Economy
Seplat, Guinness, NB Deplete Stock Market by 0.38%
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) further depreciated by 0.38 percent on Wednesday on the back of sustained sell pressure.
The decline yesterday was as a result of profit-taking in the energy sector (-4.11 percent) and consumer goods index (-1.63 percent). Their performance overcame the gains recorded in the insurance (0.87 percent) and banking (0.24 percent) sectors. The industrial goods space closed flat.
When market activities were wrapped up at the midweek session, the All-Share Index (ASI) reduced by 95.07 points to 24,654.99 points from 24,750.06 points.
Similarly, the market capitalisation decreased yesterday by N49 billion to settle at N12.862 trillion as against the previous closing level of N12.911 trillion.
The market closed on Wednesday with 22 declining stocks and 17 appreciating equities.
Seplat led the losers’ chart after a decline of N42.80 to close at N386 per share, Guinness Nigeria depreciated by N1.50 to finish at N15 per share, Nigerian Breweries fell by N1.30 to settle at N34.70 per unit, GlaxoSmithKline reduced by 60 kobo to sell at N5.85 per unit, while PZ Cussons went down by 45 kobo to quote at N4.05 per share.
On the other hand, NAHCO led the gainers’ log after adding 15 kobo to its share price to settle at N2.66 per share.
Zenith Bank also gained 15 kobo to sell at N16.40 per unit, Caverton rose by 9 kobo to end at N1.99 per share, Champion Breweries improved by 7 kobo to quote at 95 kobo per share, while AIICO Insurance appreciated by 6 kobo to sell at 96 kobo per unit.
At the market, FBN Holdings was the most traded stock, selling 44.5 million units worth N241.1 million, while Zenith Bank followed with 21.4 million shares for N349.4 million.
Access Bank transacted 18.9 million shares valued at N124.6 million, Japaul Oil sold 10.8 million equities worth N2.6 million, while UBA exchanged 9.7 million shares for N61.1 million.
In all, a total of 189.3 million equities worth N1.9 billion were traded in 3,364 deals on Wednesday in contrast to the 167.9 million shares valued at N1.6 billion transacted on Tuesday in 3,783 deals, representing 12.69 percent and 23.82 percent increase in the volume and value of trades and 11.08 percent decline in the number of deals.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Nigeria slightly surpassed its quota set by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in July 2026.
In the month under review, the country produced about 1.57 million barrels of crude oil per day.
It was the third consecutive month Africa’s largest oil-producing nation was meeting its monthly quota, set to stabilise the price of the commodity on the global market by the oil cartel.
Data released by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) on Wednesday showed that the 1.5 million barrels per day ceiling for Nigeria was surpassed last month.
The agency disclosed in a statement today that the country produced 1.505mbpd of crude oil and 0.17mbpd of condensate, bringing the combined daily production to 1.67mbpd.
In the month under review, the daily peak production of crude oil and condensate was 1.78mbpd, while the lowest daily production was 1.57mbpd.
Although Nigeria met its OPEC quota in the month of July, the statistics show that on a month-on-month basis, production fell by 4 per cent.
This was attributed to the decline in production due to operational challenges experienced at the Erha and Akpo fields, which impacted crude oil output during the period under review.
These disruptions constrained production volumes and contributed significantly to the overall reduction in national crude oil output.
Despite the challenges, production operations across most other producing assets remained relatively stable, with operators implementing measures aimed at maintaining production efficiency and minimising the impact of operational constraints, NUPRC stated.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The over 9 billion shares of Lasaco Assurance Plc issued to shareholders of the company via a rights issue have been listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
The equities were brought to Customs Street on Wednesday by the organisation, increasing its total issued and fully paid-up share capital.
Lasaco Assurance, which scaled the recapitalisation hurdle of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) in July 2026, raised fresh capital from the capital market to shore up its capital base.
The underwriting firm got about N18.5 billion from the rights issue, which involved the issuance of 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares at a unit price of N2.00.
The exercise was on the basis of five new ordinary shares for every existing six ordinary shares held as of the close of business on Friday, February 20, 2026.
Confirming the listing of the additional stocks of Lasaco Assurance today, the Head of Issuer Regulation Department of NGX RegCo, Mr Godstime Iwenekhai, announced in a circular that, “Trading licence holders are hereby notified that an additional 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each of Lasaco Assurance Plc were today, Wednesday, August 12, 2026, listed on the daily official list of Nigerian Exchange Limited.
“The additional shares arose from the company’s rights issue of 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N2.00 per share on the basis of five new ordinary shares for every existing six ordinary shares held as of the close of business on Friday, February 20, 2026.
“With the listing of the additional 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares, the total issued and fully paid-up share capital of Lasaco Assurance Plc has now increased from 11,083,585,855 to 20,319,907,401 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) has said the successful recapitalisation of the insurance industry will strengthen the sector’s ability to support financial stability and economic growth.
NIA Chairman, Mrs Ebelechukwu Nwachukwu, said a well-capitalised insurance industry would be better positioned to meet its obligations promptly, underwrite complex and large-scale risks and serve as a dependable pillar of the Nigerian economy.
She made the remarks while commending the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) for its structured implementation of the new minimum capital requirements under the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025.
Mrs Nwachukwu said NAICOM’s clear guidelines, systematic verification process, defined timelines and rigorous supervision had provided operators with a credible framework for navigating the recapitalisation exercise.
She described the outcome as a major milestone for the industry and congratulated the 43 insurance and reinsurance companies that have successfully met the prescribed minimum capital requirements.
According to her, the exercise represents “a major win not just for regulators and operators, but for policyholders, investors and the wider Nigerian economy.”
Mrs Nwachukwu said the association would continue to work with NAICOM and other stakeholders to consolidate the gains of the exercise, with emphasis on sustainable industry growth, stronger market conduct and improved consumer confidence.
The official also expressed solidarity with the eight companies still undergoing final verification and regulatory review, urging them to remain confident as NAICOM completes the process within the 14-day review period.
The NIA chairman assured policyholders and the wider business community that the insurance industry would emerge from the recapitalisation exercise stronger, more resilient and better positioned to contribute to Nigeria’s economic development.
