Naira Falls to N435/$1 at I&E, Triggering Devaluation Fears

By Dipo Olowookere The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited commenced the first trading session in December 2023 on a bullish note, with a marginal growth of 0.08 per cent. Sustained buying pressure kept Nigerian stocks in the positive territory, extending the dominance of the bulls on Customs Street, though the turnover waned. Business Post observed that investors cherry-picked equities in the banking and the energy sectors during the session, leaving them rising by 1.14 per cent and 0.05 per cent, respectively. However, the insurance counter lost 1.10 per cent, the consumer goods index depreciated by 0.08 per cent, and the industrial

By Adedapo Adesanya Oil slumped by more than 2 per cent on Friday as traders showed scepticism about the depth of supply cuts by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) as well as concerns about sluggish global manufacturing activity. Brent crude went down by $1.98 or 2.45 per cent to close at $78.88 a barrel as the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude dropped $1.89 or 2.49 per cent to sell for $74.07 a barrel. For the week, Brent posted a decline of about 2.1 per cent, while WTI lost more than 1.9 per cent.

By Adedapo Adesanya The trio of Newrest Asl Plc, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, and Acorn Petroleum Plc made the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange appreciate by 0.14 per cent on Friday, December 1. The three gainers pressed down the 8 Kobo loss reported by UBN Property Plc, which closed the trading session at N1.52 per unit compared with the preceding day’s value of N1.60 per unit. During the trading day, Newrest Plc gained N1.46 to close at N16.10 per share compared with Thursday’s closing price of N14.64 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc moved up by 60 Kobo to end the

By Dipo Olowookere The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has asked Nigeria to remove trade prohibitions and market restrictions in line with global free market policy that facilitates free trade across borders. This formed the crux of media interaction held yesterday in Abuja with a delegation from the WTO which is in Nigeria for the country’s 5th Trade Policy Review. The Counsellor, Head – African and Management on Trade Policies Review Division of the WTO, Jacques Degbelo, said the goal of WTO is to ensure that all countries promote exports but in doing so, no country should restrict imports. “Trade means

By Dipo Olowookere The sum of N250.1 billion was mopped up from the financial system on Friday by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), though less than the nearly N1 trillion inflows during the session. Business Post reports that the mopping up was done by the apex bank via the sale of its liquidity management tool via the Open Market Operations (OMO). It had offered N150 billion worth of the instrument for sale, but it eventually allotted N250.5 billion to subscribers. The bills were auctioned by the central bank in three maturities; N20 billion worth of the 88-day bill, N30

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The construction of an Africa Quality Assurance Centre (AQAC) by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has commenced in Ogun State, Nigeria. The centre is the first in a series of quality assurance facilities Afreximbank intends to establish across Africa to support industrialisation across the continent by ensuring that products from the continent are manufactured to international standards to enable them to participate in intra-African and global trade. The AQAC is strategically located on a 5-hectare plot of land allocated by the Ogun State Government along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. The project site is 65km from Lagos, Nigeria’s main

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The much-awaited forensic audit of Oando Plc by a consortium auditors led by Akintola Williams Deloitte is about to begin. This is because the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has written to the firm to commence the exercise as soon as possible. Addressing newsmen on Tuesday in Abuja, Acting Director-General of SEC, Mr Abdul Zubair, explained that the audit can now begin since Oando has withdrawn the two suits filed against the apex capital market regulator. “Following the dismissal and striking out of the suits, SEC has duly informed the firm of [Akintola Williams] Deloitte to proceed

By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh Russia has to acknowledge the difference between illusions and realities in the geopolitical games. It has to recognize and thoroughly analyse and manage the current economic rivalry and competition among foreign players across Africa. It has, over these several years, been taking steps to uplift or broaden economic cooperation inside Africa. In late June, Interfax News Agency reported, sourcing Roscosmos Head Yury Borisov, that Russia would sign a full-scale space cooperation agreement with Africa during the July summit. “We are touring African states ahead of this forum (Russia-Africa) and have agreed with the colleague from the

By Adedapo Adesanya Nigeria’s inflation rate rose to 11.98 percent in December 2019, for the fourth consecutive month. The latest figure is 0.13 percent points higher than the 11.85 percent rate recorded in November 2019. The Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in its consumer price index (CPI) report for December 2019 released on Friday, January 17, 2019, stated that increases were recorded in all Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose (COICOP) divisions that yielded the headline index. “On a month-on-month basis, the headline index increased by 0.85 percent in December 2019, this is 0.17 percent rate lower than 1.02

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Over 100,000 plastic bottles have been taken away from Lagos shorelines by Rite Foods Limited through its sponsored riteonthebeach initiative aimed at cleaning the country’s beaches. Launched in August 2021 by Rite Foods’ Managing Director, Mr Seleem Adegunwa, the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) project went live in the Lagos beach communities in January 2022 with a success story. This campaign by the market leader in Nigeria’s food and beverage industry is geared towards promoting environmental conservation. To date, the communities have removed over 100,000 bottles from their beaches, with school children taking the responsibility of dropping off

By Aduragbemi Omiyale Members of the Finance Houses Association of Nigeria (FHAN) have elected the founder of DLM Capital Group, Dr Sonnie Babatunde Ayere, as their president. FHAN is the umbrella and self-regulatory body of all finance companies licenced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to operate in the country. The group was formed on April 11, 1989, as a professional trade group to advance the business interests of its members, currently at 102, institute sound and ethical corporate governance practices, maintain a standard of conduct for operators, and ensure members’ compliance with statutory regulatory requirements. At the election