Economy
Nigerian Exchange Attracts N1.506trn Transactions in 5 months
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Transactions worth N1.506 trillion were attracted by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited from both local and offshore investors between January and May 2022, compared with the N933.65 billion recorded in the same period of last year, according to data from the bourse.
In a report released by NGX Regulation Limited on behalf of NGX, the Domestic and Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) May 2022 report captured these transactions as well as trading figures from market operators.
Additionally, domestic investors have continued to hold ground on the floor of the NGX despite rising inflation and currency volatility in the foreign exchange market, which remained key drivers of the domestic and foreign portfolio investment.
Further analysis has shown that foreign transactions stood at N201.29 billion, accounting for about 13.37 per cent of the total transactions carried out from January to May, while domestic transactions constituted N1.304 trillion, representing 86.63 per cent of the total transaction, outperforming the foreign investment during the same period.
Analysis of domestic transactions showed that institutional investors outperformed retail investors. A comparison of domestic transactions in the period under review revealed that retail transactions pulled N408.03 billion in investment, while institutional investors’ investment amounted to N896.21 billion from January to May 2022.
For May, total transactions at the nation’s bourse increased by 195.05 per cent from N205.88 billion (about $494.26 million) in April 2022 to N607.45billion (about $1.45 billion) in May 2022. The performance of the current month when compared to the performance in May 2021 (N97.19 billion) revealed that total transactions increased by 525.01 per cent. In May 2022, the total value of transactions executed by Domestic Investors outperformed transactions executed by Foreign Investors by circa 86 per cent.
Subsequently, the total transactions executed between the current and prior month revealed that total domestic transactions increased by 214.40 per cent from N178.80 billion in April to N562.15 billion in May 2022. In contrast, total foreign transactions increased by 67.28 per cent from N27.08billion (about $65.01 million) to N45.30 billion (about $108.02 million) between April 2022 and May 2022.
However, the report revealed that “Over 15 years, domestic transactions decreased by 58.80 per cent from N3.556 trillion in 2007 to N1.465 trillion in 2021, while foreign transactions also decreased by 29.38 per cent from N616 billion to N435 billion over the same period.”
Consequently, the stock market regained more confidence at the start of the year, with key drivers like BUA Foods, listing on NGX; investors’ reaction to companies’ full-year earnings and dividend declarations; predominance of domestic players over foreign players in the market, and low yields in the fixed income market which forced investors to consider more profitable securities in the equity market.
Capital market analysts stated that local investors are taking advantage of the incredibly low prices of stocks in NGX to increase their investments.
They explained that local investors are increasing their stake in the equities market due to the attractive dividend yield in the market and because of the low yield environment in the fixed income market.
They observed that the development is good for the local bourse, saying that it would restore credibility and stability to the market, which was hitherto marred by volatility occasioned by the activities of foreign investors.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Senate has passed a bill to repeal and re-enact the law establishing the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), paving the way for the regulatory agency to be renamed the Insurance Regulatory Commission (IRC).
The legislation, titled the Insurance Regulatory Commission (Establishment) Bill, 2026, was passed after the Senate considered and adopted the report of its committee on banking, insurance and other financial institutions.
The Chairman of the committee, Mr Adetokunbo Abiru, the senator representing Lagos East, who presented the report, stated that the proposed legislation was necessary because the existing National Insurance Commission Act of 1997 had become outdated and no longer reflected the realities of Nigeria’s evolving insurance industry or global regulatory standards.
According to the Senate, the decision to change the Commission’s name was informed by the need to eliminate confusion associated with the existing designation and to better reflect the institution’s regulatory mandate within Nigeria’s insurance industry.
The bill also provides legal protection for the commission and its officers against adverse claims arising from the lawful execution of their statutory duties.
However, he noted that the commission’s enabling law had become obsolete, exposing significant regulatory gaps that required urgent legislative intervention.
‘The current National Insurance Commission Act 1997 is outdated and does not adequately address the emerging economic growth, needs and development of the insurance business,” the lawmaker said.
He explained that the new legislation seeks to strengthen the independence of the commission by empowering it to make regulatory decisions without undue influence in the country’s insurance sector.
According to him, the bill also enhances the commission’s authority to exchange information and collaborate with domestic and international regulatory bodies, issue regulations, guidelines, standards and directives on insurance-related matters, and intervene more effectively in financially distressed insurance companies to protect policyholders and preserve financial stability.
This marks yet another move to strengthen the country’s insurance sector following the enactment of the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) of 2025 and the industry-wide recapitalisation exercise, which will wrap up by July 31.
By Adedapo Adesanya
About 143 companies that successfully passed the technical and prequalification stages of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission’s (NUPRC) 2025 Licensing Round will, today, compete for 50 oil and gas blocks at the commercial bid conference in Abuja, the final stage in the allocation process for the assets.
The commission said only the prequalified companies have been invited to attend the event, which will hold at the Conference Centre of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, stressing that participation is strictly by invitation.
The commercial bid conference will determine the successful bidders for oil and gas assets located across Nigeria’s producing and frontier basins.
The 50 blocks comprise 16 onshore blocks and 18 shallow water blocks in the Niger Delta, one deep offshore block, three onshore blocks in the Benin Basin, four in the Anambra Basin, four in the Chad Basin, and four in the Benue Trough.
According to the commission, the winning bids will be determined through a transparent evaluation process based on clearly defined commercial parameters. These include the signature bonus offered by bidders, the proposed work programme commitment and the level of performance security provided. The final selection will be based on a weighted technical and commercial score.
The licensing round is being conducted under the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, which requires a transparent and competitive process for the award of petroleum assets.
NUPRC had announced the commencement of the 2025 Licensing Round on November 11, 2025, before opening the online bid portal on December 1, 2025, to enable interested companies to register and participate in the exercise.
To ensure prospective investors fully understood the requirements, the commission organised a pre-bid conference on January 14, 2026, at Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos. The event provided detailed explanations on the licensing guidelines and bidding procedures to registered participants and other stakeholders.
Registration and submission of prequalification documents closed on February 27, 2026, while the prequalification evaluation was completed on March 16, 2026.
NUPRC disclosed that 286 companies initially submitted applications for prequalification.
Following the evaluation process, 196 companies were cleared to participate in the technical and commercial bid stages.
The prequalified 143 companies eventually submitted a total of 200 bids for the available oil and gas blocks. These companies are now set to compete at the commercial bid conference, where the financial offers will be opened and evaluated to determine the eventual winners.
The licensing round is expected to attract fresh investment into Nigeria’s upstream petroleum sector, boost exploration activities across both producing and frontier basins, increase crude oil and gas reserves, and support the country’s drive to grow production and government revenue.
It also underscores the regulator’s commitment to implementing a transparent, competitive and investor-friendly licensing regime under the Petroleum Industry Act.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has retained all key monetary policy parameters following the conclusion of its two-day meeting on July 21, 2026, on Tuesday, maintaining its tight monetary policy stance to curb inflation and support macroeconomic stability.
According to the Governor of the apex bank, Mr Yemi Cardoso, who chaired the committee, the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), which serves as the benchmark interest rate, remains at 26.50 per cent. The MPC also retained the asymmetric corridor around the MPR at +50 basis points and -450 basis points.
In addition, the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) for commercial banks was left unchanged at 45.00 per cent, while the CRR for merchant banks remains at 16.00 per cent. The committee also retained the CRR on non-Treasury Single Account (Non-TSA) public sector deposits at 75.00 per cent, with the liquidity ratio at 30.00 per cent.
The decision reflects the apex bank’s continued commitment to containing inflationary pressures through a restrictive monetary policy while safeguarding the resilience of Nigeria’s financial system amid ongoing macroeconomic adjustments.
By keeping all policy tools unchanged, the MPC signalled its intention to continue managing excess liquidity in the banking sector and maintain stability in financial markets.
The move is also expected to provide greater policy certainty for investors and businesses monitoring the country’s monetary policy direction.
The latest decision also means borrowing costs are likely to remain elevated in the near term as the central bank continues to prioritise price stability over monetary easing.
Analysts had expected the CBN committee to retain the rate after Nigeria’s headline inflation came in at 15.91 per cent as of June 2026, marking a slight decline from 15.93 per cent in May.
However, even as overall price growth has moderated significantly compared to previous periods, food inflation remains a persistent challenge, accelerating to 17.52 per cent in June.
