Oil Drops on Poor Chinese Demand Data 

By Adedapo Adesanya Crude oil prices settled gained almost one per cent higher on Tuesday as expectations of tighter supply outweighed worries that an uncertain economic outlook would hurt demand. Brent crude futures rose by 67 cents or 0.7 per cent to $93.96 per barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures increased by 71 cents or 0.8 per cent to $90.39 per barrel. Oil supply remains tight as Russia and Saudi Arabia have extended production cuts to the end of the year. Market analysts noted that oil supply is expected to underwhelm demand in the foreseeable future

By Adedapo Adesanya Foreign trading and investment firm, Risevest, has acquired Chaka, a digital trading platform. According to Techcabal, which first broke the news, the deal, which was for an undisclosed sum, will see both entities operate as different products, though the capitalisation table of the acquiree will be updated in due course. Speaking on this, Mr Tosin Osinbodu, Chaka’s founder, said, “I’m excited about how Chaka’s product will evolve and how we’re going to learn from the Risevest team.” “With booming growth in many nations around the world, investors can now own a stake in the growth of other

By Adedapo Adesanya Ultrasonic sensing technology company, Fluenta, has completed work on the Dangote Refinery in Nigeria, Africa’s biggest oil refinery, installing 18 ultrasonic flare gas meters on large pipelines around the plant. This company is using its technology to aid Nigeria’s flare gas reduction efforts and with Dangote Refinery set to begin operations soon, according to its management recently, this could be a step to fix inaccurate measurements of gas flaring. Nigeria currently imports refined petroleum products for its use, even though it is Africa’s biggest oil producer and with Dangote Refinery, the world’s largest single-train refinery capable of

By Adedapo Adesanya A foreign oil company, Equinor ASA, has chosen a little-known Nigerian company, Chappal Energy, as the preferred buyer of its stake in one of the country’s largest deep-water oil fields, Agbami. According to a report by Bloomberg on Monday, the Norwegian energy giant is trying to sell its 20.2 per cent interest in the Agbami field – joining other international producers such as Shell Plc, Exxon Mobil Corporation and Eni SpA in looking to offload assets in Africa’s biggest crude producer, Nigeria. In January, Equinor launched the sale of its stake in an offshore Nigerian oilfield, joining

By Dipo Olowookere The major stock market indices in the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), the All-Share Index and Market Capitalization appreciated by 0.34 percent this week to close at 25,250.37 points and N8.739 trillion respectively. Similarly, all other Indices finished higher during the week with the exception of the NSE Premium, NSE ASeM, NSE Banking, NSE Oil/Gas, NSE Lotus II, NSE Industrial Goods and NSE Pension indices that depreciated by 0.45 percent, 0.79 percent, 0.79 percent, 2.50 percent, 2.82 percent, 2.83 percent and 1.18 percent respectively. Also, 18 equities appreciated in price during the week, lower than 29 equities of

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disclosed that as of February 28, 2023, it had disbursed a total of N1.079 trillion as loans to about 4.57 million smallholder farmers under its Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) but has recouped N503 billion. The Acting Director of the Corporate Communications Department at the CBN, Mr AbdulMumin Isa, in a chat with newsmen in Abuja, disclosed that the bank was committed to its developmental mandate of stimulating access to finance for the real sector. He explained that the repayments under the ABP were made through cash or produce by the

By Dipo Olowookere The upward movement at the local bourse continued on Friday with a 0.34 per cent increase as the All-Share Index (ASI) gained 180.70 points to settle at 53,098.46 points compared with the preceding day’s 52,917.76 points. Business Post reports that the advancement in the prices of 29 stocks on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited during the session expanded the market capitalisation of the platform by N97 billion to N28.626 trillion from N28.529 trillion. According to data, the best-performing equity was Northern Nigerian Flour Mills as it gained 9.94 per cent to trade at N9.95, McNichols appreciated by

By Ashemiriogwa Emmanuel Kuda Technologies, the challenger bank for Africans, has announced its partnership with a financial service company, Visa, to roll out its virtual and physical payment cards for its customers. According to a statement, the firm described the development as a leap towards the right direction of promoting its independent payment cards offering. With about two million customers in its launch country, Nigeria, where it operates as Kuda Microfinance Bank, the company’s provision of zero fees on cards, account maintenance and transfers, as well as its low-interest credit offering, have been able to woo millennials both on smartphones

By Adedapo Adesanya Lagos State Government has been commended for the bold step taken to build an airport in the Lekki-Epe axis of the state. The Federal Ministry of Aviation and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) have been charged to give the state government all the necessary support and approvals for the project to commence as planned. Mr Olumide Ohunayo, the assistant secretary of the Aviation Safety Round Table Initiative (ASRTI), a non-governmental organisation, made this known in a statement. Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Tuesday, received the federal government’s instrument authorising the state to commence the Lekki Airport project

By Dipo Olowookere Globally renowned rating company, Moody’s Investors Service, has announced the completion of a periodic review of the ratings of Dangote Cement Plc and other ratings that are associated with the same analytical unit. A statement issued by the agency and obtained by Business Post explained that the exercise was carried out through a portfolio review in which it reassessed the appropriateness of the ratings in the context of the relevant principal methodology(ies), recent developments, and a comparison of the financial and operating profile to similarly rated peers. It was disclosed that Dangote Cement’s B1 corporate family rating

By Dipo Olowookere The disbursement of $94.2 million has been approved for Ghana by the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This followed the completion of the fourth review of the arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF), bringing total disbursements under the arrangement to $565.2 million, with the remainder being tied to the remaining reviews. The Board also approved Ghana’s request for waivers of non-observance of performance criteria, and modification of one performance criterion; and the extension of the arrangement by one year. Ghana’s three-year arrangement for $918 million or 180 percent of quota at the time

By Adedapo Adesanya Crude oil prices rose on Friday on the back of hopes of a fuel demand recovery in the United States and Europe as the market swayed on signals of economic growth and lockdowns ease despite pressures from the coronavirus resurgence. Brent crude futures closed 71 cents or 1.09 per cent higher to $66.11 per barrel, while the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures also rose 71 cents or 1.16 per cent to trade at $62.14 per barrel. In the US, there were reports of an increase in demand for refined products such as petrol and diesel, indicating