Pressure Mounts on Naira at P2P, Crashes to N581/$1

By Aduragbemi Omiyale Moody’s outlook on Nigeria has been upgraded from stable to positive after the federal government implemented a few economic reforms. In a statement on Friday, the rating agency said the decisions to remove the costly petrol subsidies, devaluation of the Naira and the unification of the foreign exchange (FX) market were good for the economy. When Mr Bola Tinubu assumed office in May 2023, he announced an end to the payment of subsidies on premium motor spirit (PMS). A month later, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced the unification of the forex market, while the Naira

By Adedapo Adesanya Crude oil prices rose more than 2 per cent on Friday after data from the world’s largest oil producer, the United States, supported expectations of demand growth. Brent crude futures settled at $75.84 a barrel after chalking up $1.79 or 2.4 per cent, as the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures traded at $71.23 after gaining $1.89 or 2.7 per cent. Despite the gain at the final session of the week, both benchmarks fell for a seventh straight week, their longest streak of weekly declines in half a decade, on lingering oversupply concerns. For the week,

By Dipo Olowookere The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited depreciated by 0.49 per cent on Thursday, driven by selling pressure on banking equities, especially those in the tier-1 category. The likes of GTCO, FBN Holdings, Access Holdings witnessed sell-offs during the trading session, contributing to the weak investor sentiment observed at the Nigerian stock market. According to data obtained by Business Post, the NGX ended with 29 price losers and 24 price gainers, indicating a negative market breadth index. FBN Holdings ended as the heaviest price decliner after it shed 9.86 per cent to settle at N26.50, Secure Electronic Technology fell

By Adedapo Adesanya African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has announced that the third Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2023) held in Cairo from November 9-15 witnessed the conclusion of business deals and transactions valued at $43.8 billion. The lender said in the final tallies released in Cairo, the organisers of the continental event said that the amount represented the value of 426 deals concluded in 21 sectors covering 52 countries. At a press conference to announce the results, Mrs Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President (Intra-African Trade Bank) at Afreximbank, also announced that 130 countries participated in the trade fair, which attracted 1,939 exhibitors

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr Lamido Yuguda, has assured the federal government that the capital market would ensure it attracts investment in infrastructure to stimulate the economy. In an interview on Thursday, Mr Yuguda said the administration of President Bola Tinubu had shown the desire to jump-start the economy with his policy direction. He said the Nigerian capital market could be a viable tool to achieve infrastructure development, as it is an organised and specialised financial market that drives capital mobilisation through domestic savings and foreign capital inflows. According to him, the

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Mr Olanrewaju Rotimi Awolola has been announced as the new Chief Finance Officer (CFO) of Unity Kapital Assurance Plc. This information was made known today by the insurer in a statement signed by its Secretary/Legal Adviser, Halima Wushishi. Mr Awolola’s appointment follows the resignation of Mr Olabode Okedun, as the Acting Chief Finance Officer of the firm. Mr Awolola, a graduate of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, is also an Associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), and the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CITN). Unity Kapital Assurance said Mr Awolola brings into the

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr Maikanti Baru, on Monday disclosed that the Nigerian government owes the corporation the sum of N170.6 billion in outstanding subsidy payments. The NNPC boss made this disclosure when he led a team of top management of the state-owned oil agency to the ongoing Investigative hearing on N5 trillion subsidy payments from 2006 to 2016. Mr Baru explained that the figure was arrived at after deduction of N4.950.80 trillion received as payments from the N5.121.40 trillion approved subsidy claims of the corporation from January 2006 to December

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A partnership deal has been signed between Heritage Bank and Feet ‘N’ Tricks International Limited for the maiden edition of Africa Freestyle Football Championship a resounding success. The premier edition of the tournament which is scheduled to hold from September 13 to 15, 2018 at the Balmoral Convention Centre at the Federal Palace in Lagos is being planned as a perfect fusion of freestyle football and entertainment that would feature top musical and dance artistes. Divisional Head, Corporate Communications, Heritage Bank, Mr Fela Ibidapo who disclosed this at a media launch in Lagos recently said the bank

By Dipo Olowookere In order to improve circulation of N5, N10, N20, and N50, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has commenced the disbursement of the smaller Naira notes into the market. The injection kicked off on Tuesday at the Wuse Market in Abuja and the apex bank explained that the move was to improve the ease of doing business in the country and also to make the Naira notes readily available to citizens. Recently, there has been shortage of the smaller notes at the market. Also, Nigerians have had to deal with mutilated N100 notes, which the central bank

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Any cashless payment done for the purchase of essential products on the Jumia through Mastercard will attract a 10 percent discount, Jumia and Mastercard have announced. This is as a result of the partnership between both organisation, which is incentivising the use of cashless payments platforms as people look for safer ways to pay in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The two organisations want online shoppers to safely transact using digital payment channels and avoid human-to-human contact, in line with recommendations from global and regional health authorities and governments. Business Post learned that the discount offers

By Dipo Olowookere On Friday, President Muhammadu Buhari assented to the ‎Endangered Species Control of International Trade and Traffic Amendment Act 2016. The act is aimed at protecting endangered species in the country. With the act signed into law by the President, it would now be a serious offence for anyone to kill or trade them. According to the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Mr Ita Enang, the National Assembly only recently amended the act to make violations meet up with present realities. Addressing newsmen after the signing ceremony, Mr Enang revealed that the

By Adedapo Adesanya Crude oil prices climbed more than 1 per cent on Friday after better-than-expected US employment data ended the days of drops. Brent rose $1.19 or 1.5 per cent to $82.78 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) was up 96 cents or 1.3 per cent at $76.68 per barrel. Expectations of further rate hikes in the world’s largest economy, the US and in Europe have troubled the global growth outlook and driven both crude benchmarks down this week. However, US employment data for February beat expectations, with nonfarm payrolls rising by 311,000, compared with expectations