monday. The Sokoto factory of BUA Cement currently has the capacity to produce 2 million tonnes of cement per annum but if it is able to secure the loans if requires, it would be able to produce 8 million tonnes per annum. In the notice issued yesterday, the organisation said it was in talks with