NASD Exchange Equity Market Size Falls to N499.11bn

By Adedapo Adesanya Brent crude closed below $75 per barrel on Wednesday, precisely selling at $74.39 per barrel after shedding $2.81 or 3.5 per cent. It was the lowest level for the crude oil grade since June, as a larger-than-expected rise in US fuel inventories added to worries about fuel demand, also pressuring the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures by $2.74  or 3.8 per cent in the midweek session to $69.58 a barrel. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a crude oil inventory draw of 4.6 million barrels for the week to December 1. A sizeable inventory build

By Adedapo Adesanya The President of the Dangote Group, the owners of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals plant, Mr Aliko Dangote, has said that following the purchase of 1 million barrels of Agbami crude grade from Shell International Trading and Shipping Company Limited (STASCO), it will be looking to ramp up its production in coming months. The 650,000 barrels per day capacity refinery is not expected to hit full capacity until 2025, but with a gradual ramping, it is expected that it will begin with begin producing up to 370,000 barrels per day of diesel and jet fuel. “We

By Adedapo Adesanya African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has announced that the third Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2023) held in Cairo from November 9-15 witnessed the conclusion of business deals and transactions valued at $43.8 billion. The lender said in the final tallies released in Cairo, the organisers of the continental event said that the amount represented the value of 426 deals concluded in 21 sectors covering 52 countries. At a press conference to announce the results, Mrs Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President (Intra-African Trade Bank) at Afreximbank, also announced that 130 countries participated in the trade fair, which attracted 1,939 exhibitors

By Adedapo Adesanya The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has cautioned Nigerians to be wary of fake Naira notes currently in circulation, vowing to prosecute those engaged in the illicit acts. The apex bank in a release signed by Mrs Hakama Sidi Ali, the acting Director of Corporate Communications, said the counterfeit notes have been spread by some individuals for transactions in food markets and other places where commerce takes place across the country, noting that this is a punishable offence. “The attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been drawn to the circulation of counterfeit banknotes, especially

By Adedapo Adesanya A hybrid solar power solutions provider, Daystar Power, has signed an agreement with Nigerian Breweries to install and operate a 4.2MWp solar plant and 2MWh battery storage system that will help the firm reduce its high energy costs. The installation will be one of the largest solar and battery storage projects for an industrial manufacturer in Nigeria. The hybrid solar solution will generate 5,249 MWh of electricity – 42 per cent of its daytime power consumption – every year at Nigerian Breweries’ Lagos brewery. According to a statement, the integration of solar into the factory’s energy mix

By Adedapo Adesanya Crude oil prices returned bullish on Wednesday after the United States Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a crude oil inventory draw of 4.8 million barrels for the week to February 4. The agency said US crude stocks fell by 4.8 million barrels last week to 410.4 million barrels, their lowest since October 2018, while overall product supplied, a proxy for demand, hit a record 21.9 million barrels per day over the past four weeks, government data showed. A day earlier, the American Petroleum Institute (API) surprised the market with an inventory draw. The draw, estimated by the

By Adedapo Adesanya The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has again extended the ongoing strike by four weeks with effect from Monday, August 1, 2022, to give the government enough time to resolve all outstanding issues with the lecturers. This was disclosed by the president of the union, Mr Emmanuel Osodeke, in a statement on Monday. The ASUU leader stated that the body conveyed an emergency National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting at the University of Abuja on Sunday. “Following extensive deliberations and taking cognisance of the government’s past failures to abide by its own timelines in addressing issues raised

By Aduragbemi Omiyale Centurion Registrars Limited has been dropped as the registrar of C&I Leasing Plc, a statement from the company has confirmed. Centurion Registrars was replaced by C&I Leasing with Cordros Registrars Limited, a notice signed by the company secretary, Mbanugo Udenze & Co, stated. It was disclosed that the appointment of the new registrar became effective from January 1, 2022. “C&I Leasing Plc hereby notifies Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), its shareholders and the investing public of the appointment of Cordros Registrars Limited as its Registrars, share registration and data management service provider. “Cordros Registrars Limited replaces Centurion Registrars

By Dipo Olowookere The management of Nigerian Breweries Plc has announced the commencement of the sale of its commercial paper worth N20 billion. The corporate debt note, according to a notice issued by the firm to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), is offered in two maturities; 180 days and 270 days. The brewery giant intends to raise about N20 billion from the exercise, which would be used to meeting the short-term funding needs of the organisation. According to the disclosure issued last week, the commercial papers are the 9th and 10th series of the N100 billion commercial paper programme launched

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The latest findings from the Africa Trade Barometer Report 2022 have indicated that the macroeconomic stability in Nigeria has improved significantly, and business confidence has been boosted, with several small businesses growing through prudent fiscal and monetary policies. This report was released by Stanbic IBTC Holdings, a member of Standard Bank Group, and it assessed key economic indicators in Africa, highlighting several noteworthy developments across 10 African countries. According to the survey, Nigeria is placed eighth out of the 10 countries on the Africa Trade Barometer (ATB) after dropping one position (sixth to seventh place) on the

By Modupe Gbadeyanka There are strong indications that Smile Communications Nigeria Limited’s failure to disclose that its Nigerian shareholders have ongoing and challenging debt to a consortium of banks is threatening its position as the reserve bidder for the sale of 9mobile. The telco data company has been accused of not only presenting false information in the bidding round but that is now attempting to derail the ongoing sale of the telecoms company by Barclays Africa having lost its attempt to become the preferred bidder. Unsatisfied with the ongoing bid process, Smile Communications had on May 9, 2018, written the

By Dipo Olowookere The second edition of the Capital Market Committee (CMC) meeting in 2017 is scheduled to commence today, Tuesday, August 15, 2017. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which conveys the meeting, disclosed that the meeting will hold at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos by 10am. During the meeting, the capital market regulator stated that it would also consider reports from six technical committees. The committees are Commodity Ecosystem; Liquidity Enhancement; Market Wide Technology Infrastructure; Multiple Account; e-Dividend and Direct Cash Settlement (DCS); New Listing; and Financial Literacy. Furthermore, the SEC Statistical Bulletin would be launched