NASD OTC Exchange Unveils Guidelines for Rights Issue

By Aduragbemi Omiyale One of the players in the personal healthcare and consumer goods sectors, PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc, has published a list of its shareholders with unclaimed dividends. Unclaimed dividends are cash rewards given to investors, mainly from the profits from the company’s operations, but are yet to be collected by the beneficiaries. This has been a major source of sleepless nights for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which is working to bring down the number of unclaimed dividends. It has been reported that the value of unclaimed dividends in the nation’s stock market is over N185 billion.

By Adedapo Adesanya Nigerian crude output fell by 30,000 barrels per day to 1.43 million barrels per day in November, according to data from an S&P Global Commodity Insight. This was lower than the 1.46 million barrels produced in October by Africa’s largest oil producer and 312,000 barrels per day short of its 1.742 million barrels per day target in 2023. Angola, Africa’s second-largest oil producer, saw output drop 20,000 barrels per day to 1.13 million barrels per day, according to the survey, compared with its quota of 1.46 million barrels per day. The drops impacted the wider output of

By Dipo Olowookere The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said Nigeria’s revenue–to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio of about 9 per cent was too low to trigger the economic growth projected by President Bola Tinubu in his Renewed Hope Agenda. Addressing journalists at its last press briefing for 2023 on Thursday, the global lender said the administration of Mr Tinubu must boost the government’s revenue to have funds to achieve his goals. On May 29, 2023, Mr Tinubu took over from Mr Muhammadu Buhari, promising to jump-start the economy and work tirelessly to address food security, end hunger, eradicate poverty, create

By Adedapo Adesanya  The Nigerian Naira weakened by 17.9 per cent or N144.49 against the American Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Wednesday, December 6 as confidence waned in the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) ability to boost the market with enough foreign exchange (FX). Yesterday, the exchange rate of the Naira to the Dollar closed at N951.22/$1 in the official market compared with the preceding session’s rate of N806.73/$1. This happened as the forex turnover slightly went down by 4.9 per cent or $7.05 million to $135.58 million from the $142.63 million reported in the

By Ashemiriogwa Emmanuel  The police command in Kwara State has put in place a series of security arrangements across the length and breadth of the state for a safe Independence Day celebration. A statement released by the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) for the command, Mr Ajayi Okasanmi, on Thursday, disclosed that 1,500 policemen and women have been deployed to provide security today. According to the statement, “The Commissioner of Police Kwara State Command, CP Tuesday Assayomo, has also directed Area Commanders of the Eight Area Commands, DPOs and all Tactical teams in the state to embark on aggressive patrols

By Dipo Olowookere League leaders, Manchester United, have resigned their former striker, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, after he was released by the club last season due to a knee injury he suffered during a Europa League semi-final match. The injury had put his career on hold, but the 35-year-old former Swede, who made 46 appearances and scored 28 goals for United last season, has been recovery very fast. Speaking on the development, Ibrahimovic said, “I have been working hard and will continue to do so to make sure I am in the best possible condition for my return to the pitch. “It

By Timi Olubiyi, PhD The rising cost of living is impacting globally but differently and it is clearly evident that expenses and bills continue to rise steeply. The cost of food, household consumables and other essentials has skyrocketed in recent times from Cairo to Botswana, Delhi, Shanghai, London, Houston, Mexico City, Johannesburg, Mumbai, Dublin and Manila, name it. This price hike has been on the increase as part of the consequences of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), and this continues to shrink the available disposable income of the majority altogether. In the Nigerian context, a loaf of bread that was N350

By Adedapo Adesanya One of Africa’s conglomerate, BUA Group, has announced its plans to tap into the energy sector by building a 200,000-barrel per day capacity refinery in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. The group, a dominant player in the foods, mining and infrastructure business, has already signed an agreement with Axens of France for the supply of process technologies for what will be a 10 million tonnes per annum mega refinery and petrochemicals facility. Set for a completion date of 2024, the multibillion-dollar integrated refinery and petrochemical plant aims at producing Euro-V fuels and Polypropylene for the domestic and regional

By Dipo Olowookere Chairman of BUA Cement, Mr Abdul Samad Rabiu, has hinted that his company plans to increase its production in order to expand its market share. Business Post reports that BUA Cement is the second-largest cement manufacturer in Nigeria by volume after Dangote Cement with cement plants in Sokoto and Edo States. The firm is currently building a cement factory in Sokoto State and it is expected to be operational in 2021. This week, Mr Rabiu led the BUA Cement team on a courtesy visit to the Adamawa State Governor, Mr Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, at the Government House

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Last weekend, some African Heads of State and Government, Ministers of Health and Finance, business leaders and global partners gathered to launch a new initiative aimed at increasing commitments for health, improving the impact of spending and ensuring the achievement of universal health coverage across Africa’s 55 countries. With the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development just over a decade away, President of Rwanda, Mr Paul Kagame, who doubles as the African Union Chairman, convened the Africa Leadership Meeting: Investing in Health to encourage African governments and global partners to translate commitments into measurable actions, align spending with

By Adedapo Adesanya The crude oil market fell on Tuesday after comments from US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell stoked rate hike fears, with Brent crude futures shedding $2.89 or 3.4 per cent to settle at $83.29 a barrel, as the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures dropped by $2.88 or 3.6 per cent to close at $77.58 per barrel. Mr Powell told Congress that the US central bank would likely need to increase rates more than expected in light of recent strong economic data. This is in response to recent strong data and is prepared to move in

By Dipo Olowookere On Wednesday, June 26, 2019, the Debt Management Office (DMO) will auction Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) bonds worth N100 billion at the local debt market. A circular issued by the debt office on Tuesday said the papers would be offered in three maturities; 5-year, 10-year and 30-year. According to the disclosure, the DMO is offering N30 billion worth of the 5-year tenor at a coupon of 12.75 percent, N40 billion worth of the 10-year maturity at a coupon of 14.55 percent and N30 billion worth of the 30-year tenor at a coupon of 14.80 percent. For