Forex turnover experienced a notable decline, dropping by 21.45% to $181.30 million on December 20, 2023, as the Nigerian naira faced depreciation against the US dollar, closing at N854.61/$1 in the official market, as reported by Infostride News. The domestic currency demonstrated a 1.5% depreciation, settling at N854.61/$1 at the close of the business day, according to data from the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), where official forex trading occurs. This represented a gain of N9.73 or a 1.15% increase compared to the previous closing rate of N844.85/$1 on Tuesday. The intraday high and low recorded were N1240/$1 and…
Author: Temitope Nlewemchi
In a notable development, shareholders of Dangote Sugar Refinery can breathe a sigh of relief as the company’s share price experiences an uptick, marking an impressive 258% year-to-date increase. This surge comes as a ray of hope for the future, offering optimism after a challenging five-year period characterized by an overall decline in share value. Over the past half-decade, Dangote Sugar shareholders faced a 21% dip in share value. In the year 2022 alone, the share price plummeted by 7.76%, trailing behind the broader market returns of 19.98%. Despite the decline in share price, the company witnessed significant earnings growth…
Seplat Energy, a distinguished firm listed on the NGX, stands out for its distinctive practice of disbursing quarterly dividends to shareholders, providing them with the option to receive dividends in various currencies rather than Naira. In the fiscal year 2022, the company proposed and distributed a cash dividend of $0.10 across four quarters, navigating through varying exchange rates. Extending this trend into 2023, Seplat paid a cumulative amount of $0.09 in the first three quarters, adeptly adjusting to fluctuating exchange rates. The company declared US 3 cents per quarter with exchange rates of N465.04, N759.86, and N996.75 to USD1 for…
Investors find themselves buoyed by an air of optimism as the NGX experiences an impressive surge this week, indicative of a Santa Claus rally in full swing. As of December 20, 2023, the NGX’s all-share index has recorded a remarkable appreciation of 1.39%, reaching an unprecedented high of 73,397.71 points. This surge has also translated into a substantial increase in equities, with the market’s capitalization surpassing the N40 trillion mark for the first time this week, witnessing a gain of N551 billion. Understanding the Santa Claus Rally The Santa Claus rally, a term coined to describe a seasonal upswing in…
In a significant move, shareholders of Nigerian Breweries Plc have given their resounding approval for the acquisition of an 80% stake in Distell Wines & Spirits Nigeria Limited. The nod came as part of special resolutions reached at an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held in Lagos, showcasing the pivotal role that strategic expansions play in shaping the corporate landscape. This milestone decision, disclosed in the company’s official communication to the Nigerian Exchange Limited and the investing public, signals a strategic shift for Nigerian Breweries, one of the prominent players in the Nigerian beverage industry. The approval, as noted by Uaboi…
In an extraordinary trading session, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NGX) witnessed a historic surge, surpassing the 74,000 mark as the All-Share Index displayed a notable 1.21% increase, culminating at 74,289.02 points. This remarkable achievement follows closely on the heels of the NGX breaching the 73,000 mark just a day prior, accompanied by the market capitalization crossing the impressive N40 trillion milestone. Equities experienced a substantial uptick of N488 billion on this particular day, propelling the market capitalization to a new high of N40.652 trillion. Notably, leading performers such as TRANSCORP, MULTIVERSE, and INFINITY sustained their exceptional momentum, posting gains of…
The Port Harcourt Refining and Petrochemical Company, located in Rivers State, has reinitiated its operations, marking a significant milestone in the Federal Government’s commitment to restoring the facility’s production of refined products by the year’s end. After a prolonged period of underperformance and extensive turnaround maintenance, during which the facility produced minimal output, the Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, confirmed the recommencement of operations. He led members of the Refinery Steering Committee on an inspection of the facility, expressing congratulations to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and the entire nation for this achievement. The…
Angola, a crucial member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) since 2007, has formally expressed its intention to withdraw from the organization. This strategic move is a direct response to what Angola perceives as a fundamental misalignment between its national interests and the production quotas imposed by OPEC, illuminating the challenges within the organization and its potential repercussions on the global oil market. The genesis of Angola’s decision to exit OPEC can be traced back to a prolonged period of discontent with the organization’s production quotas. With an approximate daily oil production of 1.1 million barrels, Angola…
The declaration of the 2024 budget’s passage date by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, has added a sense of urgency to the legislative proceedings, marking a significant milestone in Nigeria’s fiscal planning. This pivotal announcement was made during the resumption of the House’s plenary on Tuesday, December 19, setting the stage for crucial deliberations and decisions shaping the country’s economic trajectory. During the session, the Speaker addressed various House committees, underscoring the importance of expeditiously concluding and submitting their reports on the budget defense by government agencies before 8 pm on December 19, 2023. The…
Infostride News reported that Nigeria’s total external debt stock experienced a noteworthy decline of $1.57 billion in the third quarter of 2023, dropping from $43.16 billion to $41.59 billion as of September 30, 2023. The Debt Management Office (DMO) disclosed this information in its third-quarter public debt report. The reduction in external debt was attributed to the redemption of Nigeria’s $500 million Eurobonds and the initial principal payment of $413.859 million for the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) $3.4 billion loan acquired during the COVID-19 period in 2020. The DMO’s statement emphasized the specifics of this decline, stating, “External debt decreased…
The third quarter of 2023 witnessed significant financial activity on the part of the Federal Government of Nigeria, as reflected in the recently published domestic debt service report by the Debt Management Office (DMO). During this period, the government allocated a substantial sum of N1.79 trillion for servicing its domestic debt, marking a considerable uptick from the corresponding quarter in the previous year. This financial commitment was distributed across various instruments, including Nigerian Treasury Bills (NTBs), Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) bonds, treasury bonds, and FGN savings bonds. The meticulous breakdown of the domestic debt service for each month unveils…
Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Nigerian Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has recently given the green light for a substantial allocation of N13.1 billion earmarked to facilitate the refurbishment, construction of new toilets, and provision of furniture in secondary and primary schools across the Six Area Councils in 2024. This significant development was disclosed by Dr. Danlami Hayyo, the Mandate Secretary of the Federal Capital Territory Administration Education Secretariat, during a comprehensive year-end media briefing held in Abuja on Wednesday. In his elaborate statement, Dr. Hayyo expounded that the allocated funds would be distributed among the Councils based on the…
Nigeria witnessed a staggering increase of 277.64% in external debt servicing during the third quarter of 2023, as revealed by the latest data from the Debt Management Office (DMO). The analysis unveils a spike from $368.26 million (N283.17 billion) in Q2 2023 to $1.39 billion (N1.07 trillion) in Q3 2023, reflecting the financial strain on the nation. The Debt Management Office utilized an exchange rate of N768.93/$ for the calculation of the naira equivalent of the external debt servicing cost. Notably, the top three contributors to external debt service expenditure in Q3 2023 were Eurobonds ($943,661,250.03), World Bank’s International Development…
Infostride News recently reported on Nigeria’s labor landscape, drawing insights from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Labour Force report for the second quarter of 2023. In this period, the country’s unemployment rate saw a marginal increase from 4.1% to 4.2%, signaling a modest uptick of 0.1% compared to the first quarter. Gender Disparities in Unemployment: The NBS report highlighted a noteworthy gender disparity in unemployment, revealing that more women of working age were unemployed compared to their male counterparts. Specifically, the male unemployment rate was reported at 3.5%, whereas the female unemployment rate stood higher at 5.9%. Regional Disparities:…
Infostride News reported that the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) declared a substantial achievement, revealing an Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of N56 billion in 2023. Notably, an overwhelming 90% of this revenue was sourced from penalties imposed on various companies and businesses. This revelation came to light during a strategic media engagement in Abuja, led by Mr. Babatunde Irukera, the Executive Vice Chairman of FCCPC. Mr. Irukera underscored the pivotal role of accountability in maintaining market stability. He emphasized that the commission’s approach is not aimed at shutting down businesses but rather at instilling a sense of responsibility.…
In the second quarter of 2023, approximately 88% of working-age Nigerians found themselves without traditional salaried employment, instead opting for self-employment, a marginal increase from the 86% recorded in the preceding quarter. This shift underscores the resilience of ordinary Nigerians in the face of mounting economic challenges, as individuals increasingly turned to entrepreneurial endeavors to navigate the evolving economic landscape. Contrary to the prevalent narrative of wage employment, only about 12% of working-age Nigerians were involved in formal employment during this period, representing a slight uptick from 11.8% in the previous quarter. The asksource.info platform defines wage employment as any…
The extension of the implementation of the supplementary appropriation bill from December 31, 2023, to March 31, 2024, has received approval from the Senate. This decision was prompted by an amendment presented by the Leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, who sought to extend the lifespan of the bill beyond the originally stipulated date. Senator Bamidele clarified that the 2023 Appropriation Act had initially set the budget duration for 12 months, running from January 1 to December 31, 2023. However, he emphasized that the effective utilization of funds allocated in the 2023 supplementary appropriation bill would be hindered if…
Infostride News reports that the Anambra State House of Assembly has given its nod to the state’s 2024 Appropriation Bill, a financial plan amounting to N410 billion. This approval comes a month after Governor Chukwuma Soludo submitted the bill to the House, with the green light finally given during a plenary session in Awka. The green light for the budget was granted following the acceptance of the comprehensive report presented by Mr. Ejike Okechukwu, the Chairman of the House Committee on Finance and Appropriation. Okechukwu confirmed that the budget size would remain as initially presented by the Governor, signifying a…
Infostride News has learned that President Tinubu has greenlit a substantial 50% discount on road transport fares nationwide, effective from December 21, 2023, to January 4, 2024. The announcement came through the Minister of Solid Mineral Development, Dele Alake, during a press briefing at the state house. According to Alake, this decision aligns with President Tinubu’s commitment to improving the lives of Nigerians, especially during the festive season. Alake, who also chairs the Inter-ministerial Committee on Presidential Intervention, shared the details of the initiative alongside three other committee members: Alhaji Mohammed Idris (Minister of Information and National Orientation), Saidu Alkali…
The Lagos State Government has taken a decisive step to alleviate traffic congestion and enhance the overall mobility experience for residents and commuters along the Apapa-Oshodi expressway. In a statement issued on December 20, 2023, by Sola Giwa, the Special Adviser on Transportation to the Lagos State Governor, the directive mandates all tankers and trailers to immediately vacate the Cele Bus Stop Inward Tin Can Port axis and cease indiscriminate parking along the specified corridor. The recurring issue of heavy articulated vehicles parking haphazardly on this route has been a persistent source of gridlock, obstructing the free flow of traffic…