Economy
Stakeholders Seek Standards for Financial Services in Africa
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Stakeholders in the financial services industry in Nigeria have commenced participation in the development of African standards for financial services under the auspices of the African Organization for Standardization (ARSO).
Welcoming members of the National Mirror Committee of the ARSO Technical Harmonization Committee on Good Financial Grant Practice (GFGP) (ARSO THC 12-2) to a meeting at the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) corporate headquarters in Abuja, the Director General, Mr Osita Aboloma, stated that the establishment of the THC 12-2 further emphasizes the importance of standards in every facet of human existence.
This, according to him, also re-emphasizes the relevance of SON’s mandate in establishing benchmarks in the form of standards for all aspects of the social and economic life of Nigerians.
Represented by the Head of International Standards, Mr Dauda Yakubu, the SON Chief Executive clarified that the financial services standards are being developed to support and manage the quality of services being offered in the financial services sector and ensure that they meet global best practices as well as the needs of the customers, continually.
The meeting, he said, was called to broaden the scope of participation of stakeholders in the sector as well as articulate Nigeria’s position towards deliberation on the harmonized draft of the GFGP standard towards the second meeting of the ARSO THC scheduled for Nairobi, Kenya. Members of the National Mirror committee were encouraged to join the Nigerian delegation to the ARSO meeting to advance the National position.
Mr Aboloma enumerated that more meetings and calls for comments will follow and urged the committee members to ensure active participation until the African standard on GFGP is concluded, published and adopted as Nigeria Industrial Standard.
In her address, the SON Acting Director, Standards Mrs Chinyere Egwuonwu, explained that National Mirror Committees are set up to replicate the activities of regional, continental or international standards development to ensure that stakeholders are carried along in the standards development process.
Mrs Egwuonwu reminded the committee members of the global principles of standardization as including; transparency, openness, impartiality, consensus, efficiency, relevance and consistency stressing that the GFGP standard will be voluntary and for certification of systems for optimal benefit.
Presenting an overview of the GFGP Standard, SON Head of Finance and Accounts, Mr David Okon enumerated the benefits as including to minimize the risk of corruption, bribery and fraud; increase grantors confidence in funding grantees; minimize the multifarious audits usually encountered by grantees from grant agencies; reduce administrative cost and time for both grantors and grantees; and increase the confidence of donor agencies to fund grantees directly.
Chairman of the National Mirror Committee is Dr Arome Salisu of African Youth Growth Foundation while participants at the meeting included representatives of the professional Associations, Nigerian Accounting Standards Board, Banking and Insurance Companies, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Offices of the Accountant General and Auditor General of the Federation, the Federal Ministries of Finance as well as Budget and Planning, the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) among others.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The leading sugar milling firms in Nigeria, Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc, is selling commercial paper worth N100 billion to investors.
The company, owned by foremost businessman, Mr Aliko Dangote, is approaching the local debt market for the funds to finance its short-term working capital.
It is offering interested commercial paper buyers the debt instrument in series 10, 11, and 12 at maturities of 90 days, 174 days and 265 days, respectively.
Details of the exercise obtained by Business Post showed that the three-month paper is being offered at a discount rate of 19.97 per cent and an implied yield of 21.00 per cent, the six-month paper goes for a discount rate of 20.73 per cent and an implied yield of 23.00 per cent, and the nine-month paper is being sold at a discount rate of 20.80 per cent and an implief yield of 24.50 per cent.
Subscription for the commercial paper, which is under the company’s N300 billion Commercial Paper Issuance Programme, opened today, Monday, June 23, 2025, and will close of Wednesday, June 25, 2025, with the minimum a subscriber can purchase at N5 million.
Dangote Sugar is a subsidiary of Dangote Industries Limited (DIL) and engaged in the refining, distributing, and marketing of granulated sugar to wholesalers and top players in the skin care, food and beverage, and pharmaceutical industries.
It is the largest sugar refining in the Sub-Saharan Africa, with a combined installed refining capacity of 1.49 MMT per annum.
In the medium term, the organisation is targeting additional 1.5MMT of refined sugar from locally grown sugarcane and is on track to becoming a leading global integrated sugar producer with its backward integration plan.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
To unlock the trade and investment opportunities in West Africa, efforts must be made to build a regional coalition, the chairman of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Group Plc, Mr Umaru Kwairanga, has submitted.
Speaking at the inaugural West Africa Economic Summit (WAES) 2025, the NGX Group chief tasked stakeholders to harness the untapped potential of the region’s trade and commodity markets.
According to him, capital markets and commodity exchanges can transform West Africa’s abundant natural resources into organized, transparent capital that fuels industrialization and inclusive economic growth.
Delivering remarks during a high-level panel on Commodities as Capital: Regional Commodities Exchange and Reserves, Mr Kwairanga noted that despite West Africa’s wealth of raw materials, it continues to face a paradox of resource abundance coexisting with capital scarcity.
“As a nation and region, we are abundantly rich in raw materials, but often poor in capital outcomes. This paradox is not due to lack of resources, but due to the way these resources have historically been excluded from structured financial ecosystems.
“Commodities, whether agricultural, mineral, or energy, must be seen not just as tradeable goods, but as investable assets capable of powering industrialization, job creation, and macroeconomic stability,” he said at the event themed Unlocking Trade and Investment Opportunities in the Region.
Mr Kwairanga emphasized NGX Group’s commitment to building resilient market infrastructure that supports price discovery, clearing, settlement, and investor protection, systems that can underpin thriving regional commodity markets.
He highlighted NGX Group’s role in mobilizing capital for commodity value chains through IPOs, bonds, and structured funds, citing the success of NGX-listed companies like Presco and Okomu Oil as models for attracting long-term investment.
On the question of regional versus national commodity exchanges, Mr Kwairanga advocated a dual approach that combines the strengths of national platforms with the scale and integration benefits of regional frameworks.
“National exchanges address local needs and build depth, but for West Africa to unlock the full potential of commodity trade, we must connect these markets under a regional structure.
“Regulatory harmonization will be key and this is where NGX Group’s experience in governance, coupled with platforms like the African Exchanges Linkage Project and the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System, can help align standards and enable seamless cross-border transactions,” he stated.
Addressing liquidity challenges, the chairman outlined the need for harmonized rules, trustworthy infrastructure, product innovation, and incentives to drive participation, calling for public-private partnerships and regional integration to deepen market liquidity and ensure efficient price discovery.
Beyond the panel discussions, Mr Kwairanga commended the vision of President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Yusuf Tuggar, for spearheading the summit.
“There is power in unity and prestige in size. The great economic powerhouses of the 21st century, such as the United States and China have risen to prominence partly because of the scale of their markets. A united West Africa can achieve the same if we work together on initiatives like this,” he said, expressing optimism that the summit would produce actionable frameworks to reduce trade barriers, encourage regional investment, and fast-track economic growth across ECOWAS.
NGX Group, he added, remains committed to supporting cross-border investments, citing its participation in the African Exchanges Linkage Project and the increasing regional footprint of NGX-listed companies such as Dangote Cement, First Bank, Zenith Bank, Access Bank, and Ecobank.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a decline of 0.61 per cent in the 25th trading week of 2025, with the benchmark index, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI), going down by 20.31 points to 3,320.91 points from the 3,341.22 points posted in Week 24.
In the same vein, the market capitalisation, which captures the total value of stocks on the platform, went down by N20 billion to N1.94 trillion from the N1.96 trillion recorded in the preceding week.
Business Post reports that there were eight price gainers and three price losers in the five-day trading week, led by Okitipupa Oil Palm Plc, which fell by 9.50 per cent to close at N219.00 per unit versus the preceding week’s N242.00 per unit, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc lost 2.78 per cent to trade at N29.00 per share versus N29.43 per cent share of the earlier week, and Friesland Campina Wamco Nigeria Plc shed 2.06 per cent to trade at N69.38 per unit compared with the preceding week’s N70.84 per unit.
On the flip side, Geo-Fluids Plc gained 9.87 per cent to finish at N4.23 per share versus N3.85 per share. Air Liquide Plc appreciated by 9.80 per cent to N9.97 per unit versus N9.08, AG Mortgage Bank Plc rose by 9.21 per cent to N83 Kobo per share from 76 Kobo per share, FirstTrust Mortgage Bank Plc improved by 8.62 per cent to 63 Kobo per unit from 58 Kobo per unit, Food Concepts Plc expanded by 7.27 per cent N1.77 per share from N1.65 per share, Acorn Petroleum Plc grew by 6.36 per cent to N1.17 per unit from N1.10 per unit, Industrial and General Insurance Plc chalked up 2.86 per cent to quote at N36 Kobo per share versus N35 Kobo per share, UBN Property Plc increased by 2.75 per cent to N2.34 per unit from N2.18 per unit, and Afriland Properties Plc jumped by 0.78 per cent to N29.40 per share from N19.25 per share.
In the week, the total value of trades went up by 255.2 per cent to N113.13 million from N39.1 million, while the total volume of transactions went down by 35.6 to 2.44 million units from 3.80 million units.
FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc was the busiest stock by value with N90.3 million, CSCS Plc recorded N13.2 million, Okitipupa Plc posted N5.2 billion, Afriland Properties Plc sold N1.6 million, and 11 Plc achieved N1.1 million.
Also, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc was the most active by volume with 1.3 million units, CSCS Plc traded 0.43 million units, UBN Property Plc exchanged 0.27 million units, Lagos Building Investment Company (LBIC) Plc reported 0.15 million units, and Afriland Plc transacted 0.08 million units.
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