Economy
Petrolex Plans $5b Investments in Ogun
By Dipo Olowookere
Chairman of Petrolex Oil and Gas, Mr Segun Adebutu, has revealed plans by his firm to pump about $5 billion into the economy of Ogun State.
Mr Adebutu made this disclosure at the just-concluded two-day Ogun State Investors Forum held in Abeokuta, the state capita.
The Ogun State Investors Forum is a yearly gathering of investors, industry leaders, and policy makers to set the agenda for the next phase of industrialization in the state.
This year, the two-day event was attended by the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo; the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun; and the former president of Mexico, Mr Felippe Calderon.
Over 1,000 key players in the industrial, agricultural and technological sectors registered their presence at the event.
Speaking at the forum, the Petrolex boss hailed Ogun State as a front-burner in industrial development, including oil and gas.
He also commended the governor, Mr Ibikunle Amosun, for the robust support provided during the construction of the Petrolex Mega Oil City at Ibefun, beginning in 2011, when he shared the plan.
According to him, the Governor’s background in finance was useful, saying Mr Amosun gave Petrolex advice key to the success of the project.
According to Mr Adebutu, he was elated when the first phase of the mega oil city, a 300 million-litre capacity tank farm was completed.
“Many people thought an oil and gas hub in Ogun State was farfetched and impossible” Mr Adebutu said.
“On December 12, 2017, I declared that Ogun state is now home to the largest tank farm in Sub-Saharan Africa. But that is just Phase 1 of the project,” he added.
He said the next phase of the Petrolex Mega Oil City includes 250,000 barrels per day refinery, a lube plant, gas bottling plant, and a fertilizer plant.
According to him, the project will gulp over $5 billion within the next 5 years and already, over $330 million has been invested.
“This shows that Ogun-state is a front-burner in development, in everything, including oil and gas,” Mr Adebutu submitted.
Also at the event, the Executive Secretary of Nigerian Investment Promotion Council (NIPC), Ms Yewande Sadiku, outlined NIPC’s ambitious plan to attract more investments to states. She praised Ogun State’s drive towards industrialization.
“We should not underestimate what it takes to attract investors, and the fact that Ogun state has been so successful in attracting investors, especially in the area of manufacturing,” she said.
Ms Sadiku pointed out that a total of N5.4 billion investment announcements have been made for Ogun State in petrol chemical, solid minerals, agriculture and manufacturing.
She implored the state government to provide the necessary infrastructure to ensure that the entire investment announcement made by NIPC become a reality.
On his part, Commissioner for Commerce and Industry in Ogun State, Mr Bimbo Ashiru, urged investors to put their money in the state.
According to him, in 2016, Nigeria mined 43.4 million tonnes of solid minerals in which Ogun State alone produced 16.3 million tonnes, representing 37.65 percent among the 36 states of the federation.
He also noted that the state has the largest concentration of steel factories in the country and urged automobile industries to take advantage of this to establish their factories.
“We have 12 industrial solid minerals available in the state. Ogun State is also one of the largest producers of cement in the country,” he said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed higher by 1.41 per cent on Friday, May 15, supported by four securities on the platform.
During the session, FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc added N14.24 to its share price to sell for N159.00 per unit, in contrast to the previous day’s N144.76 per unit.
Further, Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS) Plc appreciated by N1.34 to N72.34 per share from N71.00 per share, Geo-Fluids Plc improved its price by 4 Kobo to N2.94 per unit from N2.90 per unit, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc gained 1 Kobo to trade at 61 Kobo per share compared with Thursday’s closing price of 60 Kobo per share.
As a result, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rose by 58.20 points to 4,188.41 points from 4,130.21 points, and the market capitalisation soared by N34.82 billion to N2.506 trillion from N2.471 trillion on Thursday.
During the session, the volume of trades went up by 180.8 per cent to 1.2 million units from 417,349 units, and the value of transactions increased by 29.8 per cent to N29.8 million from N23.2 million, while the number of deals fell by 22.6 per cent to 24 deals from 31 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc ended the day as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 60.8 million units exchanged for N4.1 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.9 million units valued at N1.9 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
By Dipo Olowookere
The bears overpowered the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Friday, sinking it further by 0.76 per cent when the closing gong was struck by 4 pm.
The nation’s flagship equity market was under selling pressure during the session, as investors booked profits after the shares witnessed price appreciation in the past trading sessions.
The energy sector was the most impacted, as it shed 4.43 per cent. The consumer goods index declined by 0.90 per cent, the banking counter decreased by 0.15 per cent, and the industrial goods sector lost 0.08 per cent, while the insurance counter gained 2.42 per cent, which was not enough to salvage the situation.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) contracted by 1,912.19 points to 250,330.92 points from 252,243.11 points, and the market capitalisation moderated by 1.225 trillion to N160.444 trillion from N161.669 trillion.
Zichis was the worst-performing stock for the session after it gave up 9.97 per cent to close at N29.43, FTN Cocoa slipped by 9.95 per cent to N8.96, The Initiates slumped by 9.90 per cent to N32.30, LivingTrust Mortgage Bank tumbled by 9.88 per cent to N3.83, and International Energy Insurance dropped 9.71 per cent to trade at N2.79.
The best-performing stock was ABC Transport, which grew by 10.00 per cent to N6.27. May and Baker also appreciated by 10.00 per cent to N47.30, SCOA Nigeria surged by 9.98 per cent to N33.05, Trans-Nationwide Express expanded by 9.97 per cent to N7.06, and DAAR Communications jumped 9.76 per cent to N2.25.
Yesterday, investors traded 1.1 billion shares worth N44.3 billion in 65,744 deals compared with the 1.0 billion shares valued at N41.6 billion transacted in 74,822 deals a day earlier. This indicated a dip in the number of deals by 12.13 per cent, and a rise in the trading volume and value by 10.00 per cent and 6.49 per cent, respectively.
Chams was the busiest equity for the day, with 328.5 million units sold for N1.1 billion. UBA traded 61.6 million units worth N2.7 billion, First Holdco transacted 58.7 million units valued at N4.2 billion, Secure Electronic Technology exchanged 51.9 million units worth N45.0 million, and Access Holdings traded 51.8 million units valued at N1.3 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The last trading session of the week at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) ended on a negative note for the Naira on Friday, May 15, as it lost N15 Kobo or 0.1 per cent against the Dollar to trade at N1,371.04/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,370.89/$1.
However, it further appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market segment yesterday by N20.77 to close at N1,830.61/£1 versus Thursday’s value of N1,851.38/£1, and gained N7.91 against the Euro to settle at N1,595.07/€1 versus N1,602.98/€1.
At the GTBank FX desk, the Naira lost N2 against the US Dollar during the session to sell at N1,383/$1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,381/$1, and at the black market, it remained unchanged at N1,385/$1.
The Naira is forecast to be broadly stable, supported by Dollar sales by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) amid steady, higher oil receipts, with the market settling into a balance.
Policy direction is also expected to give the market some boost as the CBN said the new edition of the FX market guidelines will deepen liquidity, improve transparency and strengthen confidence in the country’s foreign exchange market.
According to the Governor of the CBN, Mr Yemi Cardoso, the update is due to changing global economic realities, domestic reforms and the need for a more coherent and forward-looking regulatory framework. According to him, the last edition of the FX manual was issued in 2018, making the latest review both timely and necessary.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market plunged into the red zone as rising bond yields hit risk assets across markets, while traders are increasingly betting the Federal Reserve may need to raise rates again. Rising energy prices and resurging inflation could force central banks back into tightening mode.
Cardano (ADA) shrank by 4.4 per cent to $0.2557, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 3.7 per cent to $0.1104, Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 3.5 per cent to $1.41, Solana (SOL) crashed by 3.5 per cent to $87.81, and Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 3.4 per cent to $659.64.
Further, Bitcoin (BTC) declined by 2.6 per cent to $78,547.49, Ethereum (ETH) lost 2.1 per cent to quote at $2,209.19, and TRON (TRX) tumbled by 0.7 per cent to $0.3509, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.
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