Reps Move to Amend SMEDAN Law

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The online stock trading platform of one of the leading brokerage firms in Nigeria, Morgan Capital Securities Limited, i-Trade, has experienced a technical glitch. This technical issue has made it difficult for its clients to carry out transactions on the popular platform. Morgan Capital’s i-Trade platform is popular among retail investors in the Nigerian capital market, especially those trading equities on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, because of its lower fees. The company has already assured its customers that it was working to restore services, providing an alternative to them. “This is to inform

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira put up a weak performance against the United States Dollar across the various segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Thursday. November 30, 2023, the last trading session of the month. In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) window, which is the official market, the Nigerian currency lost 0.1 per cent or 85 Kobo against the greenback during the session to settle at N832.32/$1 compared with the preceding day’s value of N831.47/$1. A slight strain in the supply of forex into the spot market was partly responsible for the weakening of the local

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira started the first trading session in the last month of 2023 on a negative note after it depreciated against the Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), which is the official FX window, by 11.4 per cent or N94.87 on Friday, December 1, closing at N927.19/$1, in contrast to Thursday’s exchange rate of N832.32/$1. The December rush for forex contributed to the weakening of the domestic currency in the spot market yesterday, as the supply of foreign currency could not meet what customers needed. Data showed that the value of FX transactions recorded

By Adedapo Adesanya Oil slumped by more than 2 per cent on Friday as traders showed scepticism about the depth of supply cuts by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) as well as concerns about sluggish global manufacturing activity. Brent crude went down by $1.98 or 2.45 per cent to close at $78.88 a barrel as the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude dropped $1.89 or 2.49 per cent to sell for $74.07 a barrel. For the week, Brent posted a decline of about 2.1 per cent, while WTI lost more than 1.9 per cent.

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Bearish sentiments persisted on the trading floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Wednesday, leading to the loss of N42.6 billion by investors at the close of transactions. Investors continued with cautious trading today as they await the release of third quarter earnings of quoted companies on the NSE. This reflected in the volume of shares exchanged in the midweek trade, which slightly depreciated at the close of business. A total of 336 million shares worth N1.8 billion were transacted by investors on Wednesday against 353.2 million units exchanged on Tuesday valued at N3.3 billion. Like the

By Adedapo Adesanya Red Bull driver, Max Verstappen, has been crowned the 2021 F1 World Champion after he clinched victory in Abu Dhabi ahead of Lewis Hamilton. This is the 24-year-old’s first world championship title, and it denied Hamilton the chance to win a fifth consecutive title. The two drivers came into Sunday’s race level on points, each knowing that victory in Abu Dhabi meant a Championship win. The race started with Max on pole but a good start by the seven-time champion put him ahead at Turn 1. The Dutchman had to wait until the last lap of the

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria has shown that in January 2017, Access Bank Plc swapped $50 million with JP Morgan. This swap, according to Reuters, was done at the rate of N400 per Dollar. In the same vein, the commercial bank went into a similar deal with a foremost South African lender, ABSA. According to the report, Access Bank made the swap of $100 million with ABSA at the rate of N329 per Dollar. This made the total amount swapped by Access Bank in January 2017 with the two foreign financial institutions to $150 million.

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Some entrepreneurs in the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria have been equipped with the basic skills they could use to explore the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The small business owners were trained recently by Keystone Bank Limited at a 3-day MSME Masterclass Webinar series themed Taking Your SME Business Across Borders held from June 15 to 17, 2021. The programme was part of Keystone Bank’s unflinching efforts to continue to support the sector of the economy and empower start-ups with the requisite knowledge about the AfCFTA window and the opportunities it presents

By Kester Kenn Klomegah With strict pressure from the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the August coup leaders have installed an interim government that will run state affairs until next elections. Plucked from obscurity, the former Defense Minister Bah Ndaw (here) became the transitional President, while Colonel Assimi Goita serves as Vice President. The transitional committee made up of representatives of political parties, civil and religious groups agreed on both positions. According to their biographical reports, both had part of their professional military training in the Soviet Union and Russia respectively – read

By Adedapo Adesanya The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) is proposing a reduction in the levy paid on used or brand new vehicles to a negotiable 5 or 10 percent from 35 percent. However, according to the Comptroller-General of Customs, Mr Hameed Ali, this is subject to the approval of the Ministry of Finance. He said this would help government generate more revenue. Speaking while defending the Service’s 2020 budget before the House Committee on Customs recently, Mr Ali said if implemented, apart from raising revenue, it would discourage smuggling. He said at the moment, Nigerian importers ship their containers to

By Okechukwu Keshi Ukegbu Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State has been applauded by a group known as the Ntighauzo Amairi Progressives for his infrastructural stride. The association, in a statement signed by its President, Mr Adindu Johnson, described this as unprecedented in the history of Abia State. It explained that some projects such as the Agalaba Ring Road are legacies that will outlive decades after the Governor’s tenure. The group said it is appreciative of the governor’s benevolence which has immensely benefited sons and daughters of the community. While the organisation prayed for the governor’s intervention on the road

By Adedapo Adesanya The federal government has disclosed that it plans to review the country’s budget for the year as oil revenue have been affected by the widespread coronavirus since the beginning of this year. Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, said on Wednesday that government was going to kickstart a mid-term review of the budget in order to put the appropriate measures in place. Speaking on the sidelines of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja yesterday, Mrs Ahmed said, “We are concerned about the current drop in oil price because it’s now below