Economy

Nigeria’s FX Reserves Near $36bn After $200m Boost from P&ID Case

Published

5 years ago

29/09/2020

By Adedapo Adesanya

The foreign reserves of Nigeria received a boost of $200 million on Tuesday after a Commercial Court in England ordered the release of the guarantee put in place as security in respect of the execution of the much-discredited $10 billion arbitral claims between the country and Process and Industrial Developments (P&ID).

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in an announcement today, said the country has received the money, which is expected to increase the FX reserves.

As at the time of filing this report, Business Post gathered that Nigeria’s external reserves stood at $35.7 billion and with this addition, it would jump to $35.9 billion.

“Nigeria’s Foreign Exchange Reserves was this morning boosted by over $200 million when the London Commercial Court ordered the release of the $200 million guarantee put in place as security in respect of the execution of the much discredited P&ID $10 Billion Arbitral Claim,” the CBN said in a tweet via its verified Twitter account on Tuesday afternoon.

The court also awarded a £70,000 cost in favour of Nigeria in addition to an earlier award of £1.5 million, which equally boost the nation’s foreign funds.

Business Post had reported that Process and Industrial Developments (P&ID) Limited was to make the payment of more than £1.5 million to Nigeria within 21 days to cover legal costs in an ensuing legal battle between both parties.

This followed a September 4 decision by Mr Ross Cranston, a judge of the Business and Property Courts of England and Wales, which granted Nigeria’s application for an extension of time and relief from sanctions.

Commenting on the outcome, the CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, said: “Due to the substantial evidence of prima facie fraud established before the court, we are pleased that the Judge has agreed to release the guarantee.

“We are also pleased that the court has rejected P&ID’s application to increase the guarantee, which was clearly intended to be a diversionary tactic and entirely misconceived.

“This release which is an accretion into the reserves will further enhance the nation’s management of the exchange rate of its domestic currency, the Naira.

“This is a further and significant victory for Nigeria in our ongoing fight to overturn the $10 billion award procured through fraud and corruption by P&ID and former government officials.

“P&ID and its backers, Lismore Capital and VR Advisory, are increasingly seeing their case slip between their fingers. They continue to resort to employing delay tactics, disseminating misleading claims, and taking every step to obstruct our investigations across multiple jurisdictions.

“The FRN will not rest until we secure justice for the people of Nigeria – no matter how long it takes. Investigations are ongoing, and we are confident that more of the truth will be revealed over the coming months.”

P&ID, a firm based in the British Virgin Islands, had won a $9.6 billion arbitration award against the Nigerian government after the collapse of a 2010 gas project. The award had been accruing interest since 2013 and is now worth more than $10 billion.

Nigeria has now successfully sought the right to appeal a previous ruling that would have converted the arbitration award to a judgment, which would make it easier for P&ID to seize the country’s assets.

Economy

NASD Index Rises 0.16% on Renewed Investors’ Appetite

Published

59 minutes ago

23/12/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.16 per cent on Monday, December 22 as investors showed hunger for unlisted stocks.

Trading data showed that the volume of securities traded at the session surged by 532.9 per cent to 12.6 million units from the previous 1.9 million units, as the value of transactions jumped by 64.3 per cent to N713.6 million from N80.3 million, though the number of deals moderated by 13.5 per cent to 32 deals from the 37 deals recorded in the previous trading session.

Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc ended the day as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units sold for N16.4 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 178.9 million units worth N9.5 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 36.1 million units transacted for N4.9 billion.

InfraCredit Plc also finished the trading day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units traded for N16.4 billion, trailed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with the sale of 1.2 billion units for N420.7 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with a turnover of 537.0 million units valued at N524.9 million.

The unlisted securities market printed a price loser, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which dropped 20 Kobo to sell at N53.80 per share versus last Friday’s closing price of N54.00 per share.

However, the loss was offset by the trio of NASD Plc, Golden Capital Plc, and UBN Property Plc.

NASD Plc gained N5.00 to close at N60.00 per unit versus N55.00 per unit, Golden Capital Plc appreciated by 77 Kobo to N8.45 per share from N7.68 per share, and UBN Property Plc improved by 22 Kobo to N2.43 per unit from N2.21 per unit.

As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N3.38 billion to N2.125 billion from N2.121 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) grew by 5.65 per cent to 3,552.06 points from 3,546.41 points.

Economy

Nigeria’s Stock Exchange Sustains Bull Run by 0.26%

Published

1 hour ago

23/12/2025

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

The bulls remained on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Monday, rallying by 0.26 per cent at the close of transactions.

This was buoyed by the gains recorded by 34 equities on Nigeria’s stock exchange, which outweighed the losses posted by 20 equities, indicating a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.

Aluminium Extrusion gained 9.72 per cent to quote at N13.55, International Energy Insurance improved by 9.69 per cent to N2.49, Mecure Industries rose by 9.64 per cent to N60.30, Royal Exchange expanded by 9.60 per cent to N1.94, and Austin Laz grew by 9.50 per cent to N2.65.

On the flip side, Custodian Investment depleted by 10.00 per cent to N35.10, ABC Transport crashed by 10.00 per cent to N3.15, Prestige Assurance weakened by 7.41 per cent to N1.50, and Guinea Insurance slipped by 7.38 per cent to N1.13.

During the session, investors traded 451.5 million shares worth N13.0 billion in 33,327 deals compared with the 1.5 billion shares valued at N21.8 billion transacted in 25,667 deals in the preceding session, showing spike in the number of deals by 29.84 per cent, and a decline in the trading volume and value by 69.90 per cent and 40.37 per cent apiece.

The first trading session of the Christmas week had Tantalizers as the most active with 50.2 million units sold for N127.5 million, First Holdco transacted 32.6 million units worth N1.5 billion, Access Holdings exchanged 27.3 million units valued at N562.3 million, Custodian Investment traded 22.1 million units for N857.8 million, and Chams transacted 21.3 million units valued at N71.1 million.

When the closing gong was struck at 2:30 pm to end trading activities, the All-Share Index (ASI) was up by 401.69 points to 152,459.07 points from 152,057.38 points and the market capitalisation went up by N256 billion to N97.193 trillion from N96.937 trillion.

Economy

Naira Appreciates to N1,456/$1 at Official FX Market

Published

2 hours ago

23/12/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira opened the week stronger against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) by N7.93 or 0.54 per cent on Monday, December 22, trading at N1,456.56/$1 compared with last Friday’s value of N1,464.49/$1.

The local currency also appreciated against the Euro in the same market window yesterday by N4.04 to close at N1,710.59/€1 versus the preceding session’s N1,714.63/€1, but depreciated against the Pound Sterling by 3 Kobo to finish at N1,957.33/£1 compared with the previous session’s N1,957.30/£1.

At the GTBank FX counter, the Nigerian Naira lost N3 against the greenback during the session to end at N1,470/$1 versus N1,467/$1 and remained unchanged in the parallel market at N1,485/$1.

Despite the market facing seasonal pressure, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) conducted FX intervention sales, which have significantly reduced but not remove pressure from the Naira. The lender sold $150 million to authorised dealers and banks to absorb pressures from increasing demand for Dollar.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s foreign exchange (FX) reserves have recorded the first decline in 25 weeks, falling by $263.151 million to $45.21 billion as of December 17, 2025, according to new data from the apex bank.

This marks a reversal of a long-running accumulation trend that pushed reserves to their highest level in six years. The contraction ended a sustained build-up that had peaked at $45.472 billion on December 12.

As for the cryptocurrency market, the bears dominated, with traders remaining cautious about a significant recovery with the market facing exhaustion.

While the total crypto market capitalization has surpassed $3 trillion, analysts warn that the market outcomes in the next few weeks may be driven by exhaustion rather than renewed confidence.

Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 1.9 per cent to $1.88, Ethereum (ETH) slid by 1.8 per cent to $2,971.28, Bitcoin (BTC) went down by 1.4 per cent to sell at $87,599.57, and Solana (SOL) slumped by 1.1 per cent to $124.89.

Further, Litecoin (LTC) declined by 0.9 per cent to close at $76.84, Dogecoin (DOGE) shrank by 0.7 per cent to $0.1310, Binance Coin (BNB) lost 0.6 per cent to sell for $852.09, and Cardano (ADA) fell by 0.1 per cent to $0.3655, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.