Economy
Nigerian Equities Slumps 0.42% After Disappointing Inflation Data
By Dipo Olowookere
A disappointing inflation data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) further weakened Nigerian equities on Wednesday by 0.42 per cent.
Investors were expecting the average price of goods and services to slow in February because Nigerians reduced their expenditures last month due to the scarcity of cash, but when the stats office released the inflation numbers, the rate climbed higher by 21.91 per cent compared with 21.82 per cent achieved in January 2023.
The decline was buoyed by sustained sell-offs in the banking space, which closed lower by 1.95 per cent, as the consumer goods and the industrial goods sectors fell by 0.29 per cent and 0.01 per cent apiece. The insurance index grew by 0.44 per cent, while the energy counter closed flat.
The persistent selling pressure brought down the All-Share Index (ASI) by 232.70 points to 55,490.20 points from 55,722.90 points as the market capitalisation declined by N127 billion to N30.229 trillion from N30.356 trillion.
A total of 181.2 million shares worth N3.4 billion were transacted in 3,908 deals in the midweek session compared with the 199.3 million shares worth N2.8 billion traded in 3,898 deals, indicating a decline in the trading volume by 9.08 per cent, an increase in the trading value by 21.43 per cent and an improvement in the number of deals by 0.26 per cent.
GTCO was the most active stock during the session as it transacted 33.9 million units, Transcorp exchanged 20.1 million units, Zenith Bank sold 18.6 million units, Flour Mills traded 18.5 million units, and UBA sold 15.2 million units.
United Capital ended the session on top of the losers’ chart after it went down by 9.30 per cent to N11.70, University Press fell by 7.50 per cent to N1.85, GlaxoSmithKline shed 7.46 per cent to N6.20, Neimeth declined by 7.01 per cent to N1.46, and Oando depreciated by 6.74 per cent to N4.01.
The equity on top of the gainers’ log yesterday was Prestige Assurance, which grew by 7.89 per cent to 41 Kobo, Veritas Kapital expanded by 5.00 per cent to 21 Kobo, NGX Group rose by 4.87 per cent to N28.00, Unilever Nigeria improved by 3.70 per cent to N14.00, and Japaul jumped by 3.57 per cent to 29 Kobo.
Business Post reports that investor sentiment remained weak on Wednesday as the market breadth ended negative with 19 price losers and 11 price losers.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Nigeria slightly surpassed its quota set by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in July 2026.
In the month under review, the country produced about 1.57 million barrels of crude oil per day.
It was the third consecutive month Africa’s largest oil-producing nation was meeting its monthly quota, set to stabilise the price of the commodity on the global market by the oil cartel.
Data released by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) on Wednesday showed that the 1.5 million barrels per day ceiling for Nigeria was surpassed last month.
The agency disclosed in a statement today that the country produced 1.505mbpd of crude oil and 0.17mbpd of condensate, bringing the combined daily production to 1.67mbpd.
In the month under review, the daily peak production of crude oil and condensate was 1.78mbpd, while the lowest daily production was 1.57mbpd.
Although Nigeria met its OPEC quota in the month of July, the statistics show that on a month-on-month basis, production fell by 4 per cent.
This was attributed to the decline in production due to operational challenges experienced at the Erha and Akpo fields, which impacted crude oil output during the period under review.
These disruptions constrained production volumes and contributed significantly to the overall reduction in national crude oil output.
Despite the challenges, production operations across most other producing assets remained relatively stable, with operators implementing measures aimed at maintaining production efficiency and minimising the impact of operational constraints, NUPRC stated.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The over 9 billion shares of Lasaco Assurance Plc issued to shareholders of the company via a rights issue have been listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
The equities were brought to Customs Street on Wednesday by the organisation, increasing its total issued and fully paid-up share capital.
Lasaco Assurance, which scaled the recapitalisation hurdle of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) in July 2026, raised fresh capital from the capital market to shore up its capital base.
The underwriting firm got about N18.5 billion from the rights issue, which involved the issuance of 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares at a unit price of N2.00.
The exercise was on the basis of five new ordinary shares for every existing six ordinary shares held as of the close of business on Friday, February 20, 2026.
Confirming the listing of the additional stocks of Lasaco Assurance today, the Head of Issuer Regulation Department of NGX RegCo, Mr Godstime Iwenekhai, announced in a circular that, “Trading licence holders are hereby notified that an additional 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each of Lasaco Assurance Plc were today, Wednesday, August 12, 2026, listed on the daily official list of Nigerian Exchange Limited.
“The additional shares arose from the company’s rights issue of 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N2.00 per share on the basis of five new ordinary shares for every existing six ordinary shares held as of the close of business on Friday, February 20, 2026.
“With the listing of the additional 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares, the total issued and fully paid-up share capital of Lasaco Assurance Plc has now increased from 11,083,585,855 to 20,319,907,401 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) has said the successful recapitalisation of the insurance industry will strengthen the sector’s ability to support financial stability and economic growth.
NIA Chairman, Mrs Ebelechukwu Nwachukwu, said a well-capitalised insurance industry would be better positioned to meet its obligations promptly, underwrite complex and large-scale risks and serve as a dependable pillar of the Nigerian economy.
She made the remarks while commending the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) for its structured implementation of the new minimum capital requirements under the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025.
Mrs Nwachukwu said NAICOM’s clear guidelines, systematic verification process, defined timelines and rigorous supervision had provided operators with a credible framework for navigating the recapitalisation exercise.
She described the outcome as a major milestone for the industry and congratulated the 43 insurance and reinsurance companies that have successfully met the prescribed minimum capital requirements.
According to her, the exercise represents “a major win not just for regulators and operators, but for policyholders, investors and the wider Nigerian economy.”
Mrs Nwachukwu said the association would continue to work with NAICOM and other stakeholders to consolidate the gains of the exercise, with emphasis on sustainable industry growth, stronger market conduct and improved consumer confidence.
The official also expressed solidarity with the eight companies still undergoing final verification and regulatory review, urging them to remain confident as NAICOM completes the process within the 14-day review period.
The NIA chairman assured policyholders and the wider business community that the insurance industry would emerge from the recapitalisation exercise stronger, more resilient and better positioned to contribute to Nigeria’s economic development.
