Economy
NSE Backs Social Bonds Issuance for New, Existing Projects
By Tenebe Anthonia
The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has thrown its weight behind the issuance of social bonds for the execution of new or existing projects with positive social outcomes.
Business Post reports that in March 2020, the African Development Bank (AfDB) launched $3 billion three-year social bonds to help ease the negative economic effect of coronavirus disease.
The CEO of the exchange, Mr Oscar Onyema, while speaking on Wednesday at a webinar on Capital Markets in a Pandemic, said the COVID-19 pandemic has propped up the social bonds investments.
According to him, before now, attention had been on the ‘E’ and ‘G’ of the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) sides of investments.
“At the exchange, we have a robust sustainability agenda. While we have focused on the ‘G’ in ESG, creating governance-based indices and heightened awareness on governance imperatives, we have also worked with several stakeholders to address the ‘E’ by creating green bonds in support of projects with strong climate credentials.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is now forcing us to set our sights on social bonds as a way of raising capital to support new or existing projects with positive social outcomes,” Mr Onyema said.
On his part, the CEO of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, Mr Robert Scharfe, stated that, “Over the last few months, we have seen the green bond market shift quickly towards social bonds.
“We have seen over $20 billion raised in response to COVID-19. This is an indication that investors are interested in these types of investments and I think this is just the beginning of the shift for shift ESG investments from a niche asset to the mainstream.”
Another panellist, Mr Nikhil Rathi, the CEO of the London Stock Exchange (LSE), who spoke on the matter, said, “We anticipate a change in the nature of investing with ESG considerations featuring across asset classes.
“The LSE is, therefore, excited over our foresight in building a dedicated Green Bond Segment and introducing a green economy classification for equities. In fact, our first listing for the year was a green energy company.
“It will, therefore, be interesting to see how this plays out over the next ten or so years even as issuers respond to investors’ demands to build a better world.”
Looking ahead, the panel discussants reiterated the critical position of exchanges in supporting economies which can be encapsulated in the words of the CEO of the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE), Ms Nandini Sukumar.
She said, “The focus today is on rebuilding the economy. Exchanges have made the requisite investments to keep markets open and maintain fair and orderly markets during this pandemic.
“They will remain fundamental to capital market stakeholders who require access to capital to build, grow and develop the various sectors of the economy.”
She further expressed her delight over the NSE’s efforts in operating an efficient and transparent market, commend the NSE for promoting sustainable finance in West Africa, and also recognise Mr Onyema on the thought leadership displayed in convening the webinar.
In closing the event, the National Council President, NSE, Mr Abimbola Ogubanjo, stated that, “Today, we have highlighted some of the steps that we can expect to see in the near future including the development of alternative and sustainable asset classes; dependence on technology and digital innovation; commitment to customer centricity; and drive for collaboration across regions.
“With these, capital market players can rest assured that exchanges will continue to execute on their mandate to deliver a platform to raise and access capital even during a crisis.
“Certainly, we are living in unprecedented times but from what we have heard, I believe that we can all leave with the confidence that there is a lot to look forward to in this ‘new normal.”
The webinar, organised by the exchange, had over 350 participants in attendance and was moderated by CNN correspondent, Ms Eleni Giokos.
The forum proved to be rather timely in addressing topical issues around the vulnerability and unique opportunities that the COVID-19 pandemic has created and how they are being – and will continue to be – addressed by stock exchanges.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Senate has passed a bill to repeal and re-enact the law establishing the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), paving the way for the regulatory agency to be renamed the Insurance Regulatory Commission (IRC).
The legislation, titled the Insurance Regulatory Commission (Establishment) Bill, 2026, was passed after the Senate considered and adopted the report of its committee on banking, insurance and other financial institutions.
The Chairman of the committee, Mr Adetokunbo Abiru, the senator representing Lagos East, who presented the report, stated that the proposed legislation was necessary because the existing National Insurance Commission Act of 1997 had become outdated and no longer reflected the realities of Nigeria’s evolving insurance industry or global regulatory standards.
According to the Senate, the decision to change the Commission’s name was informed by the need to eliminate confusion associated with the existing designation and to better reflect the institution’s regulatory mandate within Nigeria’s insurance industry.
The bill also provides legal protection for the commission and its officers against adverse claims arising from the lawful execution of their statutory duties.
However, he noted that the commission’s enabling law had become obsolete, exposing significant regulatory gaps that required urgent legislative intervention.
‘The current National Insurance Commission Act 1997 is outdated and does not adequately address the emerging economic growth, needs and development of the insurance business,” the lawmaker said.
He explained that the new legislation seeks to strengthen the independence of the commission by empowering it to make regulatory decisions without undue influence in the country’s insurance sector.
According to him, the bill also enhances the commission’s authority to exchange information and collaborate with domestic and international regulatory bodies, issue regulations, guidelines, standards and directives on insurance-related matters, and intervene more effectively in financially distressed insurance companies to protect policyholders and preserve financial stability.
This marks yet another move to strengthen the country’s insurance sector following the enactment of the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) of 2025 and the industry-wide recapitalisation exercise, which will wrap up by July 31.
By Adedapo Adesanya
About 143 companies that successfully passed the technical and prequalification stages of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission’s (NUPRC) 2025 Licensing Round will, today, compete for 50 oil and gas blocks at the commercial bid conference in Abuja, the final stage in the allocation process for the assets.
The commission said only the prequalified companies have been invited to attend the event, which will hold at the Conference Centre of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, stressing that participation is strictly by invitation.
The commercial bid conference will determine the successful bidders for oil and gas assets located across Nigeria’s producing and frontier basins.
The 50 blocks comprise 16 onshore blocks and 18 shallow water blocks in the Niger Delta, one deep offshore block, three onshore blocks in the Benin Basin, four in the Anambra Basin, four in the Chad Basin, and four in the Benue Trough.
According to the commission, the winning bids will be determined through a transparent evaluation process based on clearly defined commercial parameters. These include the signature bonus offered by bidders, the proposed work programme commitment and the level of performance security provided. The final selection will be based on a weighted technical and commercial score.
The licensing round is being conducted under the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, which requires a transparent and competitive process for the award of petroleum assets.
NUPRC had announced the commencement of the 2025 Licensing Round on November 11, 2025, before opening the online bid portal on December 1, 2025, to enable interested companies to register and participate in the exercise.
To ensure prospective investors fully understood the requirements, the commission organised a pre-bid conference on January 14, 2026, at Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos. The event provided detailed explanations on the licensing guidelines and bidding procedures to registered participants and other stakeholders.
Registration and submission of prequalification documents closed on February 27, 2026, while the prequalification evaluation was completed on March 16, 2026.
NUPRC disclosed that 286 companies initially submitted applications for prequalification.
Following the evaluation process, 196 companies were cleared to participate in the technical and commercial bid stages.
The prequalified 143 companies eventually submitted a total of 200 bids for the available oil and gas blocks. These companies are now set to compete at the commercial bid conference, where the financial offers will be opened and evaluated to determine the eventual winners.
The licensing round is expected to attract fresh investment into Nigeria’s upstream petroleum sector, boost exploration activities across both producing and frontier basins, increase crude oil and gas reserves, and support the country’s drive to grow production and government revenue.
It also underscores the regulator’s commitment to implementing a transparent, competitive and investor-friendly licensing regime under the Petroleum Industry Act.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has retained all key monetary policy parameters following the conclusion of its two-day meeting on July 21, 2026, on Tuesday, maintaining its tight monetary policy stance to curb inflation and support macroeconomic stability.
According to the Governor of the apex bank, Mr Yemi Cardoso, who chaired the committee, the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), which serves as the benchmark interest rate, remains at 26.50 per cent. The MPC also retained the asymmetric corridor around the MPR at +50 basis points and -450 basis points.
In addition, the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) for commercial banks was left unchanged at 45.00 per cent, while the CRR for merchant banks remains at 16.00 per cent. The committee also retained the CRR on non-Treasury Single Account (Non-TSA) public sector deposits at 75.00 per cent, with the liquidity ratio at 30.00 per cent.
The decision reflects the apex bank’s continued commitment to containing inflationary pressures through a restrictive monetary policy while safeguarding the resilience of Nigeria’s financial system amid ongoing macroeconomic adjustments.
By keeping all policy tools unchanged, the MPC signalled its intention to continue managing excess liquidity in the banking sector and maintain stability in financial markets.
The move is also expected to provide greater policy certainty for investors and businesses monitoring the country’s monetary policy direction.
The latest decision also means borrowing costs are likely to remain elevated in the near term as the central bank continues to prioritise price stability over monetary easing.
Analysts had expected the CBN committee to retain the rate after Nigeria’s headline inflation came in at 15.91 per cent as of June 2026, marking a slight decline from 15.93 per cent in May.
However, even as overall price growth has moderated significantly compared to previous periods, food inflation remains a persistent challenge, accelerating to 17.52 per cent in June.
