Renewed Pressure Weakens Naira at I&E Window

By Aduragbemi Omiyale One of the players in the personal healthcare and consumer goods sectors, PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc, has published a list of its shareholders with unclaimed dividends. Unclaimed dividends are cash rewards given to investors, mainly from the profits from the company’s operations, but are yet to be collected by the beneficiaries. This has been a major source of sleepless nights for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which is working to bring down the number of unclaimed dividends. It has been reported that the value of unclaimed dividends in the nation’s stock market is over N185 billion.

By Adedapo Adesanya  The Nigerian Naira weakened by 17.9 per cent or N144.49 against the American Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Wednesday, December 6 as confidence waned in the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) ability to boost the market with enough foreign exchange (FX). Yesterday, the exchange rate of the Naira to the Dollar closed at N951.22/$1 in the official market compared with the preceding session’s rate of N806.73/$1. This happened as the forex turnover slightly went down by 4.9 per cent or $7.05 million to $135.58 million from the $142.63 million reported in the

By Adedapo Adesanya Brent crude closed below $75 per barrel on Wednesday, precisely selling at $74.39 per barrel after shedding $2.81 or 3.5 per cent. It was the lowest level for the crude oil grade since June, as a larger-than-expected rise in US fuel inventories added to worries about fuel demand, also pressuring the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures by $2.74  or 3.8 per cent in the midweek session to $69.58 a barrel. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a crude oil inventory draw of 4.6 million barrels for the week to December 1. A sizeable inventory build

By Precious Olisa The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) have expressed their disappointment over the increasing exit of multinationals from the Nigerian market. The two organisations reacted to the planned exit of Procter & Gamble (P&G) from the country over economic headwinds. P&G announced its intention to close down its manufacturing operations in Nigeria and adopt an import-only business model due to the foreign exchange (FX) crisis in the country. This is coming some weeks after GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Sanofi, Unilever Nigeria, Equinor and others have also indicated their interest in quitting

**Wants National Digital Map Developed By Dipo Olowookere The success of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) would depend significantly on the work of the surveying profession. This submission was made by the Minister of Power Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN), on Tuesday in Abuja while swearing-in President and nine other members of the Surveyors Council of Nigeria (SURCON). Speaking on the occasion, Mr Fashola advocated the development of a National Digital Map for the whole country saying aside enhancing internal security, the electronic map would benefit weather forecasts, agriculture and internal transport systems. The Minister noted

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Residents of Lagos use at least N3 billion on food everyday, the state Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, has disclosed. He said due to this, the state government has put in place mechanisms to guarantee food security. Mr Ambode, speaking on Thursday at the maiden edition of the Lagos food security and exhibition summit, assured investors willing to do business in the agricultural sector of an available and ready market in the state. He said the state government has acquired farmlands in other neighbouring states of Ogun and Oyo as well as Abuja to produce some food items.

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A leading microfinance bank supporting small businesses, Advans La Fayette Microfinance Bank Limited, has introduced education loans aimed to provide funding support to school owners and parents. A statement from the small lending institution said the education loan products created for its customers are the Advans School Boost, Advans Eduloan and Advans Kiddies. It was explained that the Advans School Boost is a product designed to provide working and investment capital for school owners, Advans Eduloan is to assist parents to pay their children’s school fees with ease, while the Advans Kiddies is high-yield savings account to

By Dipo Olowookere Mr Ahmed Bello Umar has been redeployed to the Currency Operations Department at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as Director with effect from Thursday, December 5, 2019. A statement signed by the Director of Corporate Communications Department, Mr Isaac Okorafor, disclosed that Mr Umar is taking over from Mrs Priscilla Ekwueme Eleje, who retired from the apex bank last Thursday. Before his appointment last week, he was the Director in charge of Trade and Exchange Department at the central bank. Mr Umar is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), the Nigerian Institute of Management

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Pan-African meeting of SMEs managers, entrepreneurs, investors and government representatives convened by EMRC, will take place from February 13-16 in Nairobi, Kenya. The conference will focus on entrepreneurship and innovation and access to finance in key sectors such as energy, water, ICT, health and agriculture. Highlights of the AFIF 2017 official agenda include 2-day training titled ‘Scaling an Entrepreneurial Venture’ for entrepreneurs to provide the tools to present a business plan to potential investors and access to finance. Also to hold at the programme include panel discussions with top experts, including speakers from several international organisations

By Aduragbemi Omiyale Commodity exchanges have been tasked to have investor protection at the centre of their operations to improve investor confidence and attract more investors. This charge was given by the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr Lamido Yuguda, at the presentation of Eko Gold Coins to the agency by the Lagos Futures and Commodities Exchange in Abuja on Thursday. Mr Yuguda specifically urged the LCFE and the entire value chain to always have investor protection at the core of their work because, eventually, this is what will make the product succeed. “Now, the gold itself

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Tuesday, August 15, 2017 has been fixed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for its second Capital Market Committee (CMC) meeting in the year. The capital market regulator, in a statement issued on Friday, June 16, 2017, stated that the meeting will hold at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos by 10am. Accordingly, members of the committee have been urged to put the date in their diaries and ensure to be available. However, SEC warned that admission into the venue would be upon presentation of the CMC Identity Card and strictly by invitation. Meanwhile, Wednesday,