Stocks Shed 0.11% as Investors Offload Zenith Bank, Others

By Adedapo Adesanya  President Bola Tinubu has written to the House of Representatives seeking the approval for an $8.6 billion and €100 million external borrowing plan for critical infrastructure in areas such as power, roads, water, railway, and health. The President also forwarded the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Supplementary Budget to the lower chamber for consideration. Meanwhile, the President will present the 2024 budget to the National Assembly on Wednesday. This was after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved a 2024 budget of N27.5 trillion. The approval followed the review of the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) earlier passed by the

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira depreciated in the opening session of the week in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Monday, November 27 against the Dollar by N19.71 or 2.5 per cent as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Olayemi Cardoso, said the lender was committed to clearing a backlog of foreign exchange (forex). “We have initiated the payment of unsettled forward foreign exchange obligations, and these payments will continue until all obligations are cleared,” he told bankers last Friday during a dinner speech in Lagos. However, his assurance could not ease the pressure

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 The Nigerian e-commerce company, Autochek, has acquired CoinAfrique, a classified ad marketplace, to accelerate its car financing services to Francophone countries in Africa. The classified ad marketplace is said to attract 60,000 new ads and 1.5 million visits every month, with the car category accounting for half of the business transactions happening on the site. CoinAfrique, founded in 2016, will join the Autochek team and help them run operations in the region. Autochek has rolled out its operations in Benin, Togo, and Senegal following the acquisition, with more markets set to be activated as the auto marketplace

By Investors Hub The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a modestly lower opening on Wednesday following the upward move seen in the previous session. Following the sell-off seen on Monday, stocks moved back to the upside during the trading day on Tuesday. The Dow climbed 116.36 points or 0.5 percent to 24,727.27, the Nasdaq rose 20.06 points or 0.3 percent to 7,364.30 and the S&P 500 ended up 4.02 points or 0.2 percent to 2,716.94. The strength on Wall Street may partly have reflected bargain hunting following the notable decline seen during trading on Monday. Trading activity was

By Dipo Olowookere The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has restated its commitment to partnerships with international institutions for sea time training of Nigerians under the Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP). Director General of NIMASA, Mr Dakuku Peterside, said this during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the agency and the Maritime Academy of India in Lagos for on-board sea time training of some graduates of the programme. Mr Peterside disclosed that the agreement between both parties covers the training of 60 cadets in three batches of 20 each. “This MOU will help reduce the amount

By Dipo Olowookere The bulls took control of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Monday, which doubled as the first trading session of the new week and month. By the time activities were wrapped up for the day, Nigerian equities were up by 0.33 per cent as a result of a renewed buying interest, especially on the back of more positive earnings from quoted firms. As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 131.74 points to 39,931.63 points from 39,799.89 points, while the market capitalisation went up by N68 billion to N20.892 trillion from N20.824 trillion. A total of

By Dipo Olowookere The management of Ikeja Hotel Plc, operators of the prestigious Sheraton Lagos Hotel in Ikeja, has reacted to reports in some sections of the media (Business Post not included) claiming that the Lagos State government has revoked its occupancy. On Tuesday, Ikeja Hotel had informed the investing public that the state government withdrew the right of occupancy (R of O) it earlier issued to one of its subsidiaries, Charles Hampton Limited. The firm said it was informed of this development in a letter from the state government dated Thursday, October 15, 2020, for the land situated at

By Dipo Olowookere The management of Dolidol, the market leader in Francophone Africa based out of Morocco, has assured that the recent acquisition of Mouka, Nigeria’s leading brand of mattresses, pillows and other bedding products, will not lead to a job loss. In a statement made available to Business Post on Wednesday, the firm said rather, it will result in the creation of more job opportunities and massive investment in the company. The CEO of Dolidol, Mr Mohamed Lazaar, stated that the transaction “will allow Dolidol to strengthen its presence in the continent and complement Mouka’s growth in the region

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The free registration for the National Identification Number (NIN) for linking to SIM cards of subscribers has commenced at select Experience Centres of 9mobile. The decision to use its Experience Centre for enrolment of the NIN was taken by the management in order to enable customers of the company to physically register without hassles or payment. 9mobile is reputed as Nigeria’s customer-friendly telecommunications company because of the several initiatives it puts in place to make its customers happy. When the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) directed network providers in the country to disconnect any subscriber who fails to

By Adedapo Adesanya Total E&P Nigeria Limited has extended its sponsorship of N150 million to the Male National Divisions 1 and 2 Leagues of the Nigerian Basketball Federation (NBBF) till the 2025 season. This was done at the signing of a Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) between the two organisations recently at the Eko Hotel & Suites, Lagos. Speaking at the event, the Managing Director of Total E & P Nigeria Limited, Mr Mike Sangster, stated: “Total has resolved to build on the productive relationship with NBBF, which began with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding in 2018. “Today, we