World Bank Seeks SA Firms’ Participation in $45b Projects

By Adedapo Adesanya President Bola Tinubu has been charged by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) to investigate the allegations that over $15 billion of oil revenues and N200 billion budgeted to repair the refineries are missing and unaccounted for between 2020 and 2021, as documented by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI). In the letter dated September 23 and signed by SERAP deputy director, Mr Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation urged him to “name and shame anyone suspected to be responsible for the missing and unaccounted for public funds and to ensure their effective prosecution as well as

By Adedapo Adesanya All is not well with the Naira in the parallel market and the peer-to-peer (P2P) segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market in Nigeria, with its exchange rate against the Dollar nearing N1000. At the black market on Thursday, the Nigerian Naira depreciated against the US Dollar by N25 to sell at N995/$1 compared with the preceding session’s value of N970/$1. It was a similar story with the local currency in the P2P wing of the forex market as it lost N22 against the greenback yesterday to quote at N992/$1, in contrast to Wednesday’s exchange rate of

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The federal government has expressed its readiness to work closely with the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited to attract startups to the stock exchange. The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Mr Bosun Tijani, said the government would use the newly created NGX Technology Board to achieve this goal. Speaking at a tech event themed Invest in Africa’s Future- Let’s Talk About Exits on Thursday in the United States, he noted that Nigeria had been grappling with its over-dependence on oil in the last few years, adding that diversifying from heavy reliance on a single sector like

By Adedapo Adesanya Oil increased its value on Monday on considerations of reducing output by more than 1 million barrels per day to buttress prices with what would be the biggest output cut since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Brent crude futures for December delivery rose by $3.72 or 4.4 per cent to $88.86 a barrel as the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures improved by $4.14 or 5.2 per cent to $83.63 a barrel. The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, collectively known as OPEC+, is considering an output cut of more than

By Adedapo Adesanya Nigerian business accounting startup, Kippa, has raised $3.2 million in pre-seed funding as it looks to scale its small business financial management app. Kippa is an app that helps merchants to increase cash flow by recovering debts. The pre-seed funding round was led by Target Global with participation from Entrée Capital, Alter Global and Rally Cap Ventures. A number of prominent angel investors also participated in the round, including Messrs Sriram Krishnan (investor in Khatabook), Raffael Johnen (CEO, Auxmoney), Babs Ogundeyi (CEO, Kuda), Chris Bouwer (board member, Cellulant), Kyane Kassiri, Edward Suh (Goodwater Capital), and Sajid Rahman.

By Dipo Olowookere The first trading session of the week started weak on Monday as the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) depreciated by 0.91 percent. Selloffs across most sectors of the market contributed to the bearish closure yesterday, expanding the year-to-date loss to 7.03 percent. The All-Share Index (ASI) depreciated by 228.42 points to 24,954.25 points from 25,182.67 points, while the market capitalisation decreased by N119 billion to N13.018 trillion from N13.137 trillion. There were 25 price losers during Monday’s trading day as against the 16 price gainers, with MTN Nigeria topping the losers’ chart after a price depreciation of N2

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Monday opened the week sluggish after losses recorded by Nigerian Breweries and 16 other stocks. After the close of trading activities on the floor of the NSE, the market went down by 0.12 percent, despite the market breadth closing positive with 26 gainers. A look at the market indicators showed that the market capitalisation declined by N12.13 billion to close at N9.707 trillion, while the All-Share Index depreciated by 35.08 points to end at 28,078.30 points and the year-to-date return finished at 4.48 percent. Nigerian Breweries suffered N3.12k loss to close

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited has the capacity to provide sustainable development and combat climate change, the chief executive officer of the organisation, Mr Temi Popoola, has said. According to him, the trading platform can facilitate the effective and efficient allocation of resources for the purpose of economic growth and development, saying the convening power of securities exchanges also positions these outstanding institutions as a driving force for change. Speaking via a statement to celebrate World Environment Day, Mr Popoola said, “Amidst the unfortunate loss of lives and the associated economic downturn brought by the COVID-19 pandemic,

By Adedapo Adesanya The leader of the coup that ousted Gabon’s President, Mr Ali Bongo, Mr Brice Oligui Nguema, has promised to bring reforms as he was sworn in as interim president of the central African country on Monday. In Africa’s ninth coup in three years, army officers led by Mr Nguema (a general) seized power on August 30, minutes after an announcement that Mr Bongo had won his third term election in his 14 years as president. According to reports, Mr Nguema, a cousin of the deposed Garbonese leader, was given a standing ovation by military officers and officials

By Dipo Olowookere A total of 23 equities appreciated at the local bourse on Tuesday following the sustained buying pressure during the session, lifting the market further by 0.31 per cent. Leading the chart was Seplat, which had been battered lately at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). Yesterday, the share price of the company rose by N10.80 to settle at N321 per unit. Nigerian Breweries grew by N1 to sell for N32 per share, Flour Mills gained 75 kobo to trade at N19.50 per unit, Zenith Bank appreciated by 60 kobo to finish at N16.95 per share, while UAC Nigeria

By Dipo Olowookere In order to fully explore the potentials of the creative industry in Nigeria, companies must emulate Rite Foods Limited, makers of Bigi soft drinks and sausages, a notable society and entertainment journalist, Mr Funsho Arogundade, has submitted. The ace journalist with PM Express said this at the maiden edition of Bigi Media Idol, held in Lagos recently, where he emerged the third runner-up. Mr Arogundade, who was formerly with PM News, commended Rite Foods for taking its footprint in the creative industry higher by setting the pace and raising the bar for other corporations to emulate. “Rite