Nigeria’s Crude Export Drops 30.9% in March

By Adedapo Adesanya  Oil prices fell on Friday as the release of some hostages in Gaza reduced the geopolitical risk premium and indicated that the Israel-Hamas tensions may not have much effect on the oil market. Brent crude futures depreciated by 84 cents or 1 per cent at $80.58 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude dropped $1.56 or 2 per cent to close at $75.54. There was no settlement for WTI on Thursday owing to the US Thanksgiving holiday. Prices notched their first week of gains in over a month ahead of next week’s meeting of

By Adedapo Adesanya Appreciation in the prices of three stocks saw the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed with a 1.36 per cent rise on Friday, November 24 despite efforts by two equities to bring down the market. Aradel Holdings Plc recorded a N79.20 appreciation to sell at N871.20 per share compared to the previous day’s N792.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc increased by N2.82 to close the day at N74.00 per unit versus Thursday’s closing price of N71.14 per unit, and UBN Property Plc jumped by 15 Kobo to finish at N1.65 per share, in contrast to the

By Adedapo Adesanya  The federal government, through the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), has announced plans to invest $1.1 billion to fully rehabilitate decaying port infrastructure at TinCan, Apapa, Rivers, Delta, Calabar, and Onne ports as part of efforts to improve the efficiency of the nation’s existing ports. Out of the estimated 47,000 kilometres of coastline in Africa, Nigeria makes up about 853 kilometres, creating the perfect opportunity to get access to its much-needed revenue. This coastline and a 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone make up Nigeria’s coastline in the Gulf of Guinea. The coastline equals a maritime area of

By Adedapo Adesanya The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded yet another positive week-on-week performance after stretching its gains by 1.44 per cent in Week 47. This expanded the portfolios of NASD investors by N17 billion in the week to N1.162 trillion from the N1.145 trillion recorded in Week 46, as the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) increased by 12.16 points to 857.29 points from 845.13 points in the previous week. The trading week was with three price gainers and three losers, with Aradel Holdings Plc on top of the advancers’ chart after it grew by 10 per cent to finish

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira traded weaker than the Dollar on Friday as the scarcity of forex is beginning to have a negative effect on the value of the Nigerian currency. During the trading day, the Naira was exchanged against the American currency at N470/$1 at the black market in contrast to N468/$1 it was traded the previous day. In the week, the value of the currency depreciated by 1.01 per cent or N5 as it opened for the week at N465/$1, indicating that it declined to its lowest point since late September. However, at the same parallel market on

By Adedapo Adesanya  The Minister of Power, Mr Adebayo Adelabu, has announced a collaborative $2.2 billion deal with Sun Africa LLC, a US-based renewable energy solutions provider that aligns with the federal government’s power sector transformation roadmap of distributed power leveraging on renewable energy. Mr Adelabu made the announcement via his X handle (formerly Twitter) on November 19, 2023. He said Sun Africa has committed to delivering 961 MWp of solar PV generation infrastructure and 455 MWh of battery energy storage systems. The Minister said the collaborative effort will advance sustainable and reliable energy solutions for the nation adding that

By Adedapo Adesanya Nigerian fintech startup, FairMoney, has acquired PayForce, a CrowdForce subsidiary, for an undisclosed amount believed to be between $15 million and $20 million. The acquisition of the merchant payment services that serve small businesses will also see CrowdForce CEO, Mr Oluwatomi Ayorinde, join FairMoney to head its payments business unit. This is the latest news coming from FairMoney since 2021 when it raised $42 million in a Series B, which saw it expand to India. According to TechCrunch, the acquisition will provide incentives for PayForce-acquired merchants who use FairMoney as their primary bank, such as an 18

By Adedapo Adesanya Mastercard has launched a new programme, Fintech Express, aimed at providing tailor-made solutions that boost market entry and expansion for financial technology companies in Africa and the Middle East. Fintech Express will leverage the power of partnerships and Mastercard’s expertise, technology, and global network to help fintech companies focus on innovation that drives the digital economy. The programme is designed for all types of fintechs – established companies wanting a direct license from Mastercard, as well as fintech startups with the ambition to innovate through collaborating with ready-to-go Mastercard Engage partners. From a startup perspective, the “Build”

By Dipo Olowookere As part of his efforts to make Imo State an investment hub in the South East and Nigeria at large, Governor Rochas Okorocha has declared that his government would give free land space to genuine investors. Mr Okorocha made this pronouncement on Friday while commissioning the newly opened branch of Everyday Supermarket along World Bank Road in the state. The Governor also told owners of the supermarket that he would give them free land space at choice location in Owerri if they wish to expand and establish more branches in the capital city. According to the Principal

By Dipo Olowookere The name and trading symbol of Interlinked Technologies Plc has been changed by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited. The modification was made by the stock exchange after the firm submitted the change of name approved by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). Business Post recalls that at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the organisation held last December, shareholders agreed to the proposal seeking to change the company’s name to Eunisell Interlinked Plc from Interlinked Technologies Plc. The board had commenced the paperwork to reflect this new development and after weeks of talks, a notice has been sent

By Modupe Gbadeyanka No fewer than five companies were listed on the trading floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) between 2016 and 2018. Since the 2008 global market meltdown, the local bourse has not had any firm listing its shares via Initial Public Offering (IPO) apart from Seplat, which had its in 2014. The 2008 market crisis saw Nigerian stock market losing over 60 percent of its capitalisation, a development some investors are yet to recover from. Since then, some investors have been very careful of the stock market, preferring to watch from afar. But data obtained by the

By Aduragbemi Omiyale From February 2024, a leading pharmaceutical company, Sanofi-Aventi Nigeria Limited, will put a stop to its direct operations in the country, opting to hand over this business to a yet-to-be-named third party. In a statement signed by the Country Lead for Sanofi, Ms Folake Odediran, it was noted that this new business model was adopted for the “commercialisation of Sanofi portfolio of medicines” through a major distributor. This business model is also to be adopted by another player in the sector, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Nigeria Plc, which announced its planned exit from the Nigerian market a few months