Oil Prices Slump on China, US Economic Growth Concerns

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Business owners in Lagos have been assured of more incentives by the state governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who added that this is part of his administration’s commitment to reforms aimed at improving the ease of doing business and enhancing investment opportunities. Speaking at the commissioning of the newly-built wet hair production factory of Godrej Nigeria Limited, the Governor said his government would continue to pursue actions that would eliminate red tapes and regulatory impediments hindering the growth of businesses in the state, thereby demonstrating his willingness for continued collaboration with the private sector to improve the livelihood

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 Oil fell on Monday as traders approached the market with caution over plans by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) to cut production in the first quarter of 2024. Brent crude futures lost 85 cents or 1.08 per cent to finish at $78.03 a barrel while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures depreciated by $1.03 or 1.39 per cent to sell at $73.04 per barrel. OPEC+ announced voluntary production cuts at its meeting last week and this has raised doubts about whether or not producers would fully implement them. Investors

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has listed a firmly underwritten N9 billion bond for Forte Oil as part of the planned N50 billion bond issuance programme for the leading energy company. The proceeds of the N9 Billion Series 1, Five Year bond will be deployed to refinance existing short term commercial bank loan obligations and to expand downstream retail outlet footprints amongst others. Group Managing Director of the firm, Mr Akin Akinfemiwa, said, “This bond programme, being the first in the downstream sector, is a testament to Forte Oil’s leading position within the downstream sector.” United Capital

By Dipo Olowookere The proposed merger between Diamond Bank and Access Bank is still generating mixed reactions from different stakeholders. Some hours after the information was confirmed by both banks, shareholders of Diamond Bank gave their views on the issue. It is important to note that before the merger can scale through, both shareholders of the financial institutions must give their approvals at an Extra-Ordinary General Meeting (EGM). According to shareholders of Diamond Bank Plc, they can only allow the exercise see the light of the day if the board and the management fulfil one condition. Speaking with the News

By Dipo Olowookere Subscribers of 9mobile are not happy with news report that its new owners, Teleology Holdings, is pulling out of the telecom company few months after the firm was handed over to it. Business Post reports that in November 2018, Teleology announced the constitution of a new board of directors for 9mobile, former known as Etisalat Nigeria. This followed the successful completion of the tenure of the former board appointed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and in fulfilment of the consequential transfer of final ownership to the new investors, Teleology Nigeria Limited. Some days ago, presidential

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Treasury bills market was dull yesterday as traders continue to tread cautiously, observing how the various economic parameters affect the market. On Tuesday, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) after its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, announced that it was retaining the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at 14 percent. It was gathered that the average T-bill yields declined by 14 basis points to 17.84 percent at the close of business on Tuesday. Business Post reports that yesterday, the apex managed to realise N18.20 billion from the sale of 198-day treasury bill at 17.80 percent via the open

By Adedapo Adesanya There was a sigh of relief in the foreign exchange (forex) market in Nigeria on Monday as the Naira appreciated against the United States Dollar at the Peer-to-Peer (P2P), black market, and the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segments. Efforts by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to ensure FX liquidity in the market paid off during the session as the supply of Dollars eased the pressure on the domestic currency, according to observations of Business Post. In the P2P window, the local currency appreciated against the greenback yesterday by N1 to trade at N747/$1 compared with last

By Ahmed Rahma A former signee of Davido Music Worldwide (DMW), a record label owned by a popular singer, David Davido Adeleke, Sani Wasiu, professionally known as Lil Frosh, has been remanded at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre, Lagos. Lil Frosh was catapulted to the prison on Tuesday by a Lagos State Magistrate Court in Yaba for doing a ‘wrong hit’. He was accused of beating his former girlfriend, Ms Gift Camille, who is a video vixen, last year. Reports of the alleged assault went viral in 2020 and this led to Davido terminating the deal his company had with Lil

By Aduragbemi Omiyale No fewer than 352 Nigerians, who are mainly underprivileged individuals, have been enrolled on annual health insurance plans by employees of Keystone Bank Limited. The enrolment was done through The Health Insurance Project of the bank’s Employees Volunteering Scheme (EVS) designed to address the need for accessibility to quality healthcare by vulnerable Nigerians. The beneficiaries were drawn from Abeokuta (Ogun State), Ibadan (Oyo State), Ilesha (Osun State), Nyanya (Abuja) and Yenagoa (Bayelsa State). The EVS is an integral part of the lender’s corporate social responsibility strategy which encourages its workers to be involved in voluntary socially impactful

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Mr Peter Nwaoboshi, the Senator representing Delta North in the National Assembly, has been taken to the Ikoyi Correctional Centre on Wednesday to commence his prison term. Senator Nwaoboshi was convicted and sentenced to seven years imprisonment by the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal for money laundering. According to a statement from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the lawmaker was intercepted by its operatives at a hospital in Lagos on Monday, February 6, after months of avoiding them. The Court of Appeal had, in a judgement, it delivered on July 1, 2022, sentenced