Oil Prices Close Positive After Highly Volatile Week

By Adedapo Adesanya Equinor and Chappal Energies have entered into an agreement for the sale of Equinor Nigeria Energy Company (ENEC), which holds a 53.85 per cent ownership in oil and gas lease OML 128, including the unitized 20.21 per cent stake in the Agbami oil field, operated by Chevron. Speaking on the deal, Equinor’s senior vice president for Africa Operations, Ms Nina Koch, said Nigeria has been an important part of Equinor’s international portfolio over the past 30 years, noting that, “This transaction realizes value and is in line with Equinor’s strategy to optimize its international oil and gas

By Dipo Olowookere The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited commenced the first trading session in December 2023 on a bullish note, with a marginal growth of 0.08 per cent. Sustained buying pressure kept Nigerian stocks in the positive territory, extending the dominance of the bulls on Customs Street, though the turnover waned. Business Post observed that investors cherry-picked equities in the banking and the energy sectors during the session, leaving them rising by 1.14 per cent and 0.05 per cent, respectively. However, the insurance counter lost 1.10 per cent, the consumer goods index depreciated by 0.08 per cent, and the industrial

By Adedapo Adesanya The return of the bears was averted at the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Thursday by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which helped the alternative bourse close marginally higher by 0.03 per cent. This slight growth increased the value of the OTC exchange by N380 million, closing relatively flat at N1.165 trillion, as the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) increased by 0.27 points to end the day at 859.58 points compared with the previous day’s 859.31 points. During the trading day, the value of CSCS Plc went up by 8 Kobo to settle at N17.08

By Aduragbemi Omiyale President Bola Tinubu has said the 2024 budget presented to the joint session of the National Assembly on Wednesday was designed to achieve macroeconomic stability, a better investment environment, greater access to social security, poverty reduction and enhanced human capital development. According to him, if these goals are achieved, the standard of living of Nigerians will improve and the citizens will enjoy the dividends of democracy. While presenting the 2024 Appropriation Bills to the parliament yesterday, the President said this was why he christened the budget proposal as the Budget of Renewed Hope. Mr Tinubu told the

By Adedapo Adesanya The United Kingdom on Wednesday, December 30 authorised the use of a second COVID-19 vaccine, which would be rolled out from next week. The British government disclosed that the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHPRA) has made an emergency authorisation for the vaccine developed by Oxford University and UK-based drugmaker, AstraZeneca. The UK has ordered 100 million doses, enough to vaccinate 50 million people, which along with the Pfizer-BioNTech jab, is enough to cover the entire population. The country’s Health Secretary, Mr Matt Hancock, said the development was a significant moment in the fight against the

By Adedapo Adesanya  For the second time this week, the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed flat on Thursday, November 7, 2019 as key market parameters remained unchanged. Business Post reports that at the close of transactions on Thursday, the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI) stood static at 703.11 points, the same level it was the previous day, while the market capitalization further remained unchanged at N505.14 billion. At Wednesday’s session, the volume of trades posted by investors declined to 68,430 but this increased on Thursday by 16.6 percent or 11,379 units to 79,809 units. Also, the value of transactions

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Federal Government has expressed its intention to further enhance the trade and economic ties between Nigeria and Tunisia. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama, made this known when he visited the Tunisian President, Béji Essebsi, at the Carthage Palace in Tunis, the North African nation’s capital. Mr Onyeama told the Tunisian President that the corporation between both countries would lead to growth of its trade and economy. The Minister, in a statement released in Abuja by his media aide, Sarah Sanda noted that the Federal Government was establishing a system of good governance, create jobs for

By Dipo Olowookere Chelsea FC star, Victor Moses, has been appointed as the brand ambassador for popular web browser, Opera, in Africa. This coincides with Opera’s recent announcement to invest $100 million in Africa over the next two years with the goal of strengthening the internet ecosystem in countries such as Nigeria. Opera recently launched its first nationwide TV and radio commercials to announce a faster and more affordable internet experience with the Opera Mini browser. Already airing in South Africa and Kenya, there will be a special version for Nigeria. Victor Moses will be challenging his on-field speed against

Siemens Digital Industries Software has signed an agreement to acquire assets of ESTEQ, a distributor of product lifecycle management, product design and simulation, and manufacturing operations software and services. ESTEQ is headquartered in Pretoria, South Africa, and has locations across the region serving the Aerospace & Defense, Transportation, Consumer Products, Energy, Electronics, Machinery, Mining & Minerals, and Oil & Gas industries. ESTEQ hopes to bring on the table an experienced team and long-standing customer relationships to Siemens. “Through the acquisition of ESTEQ, Siemens Digital Industries Software will now have a direct presence in the South Africa market which will enable

By Dipo Olowookere Fourteen roads in Oyo State have been approved by the state government for routine maintenance in order to ease vehicular movement for the good people of the state. The Executive Council gave the approval for the routine maintenance of the roads at the recently held weekly meeting of the council. Commissioner for Information, Mr Arulogun explained that the state government would not relent in its infrastructural development drive and ensuring good roads for safety of lives of the citizenry. He noted that the approved roads and scope of work for the routine maintenance includes but are not

By Adedapo Adesanya The first trading week in the second half of 2022 at the NASD over-the-counter (OTC) Securities Exchange ended on a negative note after it depreciated by 0.03 per cent week-on-week. The 27th trading week of the year, which ended last Friday, did not favour investors on the platform as the market capitalisation went down by N30 billion to N1.019 trillion from N1.022 trillion in the previous week (Week 26). As for the NASD Securities Exchange Index (NSI), it fell by 23.97 points to close at 773.79 points in contrast to the preceding week’s 774.03 points. Two market

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Nigeria has been advised to hasten its economic reforms in order to enhance growth. This was the position of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday. This IMF advice coincided with the formal launch of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) 2017-2020 on Wednesday, April 5, 2017, by President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja. The ERGP, according to the President, was in furtherance of his administration’s drive to sustain and build on the successes so far recorded in tackling corruption, improving security and revamping the economy. It had the broad strategic objectives of restoring sustainable, accelerated inclusive