The bears upstaged the bulls at the reopening of transactions on the equities sector of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) yesterday, as sell-off in most blue-chip stocks, especially ABC Transport and Lasaco insurance dragged market capitalisation by N9 billion. Specifically, at the close of transactions yesterday, market capitalisation of listed equities declined by N9 billion or 0.04 per cent to N20.582 trillion from N20.591 trillion reported on Friday. The NGX All-Share Index also depreciated by 16.94 basis points to 39505.40 points from 39522.34 points traded previously. Investors traded 141.282 million shares valued at N1.635 billion in 3393 deals against 188.838…
Author: Temitope N.
The Federal Government has unveiled the Plant Variety Protection Act (PVP) so that farmers can have access to quality seeds to boost food production in the country. The government also tasked the Nigerian Agricultural Seed Council (NASC) to ensure full implementation of the law. The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Sabo Nanono at the unveiling of the Act stressed that although the country is good at making laws but implementation has been a huge challenge, adding that it is important that the PVP Act is fully implemented and stakeholders are engaged in reviewing its implementation. The minister who maintained…
Chief Consultant of B. Adedipe Associates Limited, Dr. Biodun Adedipe and Director, Monetary Policy Department of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr. Hassan Mahmud, said the prospect of the country’s economy is getting better but warned the speed of growth could be stalled by persisting headwinds. The economists spoke at the Mid-year Economic Review and Outlook 2021, organised by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) Centre for Financial Studies in collaboration with B. Adedipe Associates. They noted that the pessimists take figures out of context. Adedipe noted that the demand for hydrocarbon would continue to improve as…
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has once again, bemoaned the proliferation of fraudulent investment outfits in the capital market, urging investors to desist from patronising of such illegal operators. he Director-General of SEC, Lamido Yuguda, while speaking at the second post-Capital Market Committee (CMC) virtual media briefing held at the weekend, urged Nigerians to stay away from fake financial experts who promise to double their money within a short time. He said the commission would intensify efforts to clamp down on promoters of these illegal investment outfits in the capital market, in addition to its commitment to zero tolerance…
The Federal Government, yesterday, opened bids for the concession of four international airport terminals in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano. The request for qualification (RFQ), as part of efforts to run the facilities efficiently and profitably, is open to firms or consortia with track record in airport terminal management and net worth of N30 billion per bidding firm or consortium. The Federal Government earlier proposed 20 to 30 years concession tenure for the facilities, which will enable private investors to own, operate and recoup investments. The Federal Executive Council (FEC) in 2016 approved the concession of the four major…
The National Identity Management Commission has shut down its Lagos headquarters after one of its staff members tested positive for COVID-19. It was learnt that the worker, who is in the customer care unit, tested positive for the virus last Monday. An official, who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity, said several workers of the agency had also been ill. The source said, “The woman, a nursing mother working in the customer care unit, tested positive on Monday. “Other staff have been reporting one form of illness or the other. I am not feeling well as well and…
Pension Operators Association of Nigeria has said it will help companies and personnel in the pension industry to navigate the new and changing nature of work. The association said this was at its knowledge sharing session held recently, according to a statement. According to the statement, PenOp’s knowledge sharing session is a curated monthly session for C-level executives, human resources and other personnel in the pension industry where various subject matter experts are invited to dig deeper into topical issues that add value to the audience and the industry in general. At the session, the Chief Executive Officer, Learning Impact…
THE equities listed on the Nigerian Exchange Limited saw its their market capitalisation rise by N370.75bn last week amid bullish sentiment. The NGX All-Share Index appreciated by 1.83 per cent to close at 39,522.34 per cent on Friday from 38,810.75bps the previous week while the market capitalisation rose to N20.59tn from N20.22tn. A total turnover of 1.61 billion shares valued at N12.59bn were traded in 18,622 deals last week, compared to 989.59 million shares worth N8.18bn in 19,617 deals in the previous week. As measured by volume, the financial services industry led the activity chart with 584.79 million shares worth…
The House of Representatives’ Committee on Finance will on Monday (today) begin an eight-day public hearing on the 2022-2024 Medium Time Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper. To appear before the committee are heads and officials of Federal Government ministries, departments and agencies totalling 83, according to a notice obtained by our correspondent. On Monday, the committee is to host Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed; Minister of State for Finance, Budget and National Planning, Clement Ike; Director-General, Budget Office of the Federation, Ben Akabueze; Accountant General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris; and Director-General, Debt Management Office,…
A new report by Global Financial Integrity, an American think-tank focused on illicit financial flows, corruption, illicit trade and money laundering, has ranked Nigeria fifth among countries with the most politically exposed persons involved in real estate money laundering schemes in the US. The report titled ‘Acres of money laundering: Why U.S. real estate is a kleptocrat’s dream’, delved into the murky world of global money laundering and demonstrated the ease with which kleptocrats, criminals, sanctions evaders, and corrupt government officials chose the US real estate market as their preferred destination to hide and launder proceeds from illicit activities. A…
The Federal Inland Revenue Service confirmed that companies with untraceable addresses evaded taxes to the tune of N17.69bn, according to a report by the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation for 2015. The Senate has consequently ordered the Executive Chairman of the FIRS, Muhammad Nami, to go after the defaulters, recover and remit the revenue to the Consolidated Revenue Fund within 90 days. The Senate issued the order based on the recommendations by the Committee on Public Accounts in its report on the audit queries issued by the auditor-general for the year under review. Following the consideration and…
Nigeria’s foreign liabilities stood at $187.36bn while the country’s foreign assets amounted to $102.15bn as of December 2020, the International Monetary Fund has said. From 2016, Nigeria’s foreign liabilities jumped by 42.41 per cent from $131.56bn, while foreign assets rose by 13.67 per cent from $89.87bn. Foreign assets are the investment securities owned by the Nigerian government, companies, or Nigerians in foreign countries while foreign liabilities are assets owned by foreign governments, corporations and individuals in Nigeria. This places Nigeria’s Net International Investment Position, which is foreign assets less liabilities at -$85.21bn as of December 2020. Corporate Finance Institute, a…
LandWey’s Isimi Lagos has contributed to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through its tree farm initiative. The green initiative was created to contribute meaningfully to the UN’s SDG established in 2015 to protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss. Speaking at the Isimi Lagos Project Introduction Festival and Tree Farm Initiative at Epe, Lagos, Olawale Ayilara, Group Managing Director, LandWey investment Limited said the initiative, a key part of the Polo and Wellness City, also helps to largely retain and maintain…
Consumer goods stocks like that of Honeywell Flourmills Plc closed higher at the end of last week’s transactions on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX). It led nine others on the gainers’ chart with 28.93 per cent to close at N2.05 kobo. Following Honeywell was Northern Nigeria flourmills, which added 22.76 per cent to close at N7.55 kobo per share. Other gainers were Airtel Africa, Conoil, Neimeth Pharmaceuticals, adding 15.38 per cent, 9.83 per cent and 9.33 per cent to close at N750, N22.36 kobo and N1.64 kobo respectively. Skyway Aviation Handling Company, Pharmdeko and Academy Press also increased by 9.18…
The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite, has called on state Governments to create an enabling environment for investment to thrive. Adegbite said that the chief security officers of their various states, it is the duty of the governors to create a safe environment in terms of security and ensure that investors are not exploited. The minister stated this in a statement signed by Mrs Idowu Jokpeyibo, on behalf of the Head of Press and Public Relations Unit, after receiving the Katsina State Governor, Aminu Bello Masari, who paid the minister a courtesy visit. He called on State…
The United Nations Children’s Fund has condemned the deaths of three children in Borno, north-east Nigeria, who were reportedly killed by unexploded remnants of war. In a press statement made available by its Communications Officer, Folashade Adebayo stated that the avoidable deaths of the children – as young as 12 years – who were playing on Mblu Bridge in Ngala, is yet another sad reminder that children remain direct and indirect targets of the protracted conflict wracking north-east Nigeria. “While three children have sadly lost their lives, three others are in critical conditions while two other children sustained mild injuries.…
The Federal Government has commenced the implementation of new rates for vehicle number plates and driving licence across the country. According to the Joint Tax Board, Nigerians will now pay N18,750 for standard private and commercial number plates against the old rate of N12,500. Fancy number plate which was N80,000 is now N200,000; motorcycle number plate is N5,000 from N3,000 while articulated number plates (three plates) attract N30,000 from N20,000. For these rates, the minimum increase is 50 per cent. Out of series number plate has also been revised to N50,000 from N40,000 while government fancy number plate is N20,000…
The Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Abhay Thakur, has pledged his country’s readiness to provide the needed support to Nigerian seafarers in its drive to further deepen the India-Nigeria relations and economic ties. Thakur made the pledge at the Mission to Seafarers Lagos Symposium, titled, ‘Maritime industry and development of Nigeria – Connecting with our heritage’, where he was represented by the Head of Chancery at the commission, Rachit Rawat. He said India would support seafarers in the areas of training, facility support and other logistics as a major maritime player in the global economy. Chairman, MTS Lagos, Adebayo Sarumi,…
The Federal Government has announced its readiness to receive and process applications for the granting of plant variety protection rights to agric investors. The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Sabo Nanono, and the Director-General, National Agricultural Seeds Council, Olusegun Ojo, announced that this was part of moves by the government to implement the Plant Variety Protection Act 2021. They spoke on the occasion of the unveiling of the PVP Act 2021, which was organised by the NASC and the Nigerian Economic Summit Group in Abuja. In his address at the event, Ojo said in implementing the recently assented Act,…
The Central Bank of Nigeria has said it sees the country’s inflation rate dropping to single digit next year, with the full implementation of its recent policies designed to boost different sectors of the economy. The Director of Monetary Policy Department, CBN, Dr Hassan Mahmud, said this on Friday at the virtual mid-year economic review and outlook 2021, which was organised by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria’s Centre for Financial Studies and B. Adedipe Associates. The country’s inflation rate fell slightly from 17.93 per cent in May to 17.75 per cent in June, according to the National Bureau…