The market capitalization of the top five banks, referred to as the Tier-1 banks or FUGAZ, depreciated by 0.66% to close at N2.20 trillion as of 26th of August, 2022, as investors in these banks lost a total of N14.66 billion during the trading week. After 5 trading days of the week, 3 of the 5 tier-1 Nigerian banks suffered negative market sentiments, with Access Bank Plc leading the losers while only UBA and Zenith bank enjoyed the positive sentiment According to data from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), the market capitalization of the top five banks dips to N2.20 trillion to depreciate by…
Author: Temitope Nlewemchi
The combined market capitalization of stocks worth over one trillion (SWOOTs) appreciated by 1.30% to close at N19.75 trillion from N19.50 trillion the previous week, reflecting a gain of N254.39 billion. Stocks included in this classification are AIRTELAFRICA, BUA CEMENT, DANGOTE CEMENT, NESTLE, BUAFOODS and MTNN Plc. Stock Performance MTNN Plc – N200.00 MTNN Plc’s share price, at the end of the trading week, appreciated by 2.04% to close at N200.00 per share, taking its market capitalization to N4.07 trillion at the end of the trading sessions of the week. As a competitor of Airtel Nig Plc, MTN’s total market…
Investors of Seplat Energy Plc recorded a loss of about N70.56 billion from trading in the shares of the company in the last five days following sustained sell pressure witnessed on shares of some blue-chip firms quoted on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX). The sell-offs are on the back of cautious trading ahead of the 2023 general elections and global investment constraints following the Russian-Ukraine crisis, as well as insecurity challenges that continue to hamper food and crude oil production in Nigeria. The oil firm’s stock lost by 8.44% to date to N1,300.00 per share from N1,419.90 it opened for trading…
Access Holdings Plc has announced that its subsidiary, Access Bank Plc has completed the divestment of its entire equity interest in Access Pension Fund Custodian Limited to First Pension Custodian Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of First Bank of Nigeria Limited. The Group released a statement signed by the company secretary, Sunday Ekwochi, and filed with the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX). According to the statement, the transaction has received the full approvals of the relevant regulatory agencies. Access Holdings Plc on May 18, 2022, announced plans by Access Bank to divest from its pension custody subsidiary. According to the statement, the…
The Miners Association of Nigeria has called on the Nigerian Government to check the activities of Chinese miners “scavenging” for Lithium. This was disclosed by Mr. Dele Ayanleke, the National Secretary of the association in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja. Lithium is a mineral used in making batteries and has witnessed a price rally over the last few years due to rising electronic vehicle demand which needs lithium to make its most expensive parts- the car batteries. What the miners are saying Ayankele revealed that the rate at which the Chinese had…
Bitcoin dug in following its Thursday climb back above the psychologically significant $20K level. After a month to forget in the cryptocurrency markets, the largest cryptocurrency by market value was recently trading at $20.1K, up around a percentage point over the previous day as investors looked ahead anxiously. The price of the leading cryptocurrency dropped by nearly 20% in August and more than 13% since the middle of the month, when a surge fueled by delusionary expectations of a return to more moderate monetary policy (since dashed by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in Jackson Hole, Wyoming) caused the price…
Flutterwave, Africa’s leading payments technology company has been granted a Switching and Processing License by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The license, which is widely regarded as CBN’s most valuable payments processing license allows Flutterwave to offer transaction switching and card processing services to customers. Others include non-bank acquiring, agency banking, and payment gateway services. The Switching and Processing license allows Flutterwave to enable transactions between banks, fintech, and other financial institutions. The Company is also able to process card transactions, participate in agency banking and offer various payment services without any intermediary. Before this license, Flutterwave operated with…
The Speaker of the Ogun State House of Assembly, Olakunle Oluomo has been arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. He was arrested at the Muritala Muhammad Airport, Lagos State on Thursday following alleged financial crimes allegations, according to Punch newspapers. Oluomo was arrested after failing to honour several invitations by the anti-graft agency. According to reports, he was accused of forging signatures for financial documents of the assembly. More details later…
Nigerians spent over a billion dollars on beverages such as alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks in the first half of 2022. This is according to data extracted from the financial statements of some of the largest beverage-making companies in the country that are listed on the NGX, the country’s premier stock exchange. Brewery giants, Nigerian Breweries, Guinness, and International Breweries all reported double-digit growth in their revenues as Nigerians guzzled their products despite a dip in purchasing power and galloping inflation. Non-alcoholic beverage makers such as Nestle, Cadbury, and Friesland Campina also reported similar revenue growth as Nigerians drank more chocolate…
Fidelity Bank Plc informed investors it has agreed to buy 100% of Union Bank UK, a subsidiary of Union Bank Plc which earlier in the year was acquired by Titan Merchant Bank. According to Fidelity Bank’s Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer Mrs. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, the transaction aligns with their strategic plan of “expanding” their service touchpoints beyond the Nigerian market and providing straight-through services that meet and exceed the needs of our growing clients” which they acquisition will help support. The companies are yet to disclose the purchase consideration, but we anticipate this will be revealed sooner, rather than later. While…
Thursday, 25th August 2022: The exchange rate between the naira and the US dollar closed at N430.67/$1 at the Investors and Exporters window, where forex is traded officially. Naira appreciated slightly against the US dollar on Thursday, by 0.08% to close at N430.67/$1 compared to N431/$1 recorded in the previous trading session. The supply of forex that exchanged hands dipped significantly by 36.88% to stand at $82.88 million as against $131.30 million traded on Wednesday. On the flip side, the exchange rate at the cryptocurrency peer-to-peer FX exchange traded at N697/$1 on Friday morning, a 0.14% depreciation when compared to N696/$1…
In anticipation of Federal Reserve Chair, Jerome Powell’s highly anticipated speech, which investors believe would provide hints on the U.S. central bank’s tightening plans, the dollar clung to recent gains against the euro and pound sterling on Friday. After attempting to break back above parity versus the greenback numerous times this week without success, the euro was scarcely moved in Asian trade at $0.9971. At the start of the week, it dipped below that critical psychological level. At $1.1821, the pound was down 0.14% from the more than two-year low of 1.1718 it reached earlier in the week. The announcement later…
China has stated that it will forgive 23 interest-free loans to 17 African countries and will also provide food assistance to struggling nations. This was disclosed by the Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi who announced the cancellations in a meeting last week at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, according to a post on the ministry’s website. The Minister failed to specify which countries owed the money or the amount of the loans, which it claimed had matured at the end of 2021. Nonetheless, this move is not new as Beijing has declared numerous rounds of debt forgiveness of interest-free loans to…
South Africa’s unemployment rate fell to 33.9% in the second quarter (Q2) of 2022, from 34.5% in Q1 2022. This was disclosed in South Africa’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) released today. The drop in the latest unemployment numbers is a welcome relief from the record highs reported for Q4 of 2021. This reduction in the unemployment rate was led mainly by job gains in the community and social services, trade, finance, and construction sectors. The report stated that 648, 000 more jobs were gained during the April to June period, bringing the total number of employed persons in the…
Nigeria’s Debt Management Office has disclosed that a strong and comparable revenue base will reduce the need for relatively large amounts of new borrowing for the Federal Government. This was stated by the Director-General of the DMO, Mrs Patience Oniha on Wednesday during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). She also stated that Nigeria needs to earn higher revenue and manage its debt profile more efficiently so as to further reduce borrowings. Oniha stated that statistics show that relative to other countries, Nigeria’s revenue is low. “The World Bank’s World Economic Outlook for 2020 showed that Nigeria…
South Africa’s annual consumer inflation reached its highest level in 13 years, increasing to 7.8% in July from 7.4% in June, which is the third consecutive month as underlying price pressure increased. This is according to a statement posted on Statistics South Africa’s website today. South Africa is currently experiencing the fastest inflation under Lesetja Kganyago’s time as governor of the central bank, and it is still at a level last seen during the global financial crisis. The consumer price index (CPI) jumped by 1.5% between June and July this year. Based on Statistics SA, this was only the fourth…
Actis, a leading global investor in sustainable infrastructure has recently concluded the first close of its real estate fund, Actis West Africa Real Estate Income Fund (NREIF) at US$45m. Anchor investors in the first close included Stanbic IBTC Pensions Managers, FCMB Pensions Limited, and Pensions Alliance Limited. The Fund will invest in market-leading, stabilized real estate assets across West Africa, with a special emphasis on Nigeria. All assets in the portfolio will attain a minimum standard of IFC Edge certification. NREIF will acquire and manage real estate assets across a range of sectors, including retail, office, industrial, education, and healthcare.…
Touch and Pay Technologies, the number one NFC & transport payments processor in Nigeria is officially announcing the launch of TAP Interstate (TAPIS). This service allows commuters to board interstate buses at any of the designated BRT terminals at Yaba, Ojota & Ewu(Mafoluku). TAPIS is a timely alternative for traveling interstate between Lagos – Abeokuta – Ibadan. They say time is money and no one appreciates waiting for so long at the park for a full bus before leaving for their destination. With TAPIS, the time of travelers is highly valued and they will no longer waste a minute waiting…
Apple said it has discovered two serious security flaws in iPhones, iPads, and Macs, which could potentially allow attackers to take complete control of devices. The company disclosed that the phones affected by the flaws include all iPhone 6s models and later, iPad Pro (all models), iPad Air 2 and iPad 5th generation and later, iPad mini 4 and later, and iPod touch (7th generation). To address this, Apple has released emergency security updates and advised the users of the devices to update their software to avoid attacks. Apple in a security update said the WebKit bug could be exploited if a…
Nigeria’s B2B e-commerce company, Omnibiz, said it has closed a $15 million pre-Series A round comprising $5 million in equity and $10 million in debt. Omnibiz said it will use the funding to double down on winning the loyalty of retail customers and driving their retention. The company also plans to begin its regional expansion this month into cities it cited during its seed raise last year: Abidjan, Takoradi, Kumasi, and Accra. The funding was led by Timon Capital. Other VC firms such as Ventures Platform, Lofty Inc, Chapel Hill Denham, Chandaria Capital, and Musha Ventures also participated. Some of these investors took part…