Nigerian Stock Market Investors Gain N175b

By Adedapo Adesanya The new Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Yemi Cardoso, has said he would adopt an evidence-based monetary policy as he assumed office upon confirmation by the Nigerian Senate on Tuesday. He said the new leadership of CBN would “adopt an evidence-based monetary policy and shall not be making decisions based on a whim.” The Godswill Akpabio-led Senate confirmed the nomination of Mr Cardoso’s nomination as well as that of the four Deputy Governors of CBN nominated by President Bola Tinubu. The four deputy governors whose appointments were confirmed by the Senate are Mrs

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 International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reaffirmed its support for the removal of fuel subsidy and the exchange rate unification of the administration of President Bola Tinubu, insisting that the policies are good for Nigeria’s economy. A representative of the global lender, Mr Ari Aisen, while featuring on Channels TV on Tuesday, maintained that the two policies must remain for Nigeria to reach macroeconomic stability. “After the position that needs to be well managed to avoid potential reversal, policies of subsidizing fuel, and controlling exchange rate will lead to a much better outlook for the Nigerian economy,”

By Dipo Olowookere On Tuesday, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) enhanced the supply foreign exchange by selling $6 million to four commercial banks at the rate of N304.74k. Also, the bankers’ bank sold $115 million to settle invisibles and offered $500 million in special wholesale intervention 60 days forward contract to banks for onward sale to their customers in order to settle mature and past due obligations; although, the banks were able buy only $371 million. According to the CBN, this is to increase forex availability to end users was against the backdrop of the recent build-up in Nigeria’s

By Adedapo Adesanya Following the N1.13 billion week-on-week loss posted at the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange last week, the market capitalisation closed at N615.91 billion in the 44th week of trading this year compared with N617.04 billion it ended in the 43rd trading week. The bears took control of the OTC market as a result of the influence of two of the securities admitted on the trading platform and this subsequently dragged down the NASD Security Index (NSI) by 0.18 per cent or 1.37 points to close the week at 745.49 points against 746.86 of the previous week. Business

By Dipo Olowookere Organisers of the Electronic and Video Game Festival of Abidjan (FEJA) have fixed November 11 and 12 for this year’s edition. The event takes place at the Palais de la Culture and it is organized by Paradise Game, with more than 50 000 video game lovers expected to attend. The 2017 edition will feature eSports tournaments. The qualifications will start on September 23 at Playce Marcory in Abidjan and lead to the selection of 256 gamers coming from various African countries who will compete during the FEJA. More than €10,000 would be given in cash prizes to

By Adedapo Adesanya A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Tuesday, February 24, sentenced a former National Publicity Secretary of the opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Mr Olisa Metuh, to seven years imprisonment on corruption charges. Delivering the verdict after a six-hour sitting, Justice Okon Abang convicted Mr Metuh on all the seven count charges, including the fraudulent receipt of N400 million from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) in November 2014 and use of the money for political activities. The jail term followed his activities ahead of the 2015 presidential election which his party, the PDP

By Dipo Olowookere Massive sell-offs recorded on Wednesday in large cap stocks like Dangote Cement, Total Plc, Nestle and Nigerian Breweries amongst others put an end to the three-day upward movements on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). At the close of business activities at the NSE yesterday, the market depreciated by 1.51 percent with the Year-to-Date (YtD) receding to 12.31 percent. This came despite the positive investor sentiment reflected by the market breadth yesterday with 26 stocks recording share price appreciation, as against 23 equities, which shed value. Dangote Cement topped the losers’ chart on Wednesday after

By Dipo Olowookere Residents of Oluyole Federal Constituency in Oyo State have been urged to take proper care of the various social amenities in their communities for the benefit of all. This charge was given by the lawmaker representing the area at the National Assembly, Ms Tolulope Akande-Sadipe during the provision of additional boreholes, transformers and solar lights for her constituents. It was gathered that the federal lawmaker, who chairs the House Committee on Diaspora Affairs, gave the residents fresh six boreholes, eight transformers and 120 solar lights to illuminate the area. Ms Akande-Sadipe, who is the only female House

By Dipo Olowookere The market capitalisation of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) was reduced by N4 billion on Tuesday following renewed profit-taking by investors. This left the total value of equities at the market at N13.354 trillion in contrast to N13.358 trillion it ended on Monday as a result of the 0.03 per cent loss yesterday. In the same vein, the All-Share Index (ASI) decreased during the session by 7.63 points to 25,597.96 points from 25,605.59 points. According to data obtained by Business Post, the market breadth closed negative yesterday with 15 price losers as against 13 price gainers. Seplat

By Adedapo Adesanya The Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG) has charged the federal government to achieve a paradigm shift in governance and policy design to sustain and accelerate economic growth in 2022. The think-tank group made the suggestion in its Macroeconomic Outlook for 2022, hammering that the year presents opportunities to initiate critical reforms to achieve the shift. Mr Laoye Jaiyeola, Chief Executive Officer of the NESG, warned that failure by the central government to initiate critical reforms could exacerbate challenges that the country encountered in 2021. “In the NESG Macroeconomic Outlook for 2022, we highlight the need for reforms