Economy
NGX, CIPE to Boost Ethical Business Practices
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A collaboration aimed at deepening knowledge in the African business environment to promote ethical business practices has been entered into between the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited and the Centre for International Private Enterprise (CIPE).
The exchange will through its specialized learning hub, X-Academy, engage companies in order to fill the capacity gap in corporate compliance expertise and to provide effective resources to help them translate their corporate ethics commitments to a robust system of compliance that ensures that they can conduct business with integrity.
It was learned that X-Academy will work with CIPE to provide companies of all sizes across Nigeria with practical solutions that will make the Nigerian corporate landscape safer for conducting business.
Through workshops and advisory services, participating companies in the program will be empowered to proactively reduce opportunities for fraud and other malpractice across their business processes.
In addition, the partnership will help galvanise business-led efforts to reduce the risk of corruption, boost shared prosperity in an economically sustainable manner and promote market-oriented values by advancing business ethics and integrity principles in companies and across the business environment. It will also enable the academy to deploy compliance and board evaluation consultancy for organisations.
“As a training hub contributing immensely to deepening knowledge across the capital and money markets in Nigeria, we consider it imperative to avail businesses and organisations with the appropriate training and tools that will help them attain globally acceptable transparency and accountability standards, which will, in turn, help them to attract global investment opportunities.
“To this end, NGX has partnered with CIPE, an organisation that has the pedigree and demonstrable track record of helping its stakeholders to navigate the often complex terrain of regulatory compliance and entrench good governance practices in their key activities – two key elements to actualise our goal,” the Head of NGX X-Academy, Ms Ugochi Obi, said of the partnership.
On her part, the Senior Program Lead for Africa at CIPE, Mrs Lola Adekanye, stated that, “We are thrilled to have a critical stakeholder in Nigeria’s business ecosystem join us to lay the foundation to create a more transparent and attractive business environment.
“Enabling compliance with sound business integrity practices is at the core of attracting investment and boosting growth in the country.
“CIPE is pleased to welcome NGX to the Africa Business Integrity Network (ABIN) and we look forward to leveraging our individual strengths to embed ethics and integrity in the business culture, and ultimately bring value to the Nigerian economy.”
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited cemented its position in the green territory on Wednesday with a marginal 0.04 per cent rise.
This was buoyed by sustained buying pressure on energy equities despite selling pressure on financial stocks, according to data from Customs Street.
The insurance counter was down by 0.73 per cent yesterday, and the banking index shed 0.70 per cent. These losses were offset by gains in the three other key sectors of the bourse, with the energy segment rising by 3.37 per cent. The consumer goods space appreciated by 1.94 per cent, and the industrial goods industry expanded by 0.43 per cent.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 349.96 points to 252,508.19 points from 252,158.23 points, and the market capitalisation grew by N226 billion to N161.839 trillion from N161.613 trillion.
A total of 42 stocks appreciated during the session, while 29 stocks depreciated, implying a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
The quartet of CWG, DAAR Communications, Fidson, and Livestock Feeds gained 10.00 per cent each to sell for N23.10, N1.87, N113.00, and N10.45, respectively, while Berger Paints rose by 9.97 per cent to N140.10.
On the flip side, NCR Nigeria lost 10.00 per cent to close at N179.10, Zichis decreased by 9.99 per cent to N36.32, First Holdco shed 9.87 per cent to trade at N71.20, Neimeth dropped 9.66 per cent to N172.00, and Eterna eased by 9.59 per cent to N33.00.
At midweek, investors transacted 1.9 billion shares for N118.1 billion in 76,557 deals compared with the 2.0 billion shares worth N87.7 billion traded in 80,888 deals on Tuesday.
This showed that the value of transactions surged by 34.66 per cent, the volume of trades went down by 5.00 per cent, and the number of deals declined by 5.35 per cent.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil prices settled lower on Wednesday as investors worried about possible US interest rate hikes amid anticipation of the outcomes of a meeting between US President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping.
Brent crude lost $2.14 or 2 per cent to trade at $105.63 a barrel, and the US West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell by $1.16 or 1.14 per cent to $101.02 per barrel.
Boston Federal Reserve President Susan Collins said on Wednesday the US central bank may need to raise interest rates if inflation pressures do not ease, a sign that the war has begun to weigh on the American economy.
Higher oil prices have pushed up fuel costs, and economists expect to see effects in the months ahead.
Producer prices in the US posted their biggest increase in four years in April, boosted by soaring costs for goods and services, the latest sign of accelerating inflation during the war with Iran. Also in the same month, US consumer prices rose sharply for a second straight month, producing the largest annual increase in inflation in nearly three years.
Higher interest rates increase borrowing costs for businesses and consumers, which could slow economic growth and reduce oil demand.
President Trump landed in Beijing on Wednesday, a day after saying he did not think he would need China’s help to end the war. The American President is scheduled to meet Mr Xi on Thursday and Friday.
This comes amid prospects for a lasting peace deal with Iran weakened, and the Middle East country tightened its grip over the Strait of Hormuz.
China is the biggest buyer of Iranian oil despite pressure from the Trump administration.
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on Wednesday lowered its forecast for world oil demand growth in 2026. The International Energy Agency (IEA) said global oil supply would not meet total demand this year as the war wreaks havoc on Middle East production.
Crude oil inventories in the US decreased by 4.3 million barrels during the week ending May 8, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) released on Wednesday.
Iran’s Foreign Minister, Mr Abbas Araqchi, said on Wednesday that Kuwait had attacked an Iranian boat and detained four Iranian citizens in the Gulf. He added that Iran demands their release and reserves the right to respond, raising fresh tensions in the region.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on Wednesday lowered its forecast for global oil demand growth in 2026 due to the Iran war.
According to the cartel, world oil demand will rise by 1.17 million barrels per day in 2026, down from the previous 1.38 million barrels per day.
OPEC said consumption would rebound later and raised its demand growth forecast for 2027. For next year, it expects oil demand to rise by 1.54 million barrels per day, up 200,000 barrels per day from the previous forecast.
OPEC joins other forecasters, such as the International Energy Agency (IEA), in cutting expectations due to the war that started in February.
The producer group sees a smaller hit to demand than the IEA, which earlier on Wednesday increased its estimate of the decline in oil use this year.
The IEA sees demand falling by 420,000 barrels per day this year, compared with a previous forecast of an 80,000 barrels per day drop. Overall, global oil supply will fall by around 3.9 million barrels per day across 2026 due to the war, slashing its previous forecast, which had projected a 1.5 million barrels per day drop.
The war has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil route, curbing millions of barrels of Middle East output and sending fuel prices soaring. The surge is hitting consumers and businesses, and prompting government steps to conserve supplies.
“The global economic growth continues to show resilience for this year despite geopolitical tensions, particularly in the Middle East,” OPEC said, leaving its economic growth forecasts unchanged.
Global oil demand is expected to average 104.57 million barrels per day in the second quarter, down from the 105.07 million barrels per day forecast last month, OPEC said. The previous report had already cut the second-quarter estimate by 500,000 barrels per day.
The wider OPEC+, which groups the OPEC and allies such as Russia, had agreed to resume output increases from April, but the closure of Hormuz has made it impossible to deliver on the deal. The report said output fell further in April.
OPEC+ crude output averaged 33.19 million barrels per day in April, down 1.74 million barrels per day from March, the report said, citing secondary sources OPEC uses to monitor its production.
The April figure includes the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which left OPEC on May 1.
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