Stockbrokers Meet Osinbajo in Lagos Today

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The sum of N75 million has been disbursed to 15 small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in Nigeria to support their expansion drive. The funding package was given by Google’s Hustle Academy, with beneficiaries drawn from various industries, including agriculture, and fashion, among others. The 15 Nigerian small business owners were among the 5,300 entrepreneurs who graduated from the academy, designed by the tech giant to provide an avenue for participants to enhance their business skills and knowledge, and contribute to the growth of the continent’s economy. The recipients of the funding support are Ifeoma Augusta Anselem of

By Adedapo Adesanya Brent crude benchmark dipped below $80 a barrel on Monday, precisely losing 60 cents of 0.7 per cent to trade at $79.98 a barrel as investors await this week’s meeting of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies (OPEC+). The group is anticipated to maintain its ceiling on crude oil production by member countries into 2024. This affected the oil market, with the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures declining yesterday by 68 cents or 0.9 per cent to trade at $74.86 per barrel. Last week, the 23-man OPEC+ postponed its Sunday ministerial meeting

By Adedapo Adesanya The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded yet another positive week-on-week performance after stretching its gains by 1.44 per cent in Week 47. This expanded the portfolios of NASD investors by N17 billion in the week to N1.162 trillion from the N1.145 trillion recorded in Week 46, as the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) increased by 12.16 points to 857.29 points from 845.13 points in the previous week. The trading week was with three price gainers and three losers, with Aradel Holdings Plc on top of the advancers’ chart after it grew by 10 per cent to finish

By Adedapo Adesanya  The federal government, through the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), has announced plans to invest $1.1 billion to fully rehabilitate decaying port infrastructure at TinCan, Apapa, Rivers, Delta, Calabar, and Onne ports as part of efforts to improve the efficiency of the nation’s existing ports. Out of the estimated 47,000 kilometres of coastline in Africa, Nigeria makes up about 853 kilometres, creating the perfect opportunity to get access to its much-needed revenue. This coastline and a 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone make up Nigeria’s coastline in the Gulf of Guinea. The coastline equals a maritime area of

By FSDH Research FSDH Research believes there are investment opportunities in the Nigerian equity market for long-term investors despite its year till date weak performance so far in 2018. Year-to-date (YTD), The Nigerian Stock Exchange All Share Index (NSE ASI) depreciated by 7.78 percent (a loss of 6.69 percent in US Dollar) to close at 35,266.29 points. The weak performance of the equity market so far in 2018 can be attributed to two main factors: firstly, the pullback of some foreign investors from the market due to uncertainty ahead of next year’s general elections and secondly, the rising global yields

By Dipo Olowookere Minister of Health, Prof Isaac Adewole, has said that the Federal Government has the capacity to provide quality medical care to the 21 released Chibok girls, and those to be released later. The Minister who disclosed this on Sunday October 16, 2016, when he visited the released Chibok girls in Abuja, to assess their well-being, said that the girls were in one of the excellent medical facilities in Abuja. He also revealed that a team of Medical Doctors, Nurses, Psychologists, Oncologist and many more professionals from the Ministry, National Hospital and Federal Medical Centre Jabi, Abuja, have

By Adedapo Adesanya The Ogun State House of Assembly has passed the state’s 2021 Appropriation Bill of N338.6 billion with slight adjustments in recurrent and capital expenditures. Mr Olakunle Sobukanla, the Chairman, House Committee on Finance and Appropriation, had during plenary in Abeokuta presented the report of his committee on the budget before the House According to the report, the total recurrent expenditure was increased by 3.4 per cent from N141.7 billion to N146.5 billion, while the capital expenditure was reduced by 2.7 per cent from N176.6 billion to N171.8 billion. Mr Sobukanla explained that there were adjustments in the

By Investors Hub Asian stocks rose broadly in holiday-thinned trade Tuesday amid holidays in China and South Korea. The dollar was bolstered by upbeat U.S. economic data and tax reform hopes while oil prices slipped further in Asian deals after falling more than 2 percent on Monday amid signs of higher output. Markets in South Korea and China remained closed for the Harvest Festival and National Day, respectively. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up more than 2 percent at 28,172 in late trade as trading resumed after a long holiday weekend. Japanese shares rallied to hit two-year highs as

By Adedapo Adesanya Acting Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ms Mary Uduk, has called on companies to tap into capital market for long-term finance that could have positive impact on the nation’s economy. Ms Uduk, speaking last week at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) Interactive Session for Consumer Goods Sector, where she was part of panelists,said her agency recognises the importance of this, noting that the commission was arranging its processes to ensure that this runs smoothly. The SEC chief spoke at the event on creating an enabling business environment for sustainable growth in the country

By Dipo Olowookere An African rap star, Kennedy Ombima, otherwise known as King Kaka, has expressed his admiration and respect for a leading bookmaker, Sportsbet.io, describing the platform as “true innovators.” In an interview with Telecom Asia Sport, the music act said he was impressed when he learned about the innovative values behind the foremost Bitcoin-led sportsbook. “I am an innovation kinda guy. We can’t reinvent the wheel, but the wheel can be redirected in certain directions toward easy life…When I heard the values behind Sportsbet.io I thought for real? You can do that now?” the showbiz personality said. Sportsbet.io

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Group Chief Executive Officer of UAC of Nigeria, Mr Abdul Bello, has revealed plans by the conglomerate to raise the sum of N20 billion from the issuance of bonds to refinance short-term borrowings at its real estate subsidiary, UPDC. The real estate firm of the group has recorded losses in the past years, but UAC of Nigeria wants to raise the funds to support the company. On Wednesday, UPDC disclosed that its losses widened to N3.05 billion in 2017 from N1.23 billion the previous year. UPDC cut its debt to N19.3 billion in 2017, down 15 percent

Winners have emerged in the maiden edition of the MoneyBee Financial Literacy Competition organised by the Junior Achievement Nigeria (JAN). The winners are Yusura Aminu Ibrahim and Fathia Usman of Heritage Global Academy, Ikorodu and Adedeji Fuhad and Akerele Semilore of Canterbury International school, Ajah, Lagos State, respectively. Each of the four outstanding students was given a Stanbic IBTC Educational Trustee Account worth over N100,000. The event had the support of Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC in furtherance of its commitment to increasing the level of financial literacy amongst Nigeria students. The Stanbic IBTC Trustee account is an educational trust product