Economy
Ogun Attracts $2.5bn Investment from Brazilian Meat-Packing Firm
By Adedapo Adesanya
The largest protein producer in the world, JBS of Brazil, has indicated interest to invest about $2.5 billion in the livestock subsector of Nigeria’s economy.
The controlling shareholder of the company, Mr Wesley Batista, gave this indication when officials of his firm, led by Mr John Coumantaros, visited the Ogun State Governor, Mr Dapo Abiodun, in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta on Sunday.
Mr Batista, who described Nigeria as the hub of Africa with the largest population, noted the enormous potentials that exist in the country in terms of human and natural resources, and said they were ready to bring their knowledge and expertise in the area of livestock to bear in the nation’s economy.
“We have been talking and learning about Nigeria. We had the privilege to meet the Nigerian delegation in Brazil when President Bola Tinubu visited our country. We see Nigeria as the hub of Africa with a very large population.
“Though it is our first time in Nigeria, we feel that we have a lot of similarities between Brazil and Nigeria. We have a very good impression so far about Nigeria and Nigerians.
“We are serious about coming to Nigeria to invest in beef, pork, chicken, among others. We see growth prospects in Nigeria and what Nigerian leaders are doing in encouraging investors to come and make significant investments here. We can bring our knowledge and expertise to bear in Nigeria’s economy,” he stated.
Giving a brief background of the company, Mr Batista narrated that it started in 1953 with slaughtering one cow per day and grew to 600 heads of cattle in one beef plant per day in 1957, becoming the largest beef player in Brazil in the 1990s.
“In the beginning of 2000, we started looking for opportunities to go beyond Brazil, and in 2005, we started in Argentina, and in 2007, we went to the United States and Australia. JBS is our biggest business under our holding company,” he added.
Mr Batista said the organization currently has a revenue of about $75 billion and 280,000 direct members who operate hundreds of facilities across Brazil, the USA, Mexico, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Italy, and France, among others.
According to the Controlling Shareholder, the company processes 80,000 heads of cattle, 15 million chickens, about 25,000 heads of lamb per day, and also produces packaged products like sausages and bacon, while they also hold interests in other sectors like energy, the paper-producing industry, banking and finance, as well as soap and toiletries.
On his part, Governor Abiodun said the state, with more than 16,000 square kilometers, offers an ideal location for investments as it provides unique connections to the 17 southern states as well as the northern parts of the country.
“We have provided, in terms of infrastructure, 1,000 kilometers of highways and the best-constructed airport in Nigeria, specially dedicated to agro imports and exports.
“We are number one in non-oil, as two-thirds of the state sits on limestone. Our state is the third-largest producer of cement in Africa, trailing behind Morocco, which is second, and Egypt, which is first.
“The state also has gold, silica, bitumen, and others which are too numerous to mention. We have gas reticulation more than any other state. There are two major gas pipelines that crisscross our state,” he stated.
Governor Abiodun noted that Ogun is going into power generation and distribution, assuring that industries and companies that operate in the State would have access to the cheapest power supply in the country.
On the acquisition of land, the governor said it has been made seamless as land title documents would be made ready within 30 days, assuring that his administration has invested significantly in security to guarantee the safety of lives and properties of those who live and work in state.
He lauded the company for rising from humble beginnings to become the largest protein producer in the world, saying his administration is looking forward to seeing the company establish itself in the State.
The leader of the delegation, Mr Coumantaros, in his remarks, applauded the governor for opening up the state in the area of infrastructure, which he noted has pushed up investments and brought more development to the State.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), Ms Aisha Rimi, on her part, said the meeting is a follow-up to the technical team sent by the company to assess the potentials of the state for investment.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange extended its gains by 0.91 per cent on Wednesday, June 3, spurred by three price gainers led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which rose by N13.90 to sell N210.41 per share versus the previous day’s N196.51 per share. MRS Oil appreciated by N10 to N190.00 per unit from N180.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc added 5 Kobo to sell at N3.00 per share versus N2.95 per share.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N23.91 billion to N2.660 trillion from N2.636 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) gained 39.97 points to finish at 4,446.27 points, in contrast to Tuesday’s 4,406.30 points.
The NASD exchange witnessed three price losers at midweek, led by Nipco Plc, which shrank by N21.30 to close at N325.97 per unit compared with the previous session’s N347.27 per unit, Nitrox Industrial Gases Plc went down by N1.20 to quote at N24.30 per share versus the preceding session’s N25.50 per share, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc weakened to by 69 Kobo to N75.41 per unit from N76.10 per unit.
The volume of trades yesterday significantly improved by 71.5 per cent to 527,221 units from Tuesday’s 307,363 units, as the value of transactions soared by 49.9 per cent to N64.2 million from the preceding session’s N49.9 million, and the number of deals surged by 9.5 per cent to 46 deals from 42 deals.
When trading activities ended for the day, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 64.6 million units exchanged for N4.4 billion.
GNI Plc also ended the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The positive run of the Naira against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) continued on Wednesday, June 3, with the former chalking up N3.79 or 0.28 per cent against the latter, closing at N1,357.26, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1,361.05/$1.
Similarly, the Nigerian currency gained N10.52 against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session to close at N1,822.67/£1 compared with the previous rate of N1,833.19/£1, and appreciated against the Euro by N9.56 to N1,574.83/€1 from N1,584.39/€1.
Further, at the black market, the Naira improved its value against the greenback at midweek by N5 to trade at N1,375/$1 compared with the N1,380/$1 it was traded a day earlier, and at the GTBank FX counter, it gained N6 to sell for N1,372/$1 versus N1,378/$1.
The boost came as the country’s external reserves continued to gain momentum. A look at the updated data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that foreign reserves continue to increase with two consecutive inflows in June 2026, settling at $49.876 billion as of Tuesday.
Foreign portfolio investors, exporters and non-bank corporates continue to keep the supply side strong, with the less aggressive FX interventions by the CBN at the official window in recent times helping to ease worries about capital flight.
The apex bank reported that interbank FX turnover declined to $133.731 million across 136 deals, from $169.822 million the previous day.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market remained bearish due to sell-offs triggered by geopolitical uncertainties and the US stock market rally.
Cardano (ADA) dipped by 5.5 per cent to $0.2046, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 4.8 per cent to $627.56, Solana (SOL) shrank by 3.9 per cent to $72.99, Ethereum (ETH) depreciated by 2.9 per cent to $1,844.53, and Bitcoin (BTC) slipped by 2.7 per cent to $65,675.87.
Further, Dogecoin (DOGE) depleted by 1.4 per cent to $0.0928, Ripple (XRP) declined by 0.7 per cent to $1.21, and TRON (TRX) lost 0.4 per cent to sell at $0.3336, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) gained 0.01 each to settle at $0.9986 and $0.9997, respectively.
By Dipo Olowookere
Nigeria’s stock market further depleted by 1.44 per cent on Wednesday following panic sell-offs by investors, who are cutting down their exposure to local equities.
Business Post observed that profit-taking dominated Customs Street at midweek, with all the key sectors of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited closing in red.
The insurance space shed 2.76 per cent, the industrial goods index lost 1.55 per cent, the banking counter declined by 1.53 per cent, the consumer goods segment shrank by 0.28 per cent, and the energy sector weakened by 0.05 per cent.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) contracted by 3,554.05 points to 243,132.61 points from 246,686.66 points, and the market capitalisation moderated by N2.279 trillion to N155.940 trillion from N158.219 trillion.
Lafarge Africa led the losers’ chart yesterday after it gave up 9.97 per cent to trade at N307.90, Zichis lost 9.82 per cent to close at N29.20, Learn Africa depreciated by 9.80 per cent to N11.50, John Holt crashed by 9.80 per cent to N13.80, and Consolidated Hallmark dipped by 8.84 per cent to N6.19.
On the flip side, Abbey Mortgage Bank topped the gainers’ log after it grew by 9.93 per cent to N7.75, International Energy Insurance appreciated by 9.89 per cent to N6.00, Tripple G gained 9.80 per cent to sell for N4.37, Universal Insurance expanded by 8.91 per cent to N1.10, and Royal Exchange improved by 7.14 per cent to N1.50.
A total of 17 stocks gained weight yesterday, while 43 stocks lost weight, indicating a negative market breadth index and weak investor sentiment. This has been the mood of the market since the beginning of this week.
Market participants transacted 923.0 million shares worth N42.3 billion in 69,332 deals on Wednesday, in contrast to the 718.8 million shares valued at N29.3 billion traded in 71,683 deals on Tuesday, representing a drop in the number of deals by 3.28 per cent, and a rise in the trading volume and value by 28.41 per cent and 44.37 per cent, respectively.
Sterling Holdings led the activity chart with 264.6 million units valued at N2.1 billion, Access Holdings traded 76.7 million units worth N1.8 billion, Linkage Assurance exchanged 55.1 million units for N99.2 million, VFD Group sold 35.5 million units worth N378.8 million, and Ellah Lakes transacted 33.1 million units valued at N334.3 million.
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