Economy
NSE: 13 Stocks Grow All Share Index by 0.12%
By Dipo Olowookere
The All Share Index (ASI) of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) grew on Friday by 0.12 per cent or 29.8 points to settle at 24,306.36 points as against Thursday’s 24,276.56 points.
This was as a result of the gains printed by 13 equities, mostly large-cap stocks, which overshadowed the losses reported by nine shares.
The rise in the share prices of the 13 stocks increased the market capitalisation of the exchange by N16 billion to N12.680 trillion from N12.664 trillion.
At the last trading day for the week, MTN Nigeria led the gainers’ log with a price appreciation of N1.10 to settle at N116.10 per share.
Vitafoam grew by 26 kobo to close at N5.33 per unit, International Breweries grew by 25 kobo to settle at N3.85 per share, GlaxoSmithKline gained 20 kobo to sell at N4.80 per unit, while PZ Cussons appreciated by 15 kobo to trade at N4.50 per unit.
On the other side, GTBank was the worst-performing stock, losing 30 kobo of its share value to finish at N22.45 per share.
UBA depreciated by 15 kobo to sell at N6.25 per share, while the trio of FBN Holdings, ABC Transport and Zenith Bank lost 5 kobo each to quote at N5.20 per share, 51 kobo per share and N16.70 per share respectively.
Business Post reports that only the consumer goods sector appreciated yesterday, growing by 0.56 per cent, while both the industrial goods and oil/gas indices closed flat, with the banking counter going down by 0.68 per cent and the insurance space losing 0.63 per cent.
The activity chart was in red on Friday with the trading volume, value and number of deals crashing by 31.47 per cent, 63.58 per cent and 20.58 per cent respectively.
A total of 131.6 million shares worth N899.4 million were transacted in 3,044 deals as against the previous day’s 192.1 million stocks valued at N2.5 billion traded in 3,833 deals.
Sterling Bank was the most traded equity at the market during the session, transacting 17.7 million shares valued at N22.6 million.
Zenith Bank sold 13.2 million stocks worth N220.5 million, UBA exchanged 7.5 million equities for N47.1 million, Transcorp transacted 7.4 million shares worth N4.7 million, while Fidelity Bank traded 6.2 million for N11.1 million.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Nigeria slightly surpassed its quota set by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in July 2026.
In the month under review, the country produced about 1.57 million barrels of crude oil per day.
It was the third consecutive month Africa’s largest oil-producing nation was meeting its monthly quota, set to stabilise the price of the commodity on the global market by the oil cartel.
Data released by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) on Wednesday showed that the 1.5 million barrels per day ceiling for Nigeria was surpassed last month.
The agency disclosed in a statement today that the country produced 1.505mbpd of crude oil and 0.17mbpd of condensate, bringing the combined daily production to 1.67mbpd.
In the month under review, the daily peak production of crude oil and condensate was 1.78mbpd, while the lowest daily production was 1.57mbpd.
Although Nigeria met its OPEC quota in the month of July, the statistics show that on a month-on-month basis, production fell by 4 per cent.
This was attributed to the decline in production due to operational challenges experienced at the Erha and Akpo fields, which impacted crude oil output during the period under review.
These disruptions constrained production volumes and contributed significantly to the overall reduction in national crude oil output.
Despite the challenges, production operations across most other producing assets remained relatively stable, with operators implementing measures aimed at maintaining production efficiency and minimising the impact of operational constraints, NUPRC stated.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The over 9 billion shares of Lasaco Assurance Plc issued to shareholders of the company via a rights issue have been listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
The equities were brought to Customs Street on Wednesday by the organisation, increasing its total issued and fully paid-up share capital.
Lasaco Assurance, which scaled the recapitalisation hurdle of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) in July 2026, raised fresh capital from the capital market to shore up its capital base.
The underwriting firm got about N18.5 billion from the rights issue, which involved the issuance of 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares at a unit price of N2.00.
The exercise was on the basis of five new ordinary shares for every existing six ordinary shares held as of the close of business on Friday, February 20, 2026.
Confirming the listing of the additional stocks of Lasaco Assurance today, the Head of Issuer Regulation Department of NGX RegCo, Mr Godstime Iwenekhai, announced in a circular that, “Trading licence holders are hereby notified that an additional 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each of Lasaco Assurance Plc were today, Wednesday, August 12, 2026, listed on the daily official list of Nigerian Exchange Limited.
“The additional shares arose from the company’s rights issue of 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N2.00 per share on the basis of five new ordinary shares for every existing six ordinary shares held as of the close of business on Friday, February 20, 2026.
“With the listing of the additional 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares, the total issued and fully paid-up share capital of Lasaco Assurance Plc has now increased from 11,083,585,855 to 20,319,907,401 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) has said the successful recapitalisation of the insurance industry will strengthen the sector’s ability to support financial stability and economic growth.
NIA Chairman, Mrs Ebelechukwu Nwachukwu, said a well-capitalised insurance industry would be better positioned to meet its obligations promptly, underwrite complex and large-scale risks and serve as a dependable pillar of the Nigerian economy.
She made the remarks while commending the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) for its structured implementation of the new minimum capital requirements under the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025.
Mrs Nwachukwu said NAICOM’s clear guidelines, systematic verification process, defined timelines and rigorous supervision had provided operators with a credible framework for navigating the recapitalisation exercise.
She described the outcome as a major milestone for the industry and congratulated the 43 insurance and reinsurance companies that have successfully met the prescribed minimum capital requirements.
According to her, the exercise represents “a major win not just for regulators and operators, but for policyholders, investors and the wider Nigerian economy.”
Mrs Nwachukwu said the association would continue to work with NAICOM and other stakeholders to consolidate the gains of the exercise, with emphasis on sustainable industry growth, stronger market conduct and improved consumer confidence.
The official also expressed solidarity with the eight companies still undergoing final verification and regulatory review, urging them to remain confident as NAICOM completes the process within the 14-day review period.
The NIA chairman assured policyholders and the wider business community that the insurance industry would emerge from the recapitalisation exercise stronger, more resilient and better positioned to contribute to Nigeria’s economic development.
