Nigeria: Foreign Reserves Deplete by $68.6m

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Business owners in Lagos have been assured of more incentives by the state governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who added that this is part of his administration’s commitment to reforms aimed at improving the ease of doing business and enhancing investment opportunities. Speaking at the commissioning of the newly-built wet hair production factory of Godrej Nigeria Limited, the Governor said his government would continue to pursue actions that would eliminate red tapes and regulatory impediments hindering the growth of businesses in the state, thereby demonstrating his willingness for continued collaboration with the private sector to improve the livelihood

By Adedapo Adesanya The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) on Thursday asked Nigeria to produce about 1.5 million barrels of crude oil per day in 2024, lower than the 1.78 million barrels per day benchmark it proposed in the 2024 Appropriation Bill presented to the National Assembly on Wednesday for passage. The output ceiling was around 1.8 million barrels per day before it was cut down to 1.5 million barrels yesterday at the group’s virtual meeting, a huge blow to Nigeria’s revenue target for the fiscal year. OPEC had tasked three consultancies – IHS, Rystad

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira put up a weak performance against the United States Dollar across the various segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Thursday. November 30, 2023, the last trading session of the month. In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) window, which is the official market, the Nigerian currency lost 0.1 per cent or 85 Kobo against the greenback during the session to settle at N832.32/$1 compared with the preceding day’s value of N831.47/$1. A slight strain in the supply of forex into the spot market was partly responsible for the weakening of the local

By Adedapo Adesanya The return of the bears was averted at the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Thursday by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which helped the alternative bourse close marginally higher by 0.03 per cent. This slight growth increased the value of the OTC exchange by N380 million, closing relatively flat at N1.165 trillion, as the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) increased by 0.27 points to end the day at 859.58 points compared with the previous day’s 859.31 points. During the trading day, the value of CSCS Plc went up by 8 Kobo to settle at N17.08

By Dipo Olowookere Nigeria’s President, Mr Muhammadu Buhari, has prayed to God to grant Africa’s richest man, Mr Aliko Dangote, the fortitude to bear the loss of three of his family members. The industrialist lost his cousin, Mr Madugu Dantata; his uncle, Mr Murtala Dantata; and a relation known as Mr Sa’idu Fanta in quick succession. In his condolence message on Monday, the President, who is presently in Japan to attend a function, charged Mr Dangote to see the deaths as “irreparable losses that must be accepted as God-ordained.” In the message sent through the Secretary to the Government of

By Dipo Olowookere Ivory Coast has been described by the GTAI Germany Trade & Invest as the new bread basket of West Africa. The organisation pointed out that agriculture and the food industry, especially in Abidjan, have been very dynamic for years, both in production and processing. Both sectors also enjoy a prominent regional position as they also supply the other francophone countries of the region, such as Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea, Niger, Togo and Benin. It said the increasing demand for food throughout the rather homogenous French-speaking West African market of 110 million inhabitants and the good general economic

By Dipo Olowookere Transactions on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) further declined on Wednesday as investors continue to take profit. The market continued its downward trend in the absence of any positive news to trigger a buying pressure at the nation’s bourse. At the close of business yesterday, the stock market lost 0.59 percent, leaving the year-to-date loss at 4.87 percent. During trading on Wednesday, the All-Share Index lost 177.69 points to finish at 29,898.31 points, while the market capitalisation decreased by N67 billion to settle at N11.236 trillion. Despite the loss, the market breadth was positive,

Research firm Wunderman Thompson Intelligence has released its 2021 trends report. The report contains 100 predictions about how technology will affect different areas of life and business: culture, commerce, sports (for example, how the best online sports betting apps will change), and others. We have selected the most interesting of them – let’s see how the world has changed and will change this year. A Revolution in the Gaming Industry and the Rise of Cloud Gaming The consumer gaming industry is growing rapidly – the market is expected to reach $198 billion by 2024, and that’s not including sales of

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) has said the local currency has a very strong outlook going forward. President of the group, Mr Aminu Gwadabe, while speaking on the proposed resumption of sales of foreign exchange (forex) to its over 5,000 members by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), stated that the Naira outlook is expected to remain relatively strong on the back of growing foreign reserves at over $37 billion, increasing global demand for crude oil, rising commodity prices and rising global trade. He blamed the present pressure on the domestic currency

By Adedapo Adesanya The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange returned to the bullish zone on Tuesday, August 10 as it gained 0.23 per cent, driven by the three companies. These three securities were led by Nipco Plc, which appreciated by N7 or 9.1 per cent to trade at N77 per share compared with the previous day’s N70 per share. It was followed by Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Group Plc, which improved by 12 kobo or 0.7 per cent to finish at N16.76 per unit versus N16.64 per unit it finished a day earlier. Also, Food Concepts Plc increased its value during

By Adedapo Adesanya The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has elected South African billionaire, Mr Patrice Motsepe, as its new president, serving as the replacement for outgoing Malagasy politician, Mr Ahmad Ahmad, whose tenure was marred by allegations of corruption. The South African, who is Africa’s ninth richest person, was confirmed as the regional football governing body president during the organisation’s 43rd Ordinary General Assembly in Rabat, Morocco on Friday. Mr Motsepe, who is the owner of South African giants, Mamelodi Sundowns, was elected unopposed to replace outgoing Ahmad Ahmad, whose three-year reign promised much but was ultimately mottled by

By Dipo Olowookere Result of the admission screening exercise conducted by the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), Imo State, has finally been released. The school has pasted names of successful candidates from the screening on its website. Those who participated in the admission screening exercise can now go on FUTO website to confirm if they scaled through. FUTO has urged participants to check their score on www.portal.futo.edu.ng/Modules/Applications/PUTME/ScreeningForm.aspx. Candidates are expected to enter their JAMB registration number in the space provided on the website and then click the ‘Submit’ button to view their score.