Economy
Stock Market Gains N1.5trn After Tinubu Vows to Jump-Start Economy
By Dipo Olowookere
The first trading session on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited after the inauguration of Mr Bola Tinubu as the new President of Nigeria closed higher by 5.22 per cent on Tuesday.
Yesterday, the stock market did not open its doors to investors due to the public holiday declared by the federal government for the inauguration of the country’s 16th President.
During his inaugural speech, Mr Tinubu promised to make the business environment friendly to investors, stating that he would ensure a minimum of 6 per cent economic growth, unify the exchange rate regimes, address multiple taxes, improve the electricity supply, and others.
These assurances touched the right places and spurred stock investors to buy up some equities in anticipation of good times ahead.
It was observed that most of the sectors of the bourse leapt to levels last seen in years, as the banking space rose by 8.20 per cent. The consumer goods improved by 6.48 per cent, the industrial goods sector appreciated by 6.08 per cent, the energy index increased by 4.04 per cent, and the insurance counter grew by 2.29 per cent.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) jumped by 2,764.47 to 55,738.35 points from 52,973.88 points, and the market capitalisation rose by N1.495 trillion to N30.340 trillion from N28.845 trillion.
Business Post reports that 64 equities appreciated in price at the close of business today, and 12 shares ended on the losers’ table, indicating a very strong investor sentiment boosted by a positive market breadth index.
The strong demand for stocks on Tuesday pushed the prices of Deap Capital, FCMB, Nigerian Breweries, Jaiz Bank and Eterna higher by 10.00 per cent to 22 Kobo, N4.62, N42.35, N1.10, and N7.70, respectively.
On the flip side, Ikeja Hotel lost 10.00 per cent to trade at N2.16, NCR Nigeria depreciated by 9.80 per cent to N2.76, Tantalizers fell by 8.00 per cent to 23 Kobo, International Energy Insurance went down by 6.98 per cent to N1.20, and Consolidated Hallmark Insurance depleted by 6.56 per cent to 57 Kobo.
The most active stock of the trading session was Access Holdings, transacting 199.6 million units valued at 2.5 billion, FBN Holdings traded 127.9 million units worth 1.8 billion, Transcorp sold 95.7 million units worth N309.2 million, UBA exchanged 82.0 million units valued at N831.5 million, and GTCO transacted 76.4 million units worth N2.2 billion.
Data showed that a total of 1.1 billion stocks worth N15.8 billion exchanged hands in 9,916 deals on Tuesday compared with the 461.8 million stocks valued at N7.7 billion traded in 6,520 deals last Friday, implying an increase in the trading volume, value and number of deals by 133.49 per cent, 105.20 per cent, and 52.09 per cent, respectively.
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.
