OPEC Considers Output Cut Extension Till End of 2020

By Adedapo Adesanya The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange appreciated by 0.41 per cent in Week 48, with the market capitalisation gaining N4.77 billion to settle at N1.166 trillion from the N1.162 trillion it ended in Week 47, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rising by 3.52 points to 860.81 points from 857.29 points in the previous week. In the five-day trading week, the total volume of stocks traded slumped by 69.1 per cent to 4.22 million units from 13.6 million in the preceding week and equally, the value of shares dropped by 69.6 per cent to N41.4 million

By Aduragbemi Omiyale An application and proprietary solution for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria, known as Aleph Express, has been launched by Aleph Group. A statement from the firm explained that Aleph Express provides a platform for MSMEs to create and maintain a free e-commerce website, create a product catalogue, set local delivery options, manage, record and process orders while gaining meaningful insights to drive growth. The platform also provides one unified inbox that integrates WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram, to enable businesses to efficiently engage and sell – all in one place. In addition, Aleph Express provides

By Adedapo Adesanya Bitmama Incorporated, a crypto exchange company, has confirmed the acquisition of Payday, a virtual card service provider. According to reports, the chief executive of Bitmama, Mrs Ruth Iselema, has offered PayDay investors $1 million worth of equity in the crypto company at a $30 million valuation. The news comes barely nine months after Payday announced its $3 million seed round and three months after its exploration of sale options was confirmed. Facilitated through Bitmama’s cross-border payments product, Changera, the acquisition marks a pivotal shift from earlier speculations, including a potential acquisition by lead investor, Moniepoint. Changera is

By Adedapo Adesanya The federal government hopes to achieve 90 per cent broadband penetration in the country by 2023. The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Mr Isa Pantami, said this on Thursday at a briefing organised by the All Progressive Congress Professional Forum in Abuja, according to a statement by the spokesperson for the ministry, Mr Uwa Suleiman. The statement was titled Federal Government targets ninety per cent broadband penetration, records unprecedented success rate in nineteen years and it mapped out plans to achieve the target in the next two years. The statement said the digital economy sector had

By Aduragbemi Omiyale An initiative dedicated to empowering women and driving inclusive growth within Nigeria’s equity market, EquipHER, has been introduced by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Regulation Limited. The scheme was launched by the leading self-regulatory organisation committed to advancing market development to address diverse facets of women’s financial inclusion in alignment with Nigeria’s National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Capital Market Master Plan, and several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) focused on promoting financial inclusion for the benefit of the National Economy and Market Development. On Friday, November 17, 2023, NGX RegCo, in

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Investors at the Nigerian stock market lost N11 billion on Thursday following decisions by some of them to sell-off their holdings. This further deepened the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in the negative territory and made it the third consecutive time this week that the market was closing bearish. At the close of transactions yesterday, the stock market was down by 0.09 percent with the year-to-date loss standing at 15.22 percent. Specifically, the All-Share Index (ASI) went down by 30.46 points to close at 32,423.57 points, while the market capitalisation decreased by N11 billion to finish at N11.837

By Adedapo Adesanya The market capitalisation of the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange returned above the N1 trillion mark on Wednesday, May 3. This happened after the share price of FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 54 Kobo to settle at N74.54 per unit compared with the previous day’s value of N74.00 per unit. Consequently, the value of the NASD OTC market increased by N1 billion or 0.11 per cent to settle at N1.001 trillion compared with the previous day’s N999.99 billion. Similarly, the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI) also went up by 0.76 points to close at the day

By Dipo Olowookere Nigeria has said there will never be a situation where China will have to take possession of the projects financed with its loans. The Debt Management Office (DMO), while reacting to reports that China may take over projects financed with its loans secured by Nigeria, assured that the federal government has made adequate plans for the repayment of the debt. According to the DMO, as at March 31, 2020, the total borrowing from China stood at $3.121 billion at an interest rate of 2.50 percent per annum, with a 20-year maturity and a 7-year moratorium. The agency

By Adedapo Adesanya In the wake of global crises including the COVID-19 pandemic and more recently the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) has announced the launch of a $2 billion facility to support bank-driven economic recovery in Africa, and the resilience of African economies. AFC has committed to funding up to 50 per cent of the credit facility and mobilizing the rest through its network of international partners and investors. The facility, dubbed African Economic Resilience will be disbursed via loans from AFC to select commercial banks, regional development banks and central banks in various African countries, providing them

By Adedapo Adesanya President Muhammadu Buhari has nominated Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the nation’s candidate to be the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) for the term 2021-2025 at the elections scheduled to hold in Geneva, Switzerland in 2021. The current Brazilian Director-General of the WTO, Mr Roberto Azevedo, in May said he plans to step down from the 25-year-old WTO at the end of August, a year before his term ends. He said it’s the best way to avoid more chaos at the organisation, which has already been attacked consistently by US President Donald Trump and the start of a

By Cowry Asset In the just concluded week, the local currency was unchanged at the Investors & Exporters Forex Window (I&E FXW) at N360.32. Also, the Interbank Foreign Exchange market Naira/Dollar rate remained unchanged at N355.78/$ amid weekly injections of $210 million by CBN into the foreign exchange market via the Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) of which: $100 million was allocated to Wholesale SMIS, $55 million was allocated to Small and Medium Scale Enterprises and $55 million was sold for invisibles. Similarly, Naira was flattish against US dollar at both the Bureau De Change (BDC) and the parallel (black)