Economy
NBS Inflation Data Tumbles Nigerian Exchange by 0.02%

By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited reacted negatively to inflation data released on Tuesday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) as it tumbled by 0.02 per cent at the close of business.
The stats office said inflation further increased by 21.09 per cent in October compared with the 20.77 per cent reported in the preceding month as a result of a sustained rise in the prices of goods and services in the country.
This information did not go down well with stock investors, who trimmed their exposure to the investment tool, causing the market to bleed yesterday.
Shares of Lafarge Africa were the worst hit during the session as they fell by 9.66 per cent to N20.10 per unit. Royal Exchange dropped 9.41 per cent to trade at 77 Kobo, Cornerstone Insurance declined by 9.09 per cent to 40 Kobo, UPDC REIT lost 8.93 per cent to sell for N2.55, and FTN Cocoa went down by 8.82 per cent to 31 Kobo.
On the flip side, Learn Africa and CWG topped the gainers’ log on Tuesday after their prices rose by 10.00 per cent each to N1.65 and 88 Kobo, respectively. Caverton improved by 8.75 per cent to 87 Kobo, Prestige Assurance jumped by 8.33 per cent to 39 Kobo, and Japaul garnered 7.41 per cent to 29 Kobo.
Business Post reports that the insurance and industrial goods sectors depreciated by 1.10 per cent and 0.65 per cent apiece, while the consumer goods, energy and banking counters appreciated by 0.38 per cent, 0.30 per cent, and 0.24 per cent, respectively.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) shrank by 9.87 points to 43,808.25 points from 43,818.12 points, and the market capitalisation retreated by N6 billion to close at N23.861 trillion versus Monday’s N23.867 trillion.
At the market yesterday, investors transacted 103.5 million shares worth N1.2 billion in 3,045 deals compared with the 187.1 million shares worth N2.5 billion traded in 3,326 deals, indicating a decline in the trading volume, value and number of deals by 44.70 per cent, 53.20 per cent, and 8.45 per cent, respectively.
FBN Holdings topped the activity chart as it traded 11.4 million shares, Transcorp exchanged 11.3 million equities, Fidelity Bank transacted 10.3 million stocks, Access Holdings sold 8.7 million equities, and GTCO transacted 6.0 million stocks.
Economy
Tolaram Lauds Stanbic IBTC Capital’s Role in Guinness Nigeria Minority Equity Buyout

By Dipo Olowookere
A leading investment banking and capital markets solutions provider, Stanbic IBTC Capital, has been commended for its role in the Mandatory Takeover Offer (MTO) of minority shareholders of Guinness Nigeria Plc by Tolaram.
The deal underscored Stanbic IBTC Capital’s expertise in advising on complex transactions and delivering comprehensive financial solutions to clients.
Tolaram, acting through N Seven Nigeria Limited, contracted the services of Stanbic IBTC Capital as financial adviser for the transaction.
After acquiring a 58.02 per cent stake in Guinness Nigeria in 2024, Tolaram moved to take over the shares of minority investors of the brewery giant.
To make the minority equity boyout successful and meet regulatory requirements, Stanbic IBTC Capital provided comprehensive end-to-end support across both transactions, delivering a full suite of investment banking and capital markets solutions to facilitate the successful completion of this complex corporate action.
This helped Tolaram to, on May 20, 2025, to complete the purchase of the 283,099,431 shares held by minority investors for N22.94 billion, raising its shareholding in Guinness Nigeria to 70.85 per cent.
“We are grateful for the end-to-end support Stanbic IBTC Capital provided Tolaram throughout the MTO process.
“Their on-the-ground presence and expertise was invaluable in navigating the regulatory landscape and ensuring that interested Guinness Nigeria minorities were given the opportunity to sell their shares at the same price that Tolaram acquired the Guinness Nigeria stake from Diageo Plc.
“Guinness Nigeria has sufficient free float despite the MTO and Tolaram intends to continue to maintain Guinness Nigeria’s listing on Nigerian Exchange Limited,” the Group Finance Director of Tolaram, Mr Dinesh Rathi, stated.
In his remarks, the chief executive of Stanbic IBTC Capital, Mr Oladele Sotubo, said, “We thank Tolaram for the longstanding partnership and for trusting Stanbic IBTC Capital to handle this important MTO, having also advised Tolaram on its acquisition of Guinness Nigeria last year.”
Economy
Verto Launches Auto Exchange For Affordable FX Rates

By Adedapo Adesanya
Global payments solutions platform, Verto, has launched a new solution which will allow businesses to secure optimal foreign exchange (FX) rates automatically.
According to a statement shared with Business Post, Auto Exchange, as the new feature is called, was designed to help rate-sensitive customers secure their target FX rates without constant monitoring.
As a platform, Verto simplifies international money transfers and currency exchange for businesses of all sizes. With a focus on transparency, speed, and cost-effectiveness, Verto empowers businesses to thrive in the global marketplace.
The new tool allows users to set their desired exchange rate and trade amount within the Verto platform, enabling automatic execution when the Verto rate reaches their specified level.
Verto has automating the monitoring and execution process, empowering customers to capture their target rates even when they are not actively logged into the platform. It says this will allow many businesses prioritize achieving the most favorable exchange rates amid market fluctuations.
Auto Exchange provides a seamless and efficient solution, thereby making users can optimise their time and reducing missed opportunities.
“We’re thrilled to introduce Auto Exchange, a feature designed to bring both efficiency and peace of mind to our customers’ FX operations,” says Verto Product Director, Mr Tomasz Bilakiewicz, adding that “No more constant refreshing or fear of missing a target rate. With Auto Exchange, businesses can set their parameters and trust Verto to execute automatically, allowing them to focus on what truly matters – growing their business.”
Verto users can easily set up Auto Exchange orders within the platform by specifying the currency pair for exchange, their desired target exchange rate, the amount they wish to exchange, as well as the direction of the exchange (e.g., GBP to USD).
Auto Exchange is part of a suit of FX solutions offered by cross-border payment platform Verto. With the ability to exchange with bank-beating rates across 49 currencies, Verto is revolutionising cross-border payments with a focus one merging markets.
Economy
Nigeria’s Oil Production Rigs Jumps 475% to 46 in July 2025

By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has said that the nation’s oil production rig has witnessed a 475 per cent rise from eight in 2021 to 46 in July 2025.
The chief executive of the agency, Mr Gbenga Komolafe, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja at the inauguration of a media workshop organised for journalists covering the oil and gas sector.
The rig countis a key metric for measuring vibrancy and performance in the oil and gas industry.
The rig which is a key equipment on which the oil is drilled reveals the level of vibrancy and the activities in the industry.
According to the commission’s data, about 46 active rigs are driving the current oil production in Nigeria.
Mr Komolafe, however, attributed the steady growth in the rig count to the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) enactment in 2021, and the commission’s commitment geared towards increasing oil production in the country.
He said the NUPRC through its Project One Million Barrels initiative had scaled up Nigeria’s oil production from one million barrels per day, oscillating around 1.7 million barrels.
The NUPRC boss said the initiative which was inaugurated in October 2024, was expected to increase oil production by one million additional units per year, adding that about 300,000 barrels of oil per day has been achieved since the inauguration of the programme.
He commended President Bola Tinubu for the Executive Orders 40, 41, and 42, which encouraged tax incentives and tax remission as well as redefined the contracting circle and the threshold in the industry.
Mr Komolafe said the 2024 Executive Orders: 40 on fiscal incentives, 41 on local content, and 42 on cost efficiency and contract timelines, had catalysed massive investment inflows.
“These have yielded positive results in terms of the Final Investment Decisions (FIDs) that have attracted huge amounts of money, billions of dollars to the country,” he said.
He urged the media practitioners to report the commission activities professionally in such a way that Nigerians would appreciate and understand its operations.
“As a regulator, we are wrongly perceived, often times people fail to understand the difference between a regulator and an operator.
“As a regulator, our activities put us in a quasi-judicial position, in position to mediate, it is an omnibus job,” he said
He reiterated that the commission will continue to play its role in Nigeria’s oil and gas development.
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