Economy
NIPCO Mulls LPG Production For Good Returns to Shareholders
By Adedapo Adesanya
Managing Director of NIPCO Plc, Mr Sanjay Teotia, has hinted that the leading downstream oil company in Nigeria will consider “venturing into [Liquefied Petroleum Gas] LPG production [in the near future] against the background of the nation’s richness in natural gas.”
Mr Teotia made this disclosure at the 15th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the energy firm held in the nation’s capital, Abuja, on Wednesday, September 25, 2019.
Business Post reports that the MD, while addressing shareholders at the gathering, explained that the reason for this is to “diversify and grow our streams of income through the expansion of the company’s oil and gas business would gain more momentum,” assuring investors that they would “continue to smile with good returns on their investment year in year out.”
According to him, “Our growth plans for the future would be hinged on focused implementation of our strategic intent of exceeding customer’s expectations in all our line of businesses.
He said, “Currently in LPG storage space, NIPCO does not only possess the largest capacity but also are the most active as well as the supplier of choice for LPG,” thanking shareholders for their “growing faith in the management over the years.”
Mr Teotia said he has been able to firm up the administration in his second successive year in the leadership of the company, in a way that each and every member of the NIPCO family possesses greater sense of belonging in the overall interest of the company, promising to take the form to greater heights.
He described the 2018 financial year as challenging especially with the setback suffered by the Petroleum Industry Governance bill, but said despite this and others, NIPCO was “able to drive its growth plans through expansion of some of its core business activities and a backward integration of its business lines.”
He said, “Management has continued to make more investments in the white and gas business to boost more revenues and deliver significant returns to you all. We were able to optimize cost without necessarily sacrificing quality service delivery,” emphasising that, “Fifteen years of operation in a stormy industry such as ours is great achievement worthy of applause.”
L-R, Group Executive Director, NIPCO PLC, Abdulkadir Aminu; Director, Mr Ramesh Kasangra; Chairman, Chief Bestman Anekwe; Managing Director, Mr Sanjay Teotia; and Company Secretary, Barrister Paul Obi at the company’s Annual General Meeting in Abuja.
On his part, Chairman of NIPCO, Mr Bestman Anekwe, noted that, “We have maintained a constant expansion of our retail outlets and furthermore our company has maintained the lead in the LPG subsector by doubling the number of LPG skids and plants all over the country,” adding that the company was able to sustain its steady growth through strategic expansion of some of its core business activities and made a turnover of about N254 billion and a profit after tax of N1.5 billion
Mr Anekwe also noted these achievements were recorded in the face of the difficult operating environment, which had prevailed in the sector in the last few years, adding that the board of directors of the downstream oil sector player also proposed a total dividend of N563 million translating into 300k (N3) per share from the profit after tax, which was unanimously approved by the shareholders .
In the year under review, the firm declared a profit after tax of N1.58 billion and recorded N254 billion turnover, while deepening its petroleum products outlets expansion and doubling its LPG market share in Nigeria.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Debt Management Office (DMO) on Monday allotted bonds worth N929.3 billion to investors from the N1.7 trillion bids it received from subscribers.
The exercise, which took place on Monday, July 20, 2026, was oversubscribed by market participants, reflecting the confidence investors have in the government’s ability to redeem the debt instrument on maturity.
On offer for sale for the July auction was N1.2 trillion worth of the FGN bonds, but the DMO allotted below this, despite receiving bids above the offer.
The papers were offered in 10-year, 15-year, and 20-year tenors, at N400 billion each.
For the decade-old note, investors staked N444.47 billion, but the debt office sold N245.73 billion at an 18.34 per cent coupon rate. For the one and a half-decade-old paper, bids valued at N518.00 billion were received by the DMO, with a non-competitive bid of N50.00 billion, with N302.13 billion allotted to investors at 18.40 per cent, and for the two-decade paper, the DMO got competitive bids of N665.19 billion and N381.46 billion was sold to bondholders at 18.35 per cent.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Yemi Cardoso, disclosed that Nigeria’s external reserves had risen to $52.5 billion, enough to finance about nine months of imports.
He disclosed this on Tuesday at the end of the 306th meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) held in Abuja, where the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) retained the benchmark interest rate at 26.50 per cent as well as the standing facilities corridor at +50/-450 basis points around the MPR.
Similarly, the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) was maintained at 45 per cent for Deposit Money Banks, 16 per cent for Merchant Banks, and 75 per cent for non-Treasury Single Account (TSA) public sector deposits.
Speaking on FX developments, the central banker said at the $52 billion level, the country’s external reserves were significantly above the internationally recommended threshold of three months of import cover.
On the Naira exchange rate, Mr Cardoso said the foreign exchange market had deepened and was now operating on a transparent willing-buyer, willing-seller basis.
He said the apex bank remained committed to maintaining a liquid and functional foreign exchange market, adding that daily market turnover sometimes exceeded $1 billion.
According to him, the long-term stability of the naira would depend on key economic fundamentals, including increased oil exports, foreign direct investment, and improved domestic productivity to reduce dependence on imports.
He also added that the MPC welcomed the federal government’s renewed commitment to stronger policy coordination, particularly collaboration between fiscal and monetary authorities, which he said had helped reduce the impact of the Middle East crisis on the Nigerian economy.
Mr Cardoso said members of the committee also commended efforts to improve crude oil production and urged relevant agencies to intensify reforms in other sectors, including solid minerals, to boost government revenue.
On the regulatory forbearance granted to banks during the COVID-19 period, he reiterated that this had been discontinued because it had served its purpose.
According to him, the policy had “outlived its time” and was no longer necessary in assessing the health of the banking sector.
“Forbearance, we felt, had outlived its time. Many of you will recall this is something that came as a result of COVID. And now we are in 2026; we did not see the reason why that should continue to form part of the analysis of the banking system,” he said.
Mr Cardoso explained that banks had begun recalibrating their portfolios following the end of the policy, leading to a temporary reduction in outstanding risk assets.
He, however, assured that the development was part of a transition towards a stronger and more sustainable credit environment.
“It reflects a transition to a more sustainable and better quality credit environment, which is what we all want. We don’t want unanticipated shocks that come in a boom-and-bust fashion,” he said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange extended its recent positive run by 1.17 per cent on Tuesday, July 21, triggered by appreciation seen in four bellwethers.
Leading the pack was FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which added N12.00 to its value to close at N153.15 per share compared with the previous day’s N141.15 per share. NASD Plc appreciated by N1.90 to N36.00 per unit from N34.10 per unit, Food Concepts Plc improved by 23 Kobo to N2.48 per share from N2.25 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc grew by a marginal 1 Kobo to N15.01 per unit from N15.00 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation of the bourse increased by N30.40 billion to N2.637 trillion from Monday’s N2.606 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) gained 50.70 points to finish at 4,393.97 points, in contrast to the 4,343.27 points it ended a day earlier.
The unlisted securities exchange recorded a price loser yesterday, and it was Geo-Fluids Plc, which shed 1 Kobo to settle at N2.30 per share versus N2.31 per share.
During the trading day, the volume of securities traded by market participants on Tuesday dropped 99.4 per cent to 322,147 units from the previous day’s 52.6 million units, the value of securities dipped by 89.8 per cent to N19.4 million from the preceding session’s N191.2 million, and the number of deals contracted by 3.6 per cent to 27 deals from 28 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc ended the day as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units traded for N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 75.4 million units exchanged for N5.3 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million.
