NGX RegCo Lifts Embargo on Royal Exchange After Two Months

By Adedapo Adesanya The oil market retreated on Thursday, as traders took profits after prices soared recently while the space worried that high interest rates may weigh on demand. During the trading session, Brent futures fell by $1.17 or 1.2 per cent to settle at $95.38 a barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) declined by $1.97 or 2.1 per cent to close at $91.71 per barrel. The market had reached a 10-month high as some traders worried high oil prices would stoke inflation, encouraging the US Federal Reserve and other central banks to persist with rate hikes.

By Adedapo Adesanya  The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is planning to use oil traders to fund a $3 billion loan to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, which is aimed at stabilising the weakening Naira. According to a Reuters report, the Cairo-based bank has made contact with traders to gauge their interest in lending their support to the oil-backed loan to Nigeria’s national oil company. The sources who spoke to the publication also disclosed that Afreximbank has made an attempt to come up with the terms that they will present to trading houses. “There is a lot of interest,

By Adedapo Adesanya The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has shared a total of N1.1 trillion from the revenue generated by the nation in August 2023 for September to enable the three tiers of government; the federal government, states, and local government councils, to have funds to pay salaries and others. The allocation of the funds was confirmed by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation on Friday following FAAC’s September 2023 meeting. According to a statement by the OAGF’s Director of Press and Public Relations, Mr Bawa Mokwa, there was “N1100.101 billion (N1.1 trillion) total distributable revenue.”

By Dipo Olowookere A group known as APC Youths Renaissance has warned those it called “political detractors” to leave Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs Aisha Alhassan, alone. This followed a video making the rounds showing the Minister endorsing the 2019 presidential ambition of former Vice President, Mr Atiku Abubakar. In a statement signed by its National Secretary, Mr Collins Edwin, the group said it was wrong to accuse Mrs Alhassan of disloyalty to the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. In the statement, the APC group said Mr Buhari would have been very suspicious of Mrs Alhassan if she had

By Cowry Asset Last week, the local currency appreciated week-on-week in most foreign exchange market segments. The Naira/Dollar appreciated at the I&E FX window (I&E FXW), Bureau De Change (BDC) and the parallel (black) market by 0.14 percent, 0.28 percent and 0.27 percent to N360.33/$, N360/$ and N364/$ respectively while it dosed steady against the US Dollar at the interbank foreign exchange market segment at N330/$. Meanwhile, all dated forward contracts at the interbank OTC segment appreciated amid sustained increase in the foreign exchange reserves – the spot, 1 month, 2 months, 3 months and 6 months contracts appreciated w-o-w

Consolidated grid for rendition of Various Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) returns by Capital Market Operators (CMOs) to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU). Please be notified that the Commission has approved and uploaded reporting templates required for rendition of other categories of AML/CFT returns in line with the SEC AML/CFT regulations for Capital Market Operators in ADDITION to reports on FTRs, STRs and CTRs required to be rendered in accordance with the provisions of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act, 2011 (as amended) and Terrorism Prevention Act, 2011 (as

By Adedapo Adesanya The Nigerian government has pledged to prioritise the private sector for the Special Agro-industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) scheme aimed at developing priority value chains through developing infrastructure in rural areas, focused on finishing and transforming raw materials and commodities. The Nigeria SAPZ programme consists of four mutually reinforcing components – infrastructure development and agro-industrial hubs management; agriculture productivity and production; policy and institutional development; and programme coordination and management. Earlier in the week, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, reaffirmed the federal government’s commitment to put in place enabling policies and incentives

By Adedapo Adesanya  Crude oil settled lower on Wednesday as traders weighed concerns over a surge in COVID-19 cases in China, the world’s top oil importer. Brent crude futures fell by $1.07 or 1.3 per cent to settle at $83.26 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures lost 57 cents or 0.7 per cent to trade at $78.96 per barrel. China has said it will stop requiring inbound travellers to quarantine from January 8, a major step towards relaxing stringent curbs on its borders. However, Chinese hospitals have been under intense pressure due to a surge

More than 55 years after Mary Kay Ash founded what is now one of the world’s leading corporate champions of women’s empowerment and entrepreneurship, Mary Kay Inc. continues its support of female leadership as a presenting sponsor of the International Women’s Forum (IWF) Cornerstone Conference. The event, held April 10-12 in Barcelona, Spain, brings together thought leaders, innovators and trailblazers from around the world to explore global issues through a woman’s lens. The IWF Cornerstone Conference provides a dynamic opportunity to support female leadership on a global and local level. IWF is a member-and-mission driven organization of more than 7,000

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The decline in the federal allocation to Bayelsa State has become a source of worry for the state government, which is experiencing a rise in its expenditures. The Commissioner for Finance in the state, Mr Maxwell Ebibai, said what is coming into the purse of the state government was more than what it spends monthly. It stated that for instance, last month, Bayelsa State had a gross inflow of N10.2 billion comprising statutory allocation of N1.9 billion, derivation of N3.8 billion, Value Added Tax of N1.2 billion and forex equilisation fund of N1.9 billion. He said total

By Adedapo Adesanya The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said that the food and commodity prices index rose sharply on average in 2021 compared with the previous year. The United Nations agency’s Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in international prices, averaged 125.7 points or 28.1 per cent in the year compared with 2020. At the end of the year, world food prices fell slightly, as international prices for vegetable oils and sugar fell significantly, the data shows. The Food Price Index averaged 133.7 points, a 0.9 per cent decline from November, but was still up 23.1 per cent from