PayU Nigeria Unveils Payment System for Recurring Bills

By Adedapo Adesanya Equinor and Chappal Energies have entered into an agreement for the sale of Equinor Nigeria Energy Company (ENEC), which holds a 53.85 per cent ownership in oil and gas lease OML 128, including the unitized 20.21 per cent stake in the Agbami oil field, operated by Chevron. Speaking on the deal, Equinor’s senior vice president for Africa Operations, Ms Nina Koch, said Nigeria has been an important part of Equinor’s international portfolio over the past 30 years, noting that, “This transaction realizes value and is in line with Equinor’s strategy to optimize its international oil and gas

By Adedapo Adesanya Crude oil prices fell on Thursday members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) agreed to voluntary output cuts for the first quarter of next year, falling short of market expectations. As a result, Brent crude futures lost 27 cents or 0.3 per cent to close at $82.83 per barrel, and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures went down by $1.90 or 2.4 per cent to $75.96 a barrel. On a monthly basis, Brent fell by 5.2 per cent while WTI was down by 6.2 per cent. Saudi Arabia, Russia

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr Zacch Adedeji, has asked his counterpart in the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ola Olukoyede, to support his agency to achieve the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, who appointed both of them. Speaking during a courtesy visit to the headquarters of the anti-money laundering firm, Mr Adedeji said the EFCC has a role in ensuring that taxpayers’ funds are “judiciously utilised in line with the social contract with the people.” He assured that the FIRS would continue to strive to raise the revenue

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 Modupe Gbadeyanka The board of Champion Breweries Plc has announced the appointment of Mr Georgios Polymenakos as its new Managing Director with effect from January 6, 2020. A statement signed by Chairman of Champion Breweries, Mr Elijah Akpan, disclosed that Mr Polymenakos was picked by the board at its meeting held on Thursday, December 12, 2019. The appointment, according to Mr Akpan, was done following the retirement of Mr Patrick Ejidoh, from the brewery company after being on three years pilot affairs of the organisation. “Mr Polymenakos replaces Mr Patrick Ejidoh who retired as Managing Director of Champion Breweries

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The sale of commercial papers worth N15 billion to investors by FSDH Merchant Bank Limited will close today, Thursday, January 19, 2023. The exercise commenced on Monday, January 16, 2023, with the sole purpose of using proceeds for the short-term working capital requirements of the organisation. The lender, which provides funds to large corporations and high-net-worth individuals (HWNIs), is selling Series 11, 12 and 13 of its N40 billion commercial paper issuance programme. Business Post learned that Series 11 has a tenor of 90 days and a discount rate of 11.62 per cent. Series 12 has a

By Modupe Gbadeyanka In 2020, the 11 electricity distribution (DisCos) operating in Nigeria recorded aggregate technical, commercial and collection (ATC&C) losses of 51 per cent, higher than 45 per cent in 2019. The rise in ATC&C losses was largely due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, a report by a local rating agency, Agusto & Co, stated, adding that this high loss level remains one of the many reasons for the kickback from electricity consumers on tariff increases, especially in the absence of a significant and immediate improvement in power supply. The firm said last year, the energy companies

By Timi Olubiyi, PhD In today’s turbulent business environment, predominantly with the economic recession, inflation, and the disruptive novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, strategy becomes the main source of competitive advantage for businesses and organisations. However, for a strategy to be meaningful, a business must have a reliable and working business and organisational structure. The fundamental problem that occurs in most businesses particularly the nano, micro, and small-sized enterprises in the country is that they operate informally and how to establish a successful and profitable enterprise in a way to satisfy the common and personal interest is complicated. I am delighted

By Dipo Olowookere One of the top banks in Nigeria, Zenith Bank Plc, has released its annual financial report for the year ended December 31, 2018. The Nigerian lender said in the year under review, its gross earnings declined by 15.4 percent to N630.3 billion from N745.2 billion recorded in the 2017 fiscal year. However, the net interest income rose to N295.6 billion from N258 billion, while the net income on fees and commission dropped to N81.8 billion from N82.6 billion. Also, the trading gains went down to N80.2 billion from N158 billion, while the other operating income closed at

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Senate President, Mr Bukola Saraki, has disclosed that the 8th National Assembly, especially the upper legislative chamber, will soon address the high cost of doing business in Nigeria. Mr Saraki made this disclosure while delivering his speech at the 11th Annual Business Law Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Section on Business Law, which took place on Sunday at Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos. According to the Senate President, it was important for the lawmakers to ensure the cost of doing business in the country was favourable to investors. At the event, Mr Saraki told participants

FBNQuest, the investment banking and asset management group of FBN Holdings Plc, recently hosted a session themed Planning your Future with Ethical Investments through its webinar platform, Leading Conversations. The webinar was aimed to encourage investors to consider ethical investing as a means to achieving their financial goals while realising value in a manner that aligns with their values and beliefs for the broader society. The webinar featured an interactive panel discussion from experts that highlighted the values and benefits associated with ethical investments. The seasoned experts from the FBNQuest team were Ifeoluwa Oladapo- Dixon, Assistant Director and Head of

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A British multinational bank and financial services company headquartered in London, Barclays Plc, has been selected by a consortium of Nigerian banks to look for new investors for 9mobile, formerly Etisalat Nigeria. In the middle of this year, after failing to meet up with repayment plans of the $1.2 billion loan it took from over 10 banks, Etisalat Group pulled out of Etisalat Nigeria, warning that the use of its brand name in the country be stopped. This led to the change of name of Etisalat Nigeria to 9mobile in July 2017. The banks owed by 9mobile