Economy
Zedcrest to Hold Maiden ‘Zimvest Economy Conversations’ Series
Come Saturday, June 20, 2020, digital private wealth and investment management firm, Zedcrest Investment Managers (Zimvest), will hold its maiden thought-leadership series named Zimvest Economy Conversations.
The programme was designed to improve investment management competencies on the part of both investors and financial services providers.
The inaugural edition organised in partnership with online market news, data and research firm, Proshare Nigeria Limited, is targeted at investors, businesses, bankers, asset managers, corporate executives, HNIs and all investment enthusiasts.
Zimvest Economy Conversations, which will hold virtually, is themed The Economic Landscape and Investor Preferences in Post-pandemic Africa.
It seeks to explore the changing dynamics of the fiduciary relationship between the Investor and the financial institution.
Today’s Investors want to take a more active approach to money management, evidenced by the massive shift to self-investing in Fixed-Income instruments and Alternative assets.
A statement from the organisers said the first session which will take place from 11am to 1pm is headlined by Mr Bola Onadele Koko, CEO of FMDQ as the keynote speaker.
Confirmed panellists are Ini Ebong, Group Executive, Treasury & Financial Institutions at First Bank; Esiri Agbeyi, Partner and Head, Private Wealth Services at PWC; Adetoun Dosunmu, Treasurer at FBN Merchant Bank; Onome Komolafe, Divisional Head, CSCS & EX-COO at Coronation Merchant Bank; Chiefo Ejiofobiri, National Head, Product Sales at Fidelity Bank; & Abiola Adekoya, Wealth Expert and Ex-CEO at RMB Securities. The event will be moderated by Wole Famurewa, Anchor at CNBC Africa.
Zimvest, the newly launched investment management subsidiary of Zedcrest, plans to be at the nexus of a continuing conversation series around Investment management and economic policy landscapes.
Speaking on Zimvest’s launch and the Zimvest Economy Conversations series, the Group Managing Director of Zedcrest, Mr Adedayo Saheed Amzat, said, “This episode will also look at the immediate economic environment and suggest practical actions that businesses and investors can take as the economy resumes from the lockdowns effected in the wake of the COVID-19 health crises, and the attendant economic woes the virus leaves in its wake.
“It is hoped that businesses/investors will get more clarity as to the required next steps to steer their businesses and investments back to growth.”
“We are in a strong position to lead this dialogue as we have a strong reputation as financial market experts with recognition coming from the likes of the FMDQ and BusinessDay.
“Our Global markets subsidiary, Zedcap Partners, won the ‘best brokerage service provider’ award at the 2019 FMDQ Gold awards.
“The Group also won the ‘Most Diversified Financial services Group’ award at the 2019 BusinessDay awards. We have helped banks, pension funds, insurance firms and foreign investors get access to the best investment products for the past seven years and we are now devoting the same expertise to the Individual and Corporate clients,” he added.
On the process of participation, Gbenga Adigun, Business Head at Zimvest urged all interested participants to register via the event link on any of Zimvest’s social media platforms (@zimvest).
“This is an event anyone interested in the changing economic landscape and evolution of the post-pandemic investor would not want to miss,” he said.
“We are also using this medium to immensely thank our keynote speaker, moderator and the panellists for making out time to be part of this event. We are excited at the depth of knowledge and experience they will bring to bear on the conversations,” he added.
Zimvest, a subsidiary of the foremost financial solutions powerhouse, Zedcrest, is licensed by the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) as a Fund & Portfolio Manager. The company’s products are designed to offer inflation and currency protection, risk management and sustainable growth.
Other members of the Zedcrest Group include the leading consumer finance brand – Zedvance Finance, the leading Interdealer-Brokerage firm – Zedcap Partners and proprietary investment firm – Zedcrest Capital.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Despite signs that Nigeria’s headline inflation is easing, rising food prices continue to threaten the country’s inflation outlook, the chief executive of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Mr Muda Yusuf, has warned.
He noted that structural inflationary pressures in the real economy remain pronounced despite improving macroeconomic stability.
In a policy brief released following the inflation report, he noted that headline inflation eased marginally, while month-on-month change moderated from 1.75 per cent to 1.66 per cent, indicating that headline inflation has largely plateaued.
According to him, the dominant concern in the latest inflation report is the renewed acceleration in food inflation.
This growth, he said, suggested that food prices have resumed an upward trajectory after a brief period of moderation.
Warning that a renewed increase in food inflation has significant economic and social implications, he stressed that food inflation remained the biggest driver of Nigeria’s cost-of-living crisis, stressing that rising food prices continue to erode household purchasing power, worsen poverty and food insecurity while weakening the inclusiveness of the current reform programme.
He maintained that sustained moderation in food prices is critical to improving citizens’ welfare and strengthening public confidence in the ongoing economic reforms.
Acknowledging the easing of core inflation as encouraging, he drew attention to the persistence of urban inflation.
At 16.08 per cent, urban inflation exceeded the national headline inflation rate of 15.91 per cent, while month-on-month urban inflation increased from 1.99 per cent to 2.13 per cent.
According to Mr Yusuf, the figures indicated that inflationary pressures remained particularly intense across urban centres.
He attributed the rising urban inflation partly to increasing population displacement from rural communities affected by insecurity, expressing worry that as more households migrate to urban areas, demand for housing, transportation, utilities and other essential services would increase, adding to inflationary pressures and creating additional urbanisation challenges.
Addressing insecurity in farming communities, he said, was important not only for protecting lives and property and boosting agricultural output but also for easing cost pressures in urban centres, adding that the June CPI data reinforced the view that Nigeria’s inflation challenge is predominantly structural rather than monetary.
On the monetary policy outlook, he said the data do not justify further monetary tightening, arguing that headline inflation has largely stabilised.
The CPPE chief expected the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to retain the current monetary policy rate at its next meeting, adding that the priority is for monetary and fiscal authorities to work together to accelerate structural reforms to expand food supply, improve logistics, reduce energy and production costs, lower debt service costs, as well as strengthen domestic value chains.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Additional shares of Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc have been listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
The new equities were added to the company’s existing stocks on Customs Street on Thursday, July 16, 2026, a notice from the bourse confirmed.
Business Post reports the total new ordinary shares of Sterling Holdings listed yesterday were 13,812,239,000 units.
They were from the offer for subscription of 12,581,000,000 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each sold for N7.00 per share, which was oversubscribed by investors.
The financial institution brought the new shares to the stock exchange to increase its total issued and fully paid-up shares to 65,929,251,414 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each from 52,117,012,414 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each.
“Trading licence holders are hereby notified that an additional 13,812,239,000 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each of Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc were on Thursday, July 16, 2026, listed on the daily official list of Nigerian Exchange Limited.
“The additional shares listed on NGX arose from the company’s offer for subscription of 12,581,000,000 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N7.00 per share.
“With the listing of the additional shares, the total issued and fully paid-up shares of Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc have now increased from 52,117,012,414 to 65,929,251,414 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each,” the notice read.
By Adedapo Adesanya
President Bola Tinubu has signed a Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, establishing a new framework to coordinate the regulation of virtual assets across government agencies as Nigeria seeks to curb fraud while supporting innovation in the digital economy.
The Executive Order, which takes immediate effect, creates a Virtual Asset Council chaired by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to harmonise oversight of cryptocurrencies, tokenised assets, stablecoins, and other digital assets without creating a new regulator.
As part of the new framework, the CBN will establish a regulatory sandbox that will allow eligible firms to test virtual asset products, blockchain solutions, and related services under regulatory supervision before they are introduced to the wider market.
The development was disclosed in a statement issued on Friday by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga.
According to the presidency, the Executive Order responds to the growing complexity of virtual assets, which increasingly cut across the traditional boundaries of currencies, securities, commodities, and payment systems.
The fragmented regulatory environment has left gaps that have exposed Nigeria to money laundering, terrorism financing, cybersecurity and data privacy risks, fraud, and revenue losses.
The government said some unregistered operators have exploited these regulatory gaps to defraud unsuspecting Nigerians, resulting in significant financial losses.
“The Order is designed to close these gaps through supervisory coordination, without introducing new layers of regulation or displacing the mandates of existing agencies,” the statement read.
Under the new framework, the Virtual Asset Council will be chaired by the CBN, with the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) serving as vice chairs. Other members include the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
The Council will provide policy direction, improve cooperation among participating agencies, and work with the Attorney General of the Federation to develop a harmonised legal and institutional framework for the sector.
The Executive Order also establishes a Virtual Asset Office, which will serve as the Council’s operational arm. The office will be domiciled at the CBN and will coordinate information sharing, applications, and reporting among the participating agencies through a shared supervisory technology platform.
The presidency stressed that the Executive Order does not create a new regulator or transfer statutory powers from existing agencies, clarifying that instead, each institution will continue to exercise its existing mandate while working within a coordinated framework.
Under the arrangement, registration of virtual asset businesses will depend on the nature of the service being offered.
Activities classified as securities will continue to be regulated by the SEC, while payment, settlement, custody, and other services involving non-security virtual assets will fall under the CBN.
Where there is uncertainty over regulatory jurisdiction, the Virtual Asset Council will determine the appropriate supervising agency.
“The sandbox will provide a controlled environment in which eligible operators can test and operate virtual asset products, services, and blockchain-based solutions under close supervision, enabling the participating agencies to assess the implications for monetary sovereignty, financial stability, market integrity, consumer protection, financial inclusion, and revenue administration before products reach the wider market,” the statement added.
According to the presidency, the sandbox will enable regulators to evaluate the implications of emerging products for financial stability, monetary sovereignty, consumer protection, financial inclusion, market integrity, and revenue administration.
The central bank is expected to announce further details of the sandbox.
