Economy
Olam Nigeria Poultry Project Begins Operations September
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The integrated poultry farm and animal feed mill in Kaduna belonging to Olam Nigeria will commence operations next month, a senior executive of the firm has disclosed.
It is expected to produce over one million high-quality layers (for eggs) and broilers (for meat) weekly.
Vice President, Corporate and Government Relations, Olam Nigeria, Mr Ade Adefeko, in an interview with Daily Trust, disclosed that the N20 billion project will have a state-of-the-art animal feed mill, poultry breeding farms and hatchery to produce day-old-chicks.
He said when commissioned in September, the firm will utilise around 180,000 tonnes of corn and 75,000 tonnes of soya beans, thereby boosting the farming of the crops and contributing to the development of the Nigerian poultry and aquaculture sectors.
According to him, the 50,000 metric tonnes of on-site storage, in addition to a similar capacity of outsourced storage, will support food security and price stabilisation for farmers, adding that training on farming practices will be offered to farmers in collaboration with federal, state and non-governmental agencies to increase farm yields and crop profitability.
“Also, a Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability (CRS) agenda covering education, health and sanitation will be created in partnership with neighbouring communities and an integrated rainwater harvesting programme will help the site meet its water requirements and solar power generation facilities will reduce dependence on fossil fuel based energy,” Mr Adefeko told Daily Trust.
He added that the feed mill will have capacity of 300,000 tonnes per annum to offer competitively-priced and specially formulated feeds for local poultry farmers, noting that the company will provide veterinary field support for local poultry farmers in partnership with InVivo Animal Nutrition & Health.
By Dipo Olowookere
The price stock group of Eterna Plc has been moved upward by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, Business Post reports.
In a regulatory notice on Monday, the bourse noted that it upgraded the stock category of the energy company from a low-price stock group to a medium-price stock group.
This action, according to the exchange, was necessitated after the stability in the price of the company’s equities within four of the last six months in the new price category, in line with its price methodology framework.
“Equity securities of quoted companies on the exchange (NGX) are classified into three stock price groups or categories; high-priced, medium-priced, and low-priced stocks, based on their market price.
“In this regard, securities must have traded for at least four out of the most recent six-month period within a stock price group’s specified price band to be classified into the category.
“Accordingly, a review of Eternal Plc stock price and trade activities over the most recent six-month period provides the basis for reclassifying the security from the low-priced stock group to the medium-priced stock group.
“This reclassification also necessitates the attendant change in the tick size change from N0.01 kobo to N0.05 kobo, in line with Rule 15.29: Pricing Methodology, Rulebook of the exchange, 2015 (trading license holders’ rules),” the statement from the platform stated.
By Dipo Olowookere
It was another positive week for unlisted securities investors in Nigeria as they smiled home with N18.29 billion last week on the floor of the NASD over-the-counter (OTC) Securities Exchange.
This was buoyed by the 1.98 per cent week-on-week growth recorded by the alternative bourse in the country during the five-day trading week, which had five stocks closing on the gainers’ chart, with none on the opposite table.
Data harvested by Business Post indicated that FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria appreciated by 10.44 per cent to settle at N69.00 per unit. UBN Property Gain 7.14 per cent to trade at 75 Kobo per share, Niger Delta Exploration and Production improved by 6.95 per cent to N200.00 per unit, Geo-Fluids rose by 6.12 per cent to N1.04 per share, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) increased by 3.85 per cent to N13.50 per unit.
In the week, the volume of trades declined by 35.51 per cent to 24.5 million units from 62.6 million units, the number of deals went down by 12.82 per cent to 66 deals from the preceding week’s 71 deals, while the value of transactions increased by 122.48 per cent to N96.6 million from N87.6 million.
The most active security for the week by volume was Geo-Fluids, with the sale of 20.0 million units, followed by UBN Property with 3.4 million units. FrieslandCampina traded 581,021 units, CSCS transacted 375,512 units, and VFD Group exchanged 111,104 units.
However, the most active equity by value for the week was FrieslandCampina, with a sale of N38.5 million. VFD Group recorded N27.2 million, Geo-Fluids traded N20.7 million, CSCS transacted 5.1 million, and UBN Property traded N2.6 million.
Data showed that the NASD unlisted securities index (NSI) increased in the week by 13.92 points to 717.15 points from 703.23 points, as the market capitalisation grew by N18.29 billion to N942.35 billion from N924.06 billion.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
In one week, Nigeria’s external reserves depreciated by a marginal 0.14 per cent to $37.020 billion from $37.070 billion in the preceding week.
Data obtained by Business Post from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) disclosed that the balance in the coffers was as of Thursday, February 2, 2023.
The FX balance in the country’s purse was supposed to expand during this period when prices of crude oil were relatively stable, but this has not been the case because of low production.
Nigeria relies heavily on the sale of crude oil to earn forex, which is currently scarce in the country, putting the Naira under pressure.
The federal government has blamed low crude oil output on the theft of the commodity and has promised to make efforts to address the issue.
Recall that in August 2022, Nigeria’s crude oil production plunged below one million barrels per day (972,394 bpd), the lowest ever in several years.
However, according to the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the output improved by 171,000 barrels per day in November to 1.186mbpd, though about 700,000 barrels per day less than its quota for the month.
The Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, said the federal government plans to improve the country’s crude oil production to 1.6 million barrels per day by the first quarter of 2023.
It is believed that this would boost the FX earnings of the nation and bolster the reserves and the local currency in the foreign exchange market.
Last week, the Nigerian Naira depreciated against the United States Dollar on a week-on-week basis by 25 Kobo or 0.05 per cent to N461.50/$1 compared with the preceding week’s N461.75/$1.
