NASD Sinks Deeper into Danger Zone by 0.29%

By Dipo Olowookere The bears tightened their grip on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Tuesday, chopping off 0.34 per cent from the local bourse despite assurances from Mr Yemi Cardoso he would endeavour to ensure the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) restores its independence. Mr Cardoso was confirmed as the new CBN Governor by the Senate yesterday and he promised to formulate evidence-based monetary policies, a departure from his predecessor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, who was accused of romancing the President and coming up with trial-and-error policies. Business Post reports that investors were more interested in trimming their exposure to

By Adedapo Adesanya The new leadership of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) signalled no confidence to traders and investors as the Naira was further dealt a heavy blow at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) and the Peer-to-Peer (P2P) arms of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Monday, September 25, though it maintained stability against the United States Dollar in the parallel market. In the official market, the Naira lost 3.41 per cent or N25.49 against the greenback to finish at N773.25/$1 compared with last Friday’s closing rate of N747.76/$1, as the value of forex transactions went down by 58.3

By Adedapo Adesanya Ultrasonic sensing technology company, Fluenta, has completed work on the Dangote Refinery in Nigeria, Africa’s biggest oil refinery, installing 18 ultrasonic flare gas meters on large pipelines around the plant. This company is using its technology to aid Nigeria’s flare gas reduction efforts and with Dangote Refinery set to begin operations soon, according to its management recently, this could be a step to fix inaccurate measurements of gas flaring. Nigeria currently imports refined petroleum products for its use, even though it is Africa’s biggest oil producer and with Dangote Refinery, the world’s largest single-train refinery capable of

By Adedapo Adesanya The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has alerted Nigerians to an organic apple and blackcurrant juice from Australia, warning them against the consumption of the drink. The Director-General of NAFDAC, Mrs Moji Adeyeye, said the products have been certified harmful for human consumption and should not be consumed. “The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of Hong Kong’s Food and Environmental Hygiene Department has warned against the consumption of Pure Tassie Organic Apple and Blackcurrant Juice originating from Australia. “This was due to (an) unacceptable level of patulin (a mycotoxin) which had exceeded

By Dipo Olowookere One of the leading GSM network providers in the country, Airtel Nigeria, has renewed its spectrum licences in the 900MHz and 1800MHz bands. A statement issued by its parent company, Airtel Africa Plc, disclosed that these spectrum licences were initially due to expire on November 20, 2021. However, in order not to take chances, which may eventually disrupt services to its numerous customers, an application for the renewal was started ahead of the expiration. The firm wrote to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for a request to extend the expiration date by 10 years and this has

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Motorists in the country have been advised not to worry about the recent emergence of queues in some petrol stations because there is enough Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise known as petrol to meet their needs for two months. The current situation, according to the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr Mele Kyari, was because of the disruption of the free flow of vehicular movement occasioned by curfews and restrictions of movement, particularly in Lagos State. In a statement issued on Tuesday by the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Swiss private family office and investor, Palmarium, has announced the acquisition of Lebara Group B.V. and the Lebara Trademark Companies. The announcement was made through a subsidiary of Palmarium, VIEO B.V. Since its inception in 2001, Lebara is recognised as one of the fastest growing pan-European mobile companies. As the value brand for the world’s travelers, students and migrant community, Lebara offers inclusive and accessible products and services. Through its 275 thousand outlets, Lebara has a unique reach to its growing customer base of over 3.5 million. Lebara’s culture is driven by innovation and business successes and

By Dipo Olowookere The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has said it was working with the NASD over-the-counter (OTC) Securities Exchange and other exchanges to put in place incentives to attract Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to the capital market this year. The Director-General of SEC, Mr Lamido Yuguda, while speaking in his New Year message in Abuja over the weekend, stated that this is one of the reforms the agency was considering in 2022. According to him, SEC will organise a capital market conference to launch a revised version of the 10-year capital market master plan to reflect the

By Investors Hub Asian stocks turned in a mixed performance on Friday as worries about a global trade war intensified and investors waited for cues from the U.S. Labor Department’s closely watched monthly jobs report for March due out later in the day. Gold edged up and the dollar faltered after U.S. President Donald Trump said he has instructed his trade officials to consider $100 billion in additional tariffs on China. Japanese shares fell as the yen rose against the dollar in light of Trump’s new tariff threat. The Nikkei 225 Index slid 77.90 points or 0.4 percent to 21,567.52,

By Modupe Gbadeyanka One Ms Ngozichukwu Opara has won a brand new Hyundai I10 car in the #Ihaveeventone2 campaign commenced in May 2017 by Reckitt Benckiser (RB), makers of Dettol. Ms Opara was presented the car on August 4, 2017 at the RB Nigeria head office in Lagos. In 2016, RB introduced the Dettol Eventone Soap, a revolutionary product launched especially for the African skin. The soap kills 99.9 percent of germs and contains apricot seeds which exfoliate, remove excess oil and dirt and removes blemishes to give an even-tone healthy skin feel. Over the years, RB Nigeria has been

By Adedapo Adesanya The World Bank has raised its projection for Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP) for 2021 to 2.4 per cent from the previous 1.8 per cent. The latest projection was contained in the bank’s Africa Pulse, a biannual analysis of the near-term macroeconomic outlook for the region. The global lender said the expected growth in the nation’s economy would be largely supported by the service sector. However, the rate remains low compared to non-resource-rich countries, such as Côte d’Ivoire and Kenya, which are expected to recover strongly from the pandemic at 6.2 and 5.0 per cent, respectively. “Nigeria’s