By Dipo Olowookere

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited had a narrow escape from the claws of the bears on Tuesday after it closed higher by a marginal 0.01 per cent.

This happened as investor sentiment waned yesterday, with profit-taking witnessed in the banking space, which fell by 0.21 per cent at the close of transactions.

However, bargain-hunting from the other sectors ensured that the bulls took charge of the bourse, with the insurance index rising by 0.91 per cent.

Further, the industrial goods sector appreciated by 0.76 per cent, the energy counter improved by 0.36 per cent, and the consumer goods space gained 0.09 per cent.

Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) moved up by 13.61 points to 97,639.88 points from 97,626.27 points and the market capitalisation expanded by N9 billion to N59.178 trillion from the preceding day’s N59.169 trillion.

The market breadth index was negative during the trading session as Customs Street ended with 24 price gainers and 25 price losers.

Haldane McCall topped the gainers’ chart after it chalked up 9.98 per cent to trade at N6.17, Sunu Assurances grew by 9.80 per cent to N3.81, Japaul increased its value by 9.72 per cent to N2.37, Prestige Assurance jumped by 9.64 per cent to 91 Kobo, and Neimeth leapt by 9.55 per cent to N2.18.

Conversely, Multiverse lost 9.92 per cent to finish at N5.90, Tantalizers slowed by 9.30 per cent to N1.17, UPDC REIT tumbled by 9.01 per cent to N5.05, Universal Insurance retreated by 5.88 per cent to 32 Kobo, and RT Briscoe fell by 5.67 per cent to N2.66.

Yesterday, investors transacted 552.1 million stocks valued at N8.0 billion in 9,305 deals versus the 671.3 million stocks sold for N10.6 billion in 10,464 deals a day earlier, representing a decline of 17.75 per cent, 24.53 per cent, and 11.08 per cent in the trading volume, value and number of deals, respectively.

The most traded equity for the day was Haldane McCall, which exchanged 177.1 million units for N1.1 billion, followed by Tantalizers with 37.0 million units sold for N46.7 million, UBA transacted 29.6 million units valued at N947.3 million, Prestige Assurance traded 28.6 million units worth N25.6 million, and FBN Holdings transacted 21.5 million units valued at N536.2 million.

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The much-awaited Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Oando Plc will take place on Tuesday, December 17, 2024, at 10 am in Lagos, a statement from the energy company has revealed.

The day would be used to present the audited financial statements of the organisation for the year ended December 31, 2023, to shareholders.

Oando will also seek the approval of investors to appoint Mr Ken Igbokwe and Mr Bashir Bello to the boards of the company with effect from Monday, November 25, 2024.

Mr Igbokwe is a highly experienced management and consulting professional with over 35 years of expertise in various sectors, including oil and gas, financial services and the public sector.

During his distinguished career at PwC Nigeria, he held key leadership roles in Assurance, Tax and Consulting.

His experience spans a wide range of areas such as statutory, financial and process audits and assurance, business valuations, dispute resolution, financial and information systems risk management, corporate strategy development, corporate performance management, and tax planning.

In his role as Country Leader of PwC Nigeria, Mr Igbokwe was responsible for driving strategic thinking and the visioning that underpinned the growth of the firm.

He was in this leadership position for 10 years during which PwC Nigeria’s business recorded tremendous growth with PwC becoming the leading “Big 4” brand. He led the PwC West Africa business into the Africa-wide PwC merger in 2012.

The new appointee contributes to public discourse and debates on public sector transformation in Nigeria and on matters which focus on corporate governance and the strengthening of the investment climate.

Mr Igbokwe holds a B.Sc. (Eng) degree in Mechanical Engineering from Imperial College, London University, which he attended as a Shell Scholar and graduated from, in 1978.

He is a current member of the Institutes of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and Nigeria. He is also a current member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria.

On his part, Mr Bello is an oil and gas professional with over 32 years of experience in Technical and Executive Management positions across the industry. His expertise spans all sectors, from Downstream (Refining) to Midstream (LNG) and Upstream (Exploration and Production), with a strong focus on Operations, Engineering, Project Management, and Corporate Governance.

He has served as a Board Member for Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited, Bonny Gas Transport Company, NLNG Ship Manning Company Limited, and various Board Committees of Nigeria LNG.

With a proven ability in Interface and Stakeholder Management, he is skilled at delivering business value in Joint Ventures with diverse shareholder agendas, managing projects with complex interfaces and stakeholder expectations, and overseeing operations with diverse functional requirements and limited resources.

Mr Bello holds a Bachelor of Engineering (B.Eng.) in Mechanical Engineering from Bayero University Kano, Nigeria. He is a Fellow of the Nigeria Society of Engineers (NSE), and a Registered Engineer with the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN).

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has raised the monetary policy rate by 25 basis points to 27.50 per cent to further tackle rising inflation in Nigeria.

This was disclosed by the Governor of the apex bank, Mr Yemi Cardoso, at the end of the 298th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja.

This is the sixth time that the country has hiked interest rate this year after it announced a 50-basis-point that brought the previous rate to 27.25 per cent in September 2024.

The rationale for increasing interest rates is that higher interest rates increase the cost of borrowing for individuals and businesses. This creates a ripple effect that reduces loans spent on items like homes, cars, and investments and curbs overall spending in the economy.

Normally, low interest rates can lead to excessive borrowing and investments in assets that will then inflate their prices.

Also, increased interest rates make saving more attractive as depositors earn more on their savings. It is widely accepted that saving reduces the demand for goods and services and thus helps to stabilise prices.

Mr Cardoso also used the opportunity to reiterate that the CBN will continue to employ necessary means to bring down inflation.

He projected that Nigeria’s high inflation should moderate by the end of the first quarter of  2025.

The inflation rate continued its upward trend in October 2024, impacted by rises in the price of food, electricity, and fuels, as it came in at 33.88 per cent, relative to the September 2024 headline inflation rate of 32.70 per cent.