By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Olayemi Cardoso, has lauded the reforms being carried out by his team to restore confidence in the Nigerian economy.

Speaking when a delegation of scholars from the Harvard Kennedy School visited him at the CBN headquarters in Abuja, he said the strategies put in place by the apex bank to stabilize the foreign exchange (FX) market and curb inflation in the country were already yielding positive results.

“Mr Cardoso acknowledged recent challenges but highlighted progress in stabilizing the foreign exchange market and curbing inflation,” a statement from  the CBN on Tuesday disclosed.

He expressed the impact of the educational institution in his leadership skill, saying it is an honour to be associated with the Harvard Kennedy School.

“As we reset the bank, we are committed to being a hub for thought leadership. The exposure you gain from institutions like Harvard is invaluable, and we see this as an opportunity to build long-term alliances,” he was quoted to have said.

The CBN chief is an alumnus of the Harvard Kennedy School and the first African elected to the global HKS Alumni Board of Directors.

The visit was part of the scholars’ Africa Trek, which also included stops in Ghana. It is the first time a Harvard Africa Trek delegation would visit the CBN.

The delegation comprised 50 students from 19 countries, including representatives from the Harvard Business School, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University.

President of the Harvard Kennedy School Alumni Association of Nigeria, Adaora Ndukwe and the HKS Nigeria Trek Delegation Lead, Ms Sheffy Kolade, thanked the central bank for hosting the students.

The Africa Trek initiative is designed to foster direct interactions between emerging global leaders and key policymakers on the continent.

It provides a platform for in-depth discussions around governance, innovation, economic development and the role of central banking in national progress.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by marginal 0.02 per cent on Tuesday, March 25 spurred by a boost in the price of 11 Plc.

At the close of business, the share price of 11 Plc increased during the trading day by N1 to close the day at N241.00 per unit compared with the previous day’s N240.00 per unit.

Consequently, the market capitalisation increased by N340 million to settle at N1.929 trillion, the same value it ended a day earlier, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) went up by 0.62 points to 3,340.14 points from Monday’s 3,339.52 points.

Trading data showed a decrease of 98.3 per cent in the volume of securities transacted to 16,848 units from the 961,456 units transacted in the previous trading day, the value of transactions slid by 85.6 per cent to N3.2 million from N22.1, and the number of deals fell by 81.8 per cent to four deals from 22 deals recorded.

Impresit Bakolori Plc remained the most active stock by volume at the bourse since the start of the year till yesterday with 533.9 million units worth N520.9 million, followed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 70.0 million units worth N23.8 million, and Geo Fluids Plc with 44.1 million units sold for N88.9 million.

Also, Impresit Bakolori Plc was the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with a turnover of 533.9 million units worth N520.9 million, trailed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with the sale of 13.3 million units valued at N513.9 million, and Afriland Properties Plc with 17.6 million units valued at N360.1 million

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira witnessed a 0.09 per cent or N1.37 depreciation on the US Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Tuesday, March 25, closing at N1,533.66/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,532.29/$1.

Also, the Nigerian currency weakened against the British Pound Sterling yesterday in the official market by N4.62 to quote at N1,985.37/£1 compared with Monday’s closing price of N1,980.75/£1 and crashed against the Euro at the same market segment by N3.29 to finish at N1,659.12/€1, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1,655.83/€1.

At the parallel market window, the Naira maintained stability against the Dollar during the session at N1,570/$1, according to data harvested by Business Post.

The domestic currency has been volatile in the past trading days despite moves by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to sustain FX liquidity to ease the pressure on the Naira.

As for the cryptocurrency market, investors reacted positively to the US Federal Reserve’s dovish stance on inflation and a cooldown in concerns around the upcoming US tariffs, which have supported gains in the past week.

However, the lack of altcoin correlation with Bitcoin’s (BTC) recent moves hints that the current price action might lack broad market support.

During the session, Dogecoin (DOGE) appreciated by 5.8 per cent to sell at $0.1942, Solana (SOL) rose by 2.9 per cent to trade at $143.97, Litecoin (LTC) recorded a 2.6 per cent growth to close at $95.01, and Cardano (ADA) jumped by 1.9 per cent to settle at $0.7542.

Further, BTC improved its value on Tuesday by 1.5 per cent to finish at $87,889.95, Ripple (XRP) went up by 1.4 per cent to end at $2.45, and Ethereum (ETH) expanded by 0.3 per cent to close at $2,068.23.

On the flip side, Binance Coin (BNB) depreciated by 1.7 per cent to finish at $632.46, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.