Naira Sustains Stability at FX Market, Bitcoin Sells for N6.0m Monday

By Adedapo Adesanya  The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is planning to use oil traders to fund a $3 billion loan to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, which is aimed at stabilising the weakening Naira. According to a Reuters report, the Cairo-based bank has made contact with traders to gauge their interest in lending their support to the oil-backed loan to Nigeria’s national oil company. The sources who spoke to the publication also disclosed that Afreximbank has made an attempt to come up with the terms that they will present to trading houses. “There is a lot of interest,

By Adedapo Adesanya  Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) has secured a $300 million loan from the Export-Import Bank of China (CEXIM) to drive increased trade finance and investment across the African continent, fostering economic growth and development. The infrastructure solutions provider on the continent announced the successful signing of the landmark agreement on the sidelines of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) Annual meetings in Egypt. The 3-year credit facility is a significant development in AFC’s long-standing relationship with CEXIM. The two institutions have collaborated since 2018, with AFC receiving $400 million in bilateral loans from CEXIM to date. According to

By Adedapo Adesanya The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has raised the alarm over alleged secret reintroduction of fuel subsidy payments by the federal government. In late May, after taking the oath of office, President Bola Tinubu announced the total removal of subsidy on petrol, which saw prices jump to over N600. The removal of fuel subsidy and the resulting increment in the pump of petrol by almost 300 per cent had quadrupled the inflation rate in the country and affected the purchasing power of Nigerians, especially the middle class and low-income earners. It was expected that as

By Adedapo Adesanya Foreign trading and investment firm, Risevest, has acquired Chaka, a digital trading platform. According to Techcabal, which first broke the news, the deal, which was for an undisclosed sum, will see both entities operate as different products, though the capitalisation table of the acquiree will be updated in due course. Speaking on this, Mr Tosin Osinbodu, Chaka’s founder, said, “I’m excited about how Chaka’s product will evolve and how we’re going to learn from the Risevest team.” “With booming growth in many nations around the world, investors can now own a stake in the growth of other

By Destiny Ugorji Frontline governorship aspirant of the Young Progressive Party (YPP) in Imo state, Dr Linus Okorie, has reportedly picked the party’s nomination form. In a statement signed by the acting Communication Coordinator of the Imo Nke Anyi Movement, a political mass movement promoting Mr Okorie’s gubernatorial project, Ikechukwu Anyanwu and made available to newsmen in Owerri, the group said the governorship hopeful was at the party’s National Secretariat at 10am Friday, to pick his declaration of interest and Nomination Forms to contest for the state’s number one citizen position. The statement reads in part: “join us as we

By Dipo Olowookere It was a night of honour for founder of Interswitch Group, Mr Mitchell Elegbe, and some others at the 2019 African Banker Awards held in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. He was among those who won awards at an event held on the fringes of the Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank (AfDB), establishing himself as the Oscars of African banking and finance industry in Africa. At the gala night, Mr Elegbe emerged winner of the African Banker Icon award. His firm, a payments service provider, has been predicted to be Africa’s first Africa-led unicorn – tech start

By Adedapo Adesanya A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on Tuesday ordered the permanent forfeiture of the 2,149 pieces of jewellery and a customised gold iPhone, valued at $40 million, recovered from the Abuja home of Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke, a former Minister of Petroleum Resources. In Tuesday’s ruling, Justice Nicholas Nicholas Oweibo held that Mrs Alison-Madueke, through her lawyer, Mr Awa Kalu (SAN), failed to give a concrete reason why the items should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had told the judge that the jewellery and iPhone were reasonably

By Dipo Olowookere The total value of shares on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) as captured by the market capitalisation depreciated on Monday by N55 billion. The loss, about 0.44 per cent, was influenced by profit-taking activities of investors, who quickly rebalanced their portfolios after the gains recorded in the past sessions. This led to the reduction of the market capitalisation yesterday to N12.625 trillion from N12.680 trillion it closed last Friday when the bourse appreciated by 0.12 per cent. Business Post reports that the losses came from 17 stocks led by Mobil Oil as the share

By Dipo Olowookere United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Stuart Symington, has been summoned by the Federal Government to explain what President Donald Trump meant with his description of African countries, including Nigeria, as ‘shithole’. Since Mr Trump allegedly made the remarks last week, he has come under heavy criticisms from different quarters, including from his own country. The US President was said to have made the remarks at a private meeting with lawmakers on immigration on Thursday. A US Senator, who attended the gathering, said Mr Trump used “vile, vulgar” language, including repeatedly using the word “shithole” when speaking

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Despite recording shortfall in its financial statements for the full year 2017, the board of Total Nigeria Plc has announced the payment of dividend to its shareholders. The oil giant, in its earnings details released to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) last week, disclosed that it would pay a total of N4.75 billion to its shareholders, representing N14 per 50 kobo ordinary share subject to appropriate withholding tax. The board of Total Nigeria further said the approval of the dividend would be paid to shareholders whose names appear in the Register of Members as at the close

Cassava Smartech and Comviva have bagged two major awards – Global Telecoms Awards (GLOTEL) in the “Mobile Money Mastery” category and the AfricaCom awards in the “Fintech Innovation” category for EcoCash Merchant Payments solution, powered by mobiquity® Money. The GLOTEL Awards 2018 were presented recently in London, while the AfricaCom Awards were presented during the recently concluded AfricaCom event in Cape Town, South Africa. This is the second consecutive AfricaCom award for both Cassava Smartech and Comviva jointly in the Fintech Innovation category. EcoCash Merchant Payments extends the success of EcoCash beyond money transfer and airtime recharge. It allows EcoCash

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has removed the restrictions on domiciliary accounts and has increased the cash deposits to $10,000 daily. The bank confirmed this development in a statement on Sunday after an extraordinary Bankers’ Committee meeting to discuss the new foreign exchange (FX) policy aimed to converge the various exchange rate regimes in the country. The CBN said domiciliary account holders must be allowed full access to their funds. “Domiciliary account holders are permitted to utilize cash deposits not exceeding $10,000 per day or its equivalent via telegraphic transfer,” a part of the notice from