Panic as Naira Nears N470 Per Dollar at BDC Market

By Adedapo Adesanya A milk-producing company, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria, helped the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange return to the green territory by 0.54 per cent on Wednesday, November 29. The firm improved its value by N3.50 in the midweek session to settle at N73.50 per share compared with the previous day’s closing price of N70.00 per share. It suppressed the 10 Kobo decline posted by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which ended lower at N17.00 per unit versus Tuesday’s value of N17.10 per unit. Consequently, the market capitalisation of the alternative stock exchange went up by N6.28 billion to

By Adedapo Adesanya The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Mr Dele Alake, has assured foreign investors of low production costs as they consider investing in the country’s mining sector. Speaking at the Mines and Money Conference in London, Mr Alake said President Bola Tinubu has embarked on reforms to boost investment by streamlining procedures and reducing hurdles to attract foreign investors. “The country’s geological bounty encompasses over 44 distinct mineral types, found in exploitable quantities across more than 500 locations,” the Minister said, according to a statement by his aide, Mr Kehinde Bamigbetan. “Recently, recognizing the evolving global landscape and

By Aduragbemi Omiyale President Bola Tinubu has said the 2024 budget presented to the joint session of the National Assembly on Wednesday was designed to achieve macroeconomic stability, a better investment environment, greater access to social security, poverty reduction and enhanced human capital development. According to him, if these goals are achieved, the standard of living of Nigerians will improve and the citizens will enjoy the dividends of democracy. While presenting the 2024 Appropriation Bills to the parliament yesterday, the President said this was why he christened the budget proposal as the Budget of Renewed Hope. Mr Tinubu told the

By Adedapo Adesanya The boards of insurance companies operating in the country have been charged by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) to embrace the measures put in place to tackle the challenges of unpaid claims. The Commissioner for Insurance, Mr Sunday Thomas, expressed worry over the number of outstanding claims in the sector despite efforts by the regulator to address the issue. Mr Thomas, who is also the chief executive of NAICOM, said the organisation, in collaboration with members of the Insurers’ Committee, has taken decisions and incepted measures designed to tame the menace of unpaid claims. Speaking at the

By Dipo Olowookere The All-Share Index (ASI) of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) crossed the 37,000-point threshold on Monday after the market moved up by 1.74 per cent. This significant growth seen yesterday was influenced by the update on the share buy-back programme of Dangote Cement Plc. The cement giant informed the investing community on Monday that the much-awaited scheme would begin next week and that up to 85 million units of its stocks would be purchased in two days. This spurred demand for the company’s equities and at the close of transactions, the ASI was up by 638.65 points

By Adedapo Adesanya Presidents Muhammadu Buhari and Vladimir Putin met on Wednesday in Sochi, Russia, for the Russia-Africa Forum to discuss partnership between both Nigeria and Russia in order to advance Russian investments in Africa and also promote African business interests in Russia. During the meeting, both countries agreed to collaborate in order to revive and solidify the venture between the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Russia’s gas giant, Gazprom for the development of Nigeria’s enormous gas potential and infrastructure. Mr Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to President Buhari, said in a statement that

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has granted Fidelity Bank Plc the license to operate electronic commerce services in Nigeria, Business Post has been notified. A statement obtained by our reporter from the bank on Monday in Lagos stated that Fidelity Bank will now have the full licence to operate e-commerce in the country. The statement signed by Fidelity Bank’s Head of Corporate Communications, Mr Ejike Ndiulo, explained that the bank has now been positioned to empower Micro Small Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in line with its strategic business objectives through provision of advanced electronic commerce platform. The statement quoted Fidelity Bank’s

By Adedapo Adesanya Ecobank Nigeria has further reviewed its monthly international spending limit downward to $20 per month for point of sales (PoS) and web transactions on its Naira debit card. In an enquiry, the bank responded that “Kindly be informed that the monthly POS/Web transaction for Naira debit card usage abroad has been further review downward to $20 monthly. We sincerely regret all inconveniences this might have caused.” The downward review of the international spending limit affects the average Nigerian who want to make purchases or foreign-based Nigerians who want to make transactions with their cards. It also confirms

By Dipo Olowookere The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited extended its losing streak to five consecutive trading sessions on Friday with a further 0.19 per cent loss triggered by sustained selling pressure. Sell off in the shares of MTN Nigeria, FBN Holdings, GTCO, Zenith Bank, Access Bank and 13 others contributed to the loss suffered by the local bourse yesterday. As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) depleted by 80.07 points to 42,167.91 points from 42,247.98 points while the market capitalisation went down by N42 billion to N22.003 trillion from N22.045 trillion. On a sectoral level, it remained mixed with the

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The former manager Heritage Bank Limited main market branch in Onitsha, Anambra State, Ms Fidel Omeje, has been dragged before Justice D.A Onyefulu of State High Court, Onitsha. The suspect was arraigned in court on Thursday, October 8, 2020, by the Enugu zonal office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). She was dragged before the judge by the anti-graft agency on a one-count charge of stealing to the tune of $50,000. The prosecuting counsel, Mike Ani, informed the court that the offence is contrary to Section 342 of the Criminal Code Law Cap 36, Anambra

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Members of the transitional board of Keystone Bank are set to take over from April 1, 2017, the lender has disclosed in a statement issued on Tuesday. This followed the sale of the financial institution to new local investors called the Sigma Golf-Riverbank Consortium. Keystone Bank was sold to the consortium by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON). In the statement, the bank noted that the transitional governance arrangement is subject to approval by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). “By March 31, 2017, the current Board of the Bank (including the MD/CEO, Mr Philip Ikeazor)

By Aduragbemi Omiyale A fast-growing fintech and digital banking startup, NowNow Digital Systems, has joined the Mastercard Start Path Global program, which was created to help later-stage firms innovate and scale. Mastercard Start Path is an award-winning startup engagement program within the Mastercard Developers portfolio which aims to support companies on their scaling journey across financial services industries globally. The Mastercard Developers portfolio provides the services and tools fintech innovators need to iterate at each stage of their journey, transform bold ideas and achieve scale at pace to bring more people into the digital economy. Through Start Path, Mastercard will