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Economy

Trapped Foreign Investors Invest in Nigerian Stocks, OMO Bills

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Trapped Foreign Investors

By Dipo Olowookere

Some foreign portfolio investors, who sold off their Naira investments before and shortly after the lockdown in Nigeria in high hopes of repatriating their funds, but got trapped, are already re-investing their money in local investment tools, an investigation by Business Post has revealed.

In March 2020, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) practically stopped the sale of foreign exchange (forex) to authorised traders.

Since the lockdown in Lagos, Abuja and Ogun State, Dollar sales at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window have reduced drastically.

The I&E segment of the forex platform was created by the apex bank about three years ago for the exchange of Naira to Dollar by FPIs and business corporations.

Before the movement cessation on March 30, the average daily trading value at the investors’ segment was within $400 million to $500 million, but since the lockdown, it has broadly dropped to $30 million to $40 million. This has largely eased the pressure on the domestic currency and there have been huge drop in demand for forex at the market as well as supply.

Business Post reports that on Friday, the total value of transactions at the I&E segment was $62.45 million, higher than the $25.43 million recorded on Thursday.

Nigeria has been battling with Dollar inflows due to fall in the prices of crude oil, which contributes over 80 percent to its foreign earnings, causing the nation’s external reserves, where the CBN takes forex to defend the Naira, to deplete.

Business Post observed that some FPIs, who sold their Naira investments last month, have been unable to repatriate their proceeds weeks after. This has forced some of them to reconsider putting the funds back into the capital market.

In the past two to three weeks, the Nigerian equity market has suddenly experienced surge in the trading volume and value. It has also regained its strength despite the threats posed by the coronavirus disease, which has plunged the global economy into a recession, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Last week, the stock market appreciated by 7.19 percent week-on-week. This was after it moved up by 1.37 percent the previous week. This week, the market receded by 1.41 percent as a result of profit taking, though there was a 0.57 percent growth recorded yesterday (Friday).

Investigations by Business Post showed that non-resident investors, who could not get their funds out of the country, chose to turnover the money and wait until the restrictions are lifted and Dollar supply to the I&E is resumed by the CBN.

At the treasury bills market, in the last two weeks, there have been upsurge in transactions at the Open Market Operations (OMO).

Last year, the CBN restricted local retail and institutional investors from buying its OMO bills and only allowed FPIs to invest in the liquidity management tool.

Since the lockdown commenced late last month, the OMO auctions had been snubbed by offshore investors, but when they could not repatriate their funds, they began to look the way of the exercise about two weeks ago.

At the last exercise held on Thursday, OMO bills worth N100 billion were auctioned across 89-day, 180-day and 341-day tenor, but the bank received subscriptions worth N323.8 billion from investors.

According to the analysis, N10 billion worth of the short-dated bill were offered for sale, another N10 billion worth of 180-day instrument were auctioned, while N80 billion worth of 341-day maturity were offered.

But when the bids were analysed, investors staked N64.10 billion on the short-dated bill, N33.50 billion was staked on the mid-dated bill, while N226.16 billion was staked on the long-dated bill.

A day earlier, the Debt Management Office (DMO) auctioned local bonds worth N60 billion to investors, but when the bids were analysed, the papers were oversubscribed by 459 percent, with the debt office getting subscriptions valued at N275.67 billion.

Next Monday, President Muhammadu Buhari has a huge task to carry out. Nigerians would be expecting to hear his verdict on the present lockdown, which is currently in its fourth week.

Nigeria has continued to witness rise in the cases of COVID-19. As at Friday, a total of 1,095 cases of the virus have been confirmed in the country.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) last night announced 114 new cases, with 80 in Lagos, 21 in Gombe State, 5 in Abuja, 2 each in Zamfara and Edo States, and one each in Ogun, Oyo, Kaduna and Sokoto States.

Lagos has the highest number of cases, 657 cases, followed by Abuja with 138 cases.

If the lockdown is extended by another two weeks or one, the capital market may continue to benefit from it because it means more liquidity at the market, which is enough to keep the positive momentum at the stock market on.

However, most Nigerians, who are daily income earners will continue to groan as some of them claimed they have not received palliatives from government to encourage them to stay home any longer.

Dipo Olowookere is a journalist based in Nigeria that has passion for reporting business news stories. At his leisure time, he watches football and supports 3SC of Ibadan. Mr Olowookere can be reached via [email protected]

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Economy

Petrol Supply up 55.4% as Daily Consumption Reaches 52.1 million Litres

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sufficient supply petrol

By Adedapo Adesanya

The supply of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, increased by 55.4 per cent on a month-on-month basis to 71.5 million litres per day in November 2025 from 46 million litres per day in October.

This was contained in the November 2025 fact sheet of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) on Monday.

The data showed that the nation’s consumption also increased by 44.5 per cent or 37.4 million litres to 52.1 million litres per day in November 2025, against 28.9 million litres in October.

The significant increase in petrol supply last month was on account of the imports by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited into the Nigerian market from both the domestic and the international market.

Domestic refineries supplied in the period stood at 17.1 million litres per day, while the average daily consumption of PMS for the month was 52.9 million litres per day.

The NMDPRA noted that no production activities were recorded in all the state-owned refineries, which included Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries, in the period, as the refineries remained shut down.

According to the report, the imports were aimed at building inventory and further guaranteeing supply during the peak demand period.

Other reasons for the increase, according to the NMDPRA, were due to “low supply recorded in September and October 2025, below the national demand threshold; the need for boosting national stock level to meet the peak demand period of end of year festivities, and twelve vessels programmed to discharge into October, which spilled into November.”

On gas, the average daily gas supply climbed to 4.684 billion standard cubic feet per day in November 2025, from the 3.94 bscf/d average processing level recorded in October.

The Nigeria LNG Trains 1-6 also maintained a stable processing output of 3.5 bscf/d in November 2025, but utilisation improved slightly to 73.7 per cent compared with 71.68 per cent in October.

The increase, according to the report, was driven by higher plant utilisation across processing hubs and steady export volumes from the Nigeria LNG plant in Bonny.

“As of November 2025, Nigeria’s major gas processing facilities recorded improved output and utilisation levels, with the Nigeria LNG Trains 1-6 processing 3.50 billion standard cubic feet per day at a utilisation rate of 73.70 per cent.

“Gbaran Ubie Gas Plant processed 1.250 bscf per day, operating at 71.21 per cent utilisation, while the MPNU Bonny River Terminal recorded a throughput of 0.690 bscf per day during the period. Processing activities at the Escravos Gas Plant stood at 0.680 bscf per day, representing a 62 per cent utilisation rate, whereas the Soku Gas Plant emerged as the top performer, processing 0.600 bscf per day at 96.84 per cent utilisation,” it stated.

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Economy

Secure Electronic Technology Suspends Share Reconstruction as Investors Pull Out

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Secure Electronic Technology

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The proposed share reconstruction of a local gaming firm, Secure Electronic Technology (SET), has been suspended.

The Lagos-based company decided to shelve the exercise after negotiations with potential investors crumbled like a house of cards.

Secure Electronic Technology was earlier in talks with some foreign investors interested in the organisation.

Plans were underway to restructure the shares of the company, which are listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.

However, things did not go as planned as the potential investors pulled out, leaving the board to consider others ways to move the firm forward.

Confirming this development, the company secretary, Ms Irene Attoe, in a statement, said the board would explore other means to keep the company running to deliver value to shareholders.

“This is to notify the NGX and the investing public that a meeting of the board of SET held on Tuesday, December 16, 2025, as scheduled, to consider the status of the proposed share reconstruction and recapitalisation as approved by the members at the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held on April 16, 2025.

“After due deliberations, the board wishes to announce that the proposed share reconstruction will not take place as anticipated due to the inability of the parties to reach a convergence on the best and mutually viable terms.

“Thus, following an impasse in the negotiations, and the investors’ withdrawal from the transaction, the board has, in the interest of all members, decided to accept these outcomes and move ahead in the overall interest of the business.

“The board is committed to driving the strategic objectives of SEC and to seeking viable opportunities for sustainable growth of the company,” the disclosure stated.

Business Post reports that the share price of SET crashed by 3.85 per cent on Tuesday on Customs Street on Tuesday to 75 Kobo. Its 52-week high remains N1.33 and its one-year low is 45 Kobo. Today, investors transacted 39,331,958 units.

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Economy

Clea to Streamline Cross-Border Payments for African Importers

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Clea Payment platform

By Adedapo Adesanya

Clea, a blockchain-powered platform that allows African importers to pay international suppliers in USD while settling locally, has officially launched.

During its pilot phase, Clea processed more than $4 million in cross-border transactions, demonstrating strong early demand from businesses navigating the complexities of global trade.

Clea addresses persistent challenges that African importers have long struggled with, including limited FX access, unpredictable exchange rates, high bank charges, fraudulent intermediaries, and payment delays that slow or halt shipments. The continent also faces a trade-finance gap estimated at over $120 billion annually, limiting importers’ ability to access the FX and financial infrastructure needed for timely international payments by offering fast, transparent, and direct USD settlements, completed without intermediaries or banking bottlenecks.

Founded by Mr Sheriff Adedokun, Mr Iyiola Osuagwu, and Mr Sidney Egwuatu, Clea was created from the team’s own experiences dealing with unreliable international payments. The platform currently serves Nigerian importers trading with suppliers in the United States, China, and the UAE, with plans to expand into additional trade corridors.

The platform will allow local payments in Naira with instant access to Dollars as well as instant, same-day, or next-day settlement options and transparent, traceable transactions that reduce fraud risk.

Speaking on the launch, Mr Adedokun said, “Importers face unnecessary stress when payments are delayed or rejected. Clea eliminates that uncertainty by offering reliable, secure, and traceable payments completed in the importer’s own name, strengthening supplier confidence from day one.”

Mr Osuagwu, co-founder & CTO, added, “Our goal is to make global trade feel as seamless as a local transfer. By connecting local currencies to global transactions through blockchain technology, we are removing long-standing barriers that have limited African importers for years.”

According to a statement shared with Business Post, Clea is already working with shipping operators who refer merchants to the platform and is also engaging trade associations and logistics networks in key import hubs. The company remains fully bootstrapped but is open to strategic investors aligned with its mission to build a trusted global payment network for African businesses.

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