Oil Recovers as Brent Gains 4% to Near $61/Barrel 

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira appreciated against the US Dollar in the Nigeria Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) and the unregulated Peer-to-Peer (P2P) and the parallel market segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Wednesday, November 29 as President Bola Tinubu reiterated his administration’s promise to meet its obligations. Speaking during the presentation of his administration’s N27.50 trillion 2024 budget proposal to the joint session of the 10th National Assembly on Wednesday, Mr Tinubu said, “Despite the challenges, we continue to meet our obligations.” In the official NAFEM segment of the market, the value of the local currency went

By Adedapo Adesanya  Angola, one of Africa’s top crude oil producers and a key member of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), has officially rejected the proposed production quota for the year 2024 and may even exit the group. This was signalled by Mr Diamantino Pedro Azevedo, Angola’s Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, confirming the nation’s decision and indicating a divergence from OPEC’s suggested allocations for both member and non-member countries. The announcement was made during the 26th OPEC+ Meeting on Thursday, where the organisation proposed 1.11 million barrels of crude oil per day production quota for

By Dipo Olowookere Local equities rebounded by 0.34 per cent on Wednesday on the back of buying pressure on a few energy stocks and others at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited. According to data from the bourse, the bullish stance was attained despite profit-taking activities in the banking space amid plans by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to recapitalise the industry, leaving the market breadth index negative. This was because the number of price losers was more than the price gainers at 39 and 19 apiece, indicating a weak investor sentiment. Business Post reports that the energy counter grew

By Adedapo Adesanya A hybrid solar power solutions provider, Daystar Power, has signed an agreement with Nigerian Breweries to install and operate a 4.2MWp solar plant and 2MWh battery storage system that will help the firm reduce its high energy costs. The installation will be one of the largest solar and battery storage projects for an industrial manufacturer in Nigeria. The hybrid solar solution will generate 5,249 MWh of electricity – 42 per cent of its daytime power consumption – every year at Nigerian Breweries’ Lagos brewery. According to a statement, the integration of solar into the factory’s energy mix

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A human rights expert with the United Nations, Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, has conducted a survey to assess the issue of trafficking in persons in Nigeria. The UN Special Rapporteur was in the country for an official visit from September 3-10, 2018. During the assessment, she met with relevant stakeholders to discuss various forms and manifestations of trafficking in persons and key human rights concerns and challenges, as well as progress made, in addressing trafficking in persons for the purpose of sexual, labour or any other form of exploitation.” According to her, particular attention was paid to key

By Dipo Olowookere Despite the tough macroeconomic environment, investors can still earn a reasonable amount of income to meet their various financial needs while helping the government solve the problems. Nigeria is a nation battling a wide infrastructural gap, which has made it difficult for the economy to stand on its feet for long. To help address this issue, Stanbic IBTC Asset Management Limited came up with a product called Stanbic IBTC Infrastructure Fund. The initiative hopes to raise about N100 billion to be invested in critical projects that will yield income for subscribers. Last year, the company launched the

By Adedapo Adesanya The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said that it is very important to meet the variety of needs in the original design of telecommunications systems so that an increasing number of users can benefit from available services. The commission noted that it is considering using Assistive Technology (AT) to address unmet needs in the nation’s telecommunications sector as it will aid telecom availability, accessibility and usability. The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Mr Umar Danbatta, made this known at the conference on the developmental programme for Assistive Technology in Telecommunications to address Unmet Needs held in Abuja.

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State on Tuesday said his administration has permanently banned Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO) from roads in the state. Mr Ambode explained that his decision to ban the agency was in line with his administration’s resolve to ensure free flow of traffic across the state, noting that activities of VIO were contributing to traffic congestion on Lagos roads. Speaking at the commissioning of pedestrian bridges, laybys and slip road at Ojodu Berger, the “Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, let me use this opportunity to reiterate that Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO) have been asked to

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Dr Mufutau Adeoye Yusuf has been announced as the new Managing Director of Premier Paints Plc. This information was revealed in a statement signed by Mrs Fatima Abeni Lawal, the Company Secretary/Chief Compliance Officer. Mrs Lawal disclosed that Mr Yusuf was appointed as the Managing Director/CEO of the paint firm on April 3, 2017, while his appointment was approved by the Board of Directors on May 18, 2017. Mr Yusuf holds B.Sc (Hons) and M.Sc in Economics. He also has an M.Sc in Management as well as an MBA in Marketing. In addition, the appointee boasts of

By Dipo Olowookere In the just concluded week, performance of Nigerian corporate Eurobonds recorded mixed performance. It was observed that while yields rose on a number of instruments, some others recorded buying interest. Analysts at Afri Invest noted that ACCESS 2017 (down 1.7% W-o-W), FIRST BANK 2021 (down 30bps W-o-W) and ZENITH 2019 (down 3bps W-o-W) enjoyed positive sentiment while yields rose 30bps, 24bps, 41bps and 12bps on the FIDELITY 2018, ACCESS June 2021, ACCESS October 2021 and FIRST BANK 2021 respectively. Also, year to date (YTD) return on all outstanding Nigerian corporate debt instruments remain in the positive region