Category: ARM Securities

NBS to release Q3 growth data as MPC meets today

The Central Bank of Nigeria’s Monetary Policy Committee will on Monday (today) and Tuesday hold its final meeting for the year, to deliberate on key issues affecting the economy.

Development bank to release more funds for MSMEs

The Development Bank of Nigeria has said it will enter into a strategic partnership with Deposit Money Banks and microfinance banks to enable it to release more funds to the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises sector.

‘Nigeria earned N69.2bn from solid minerals in one year’

Nigeria earned N69.2bn from solid minerals in 2015, representing an increase of 24 per cent on the N55.8bn generated from the sector in 2014, the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative announced on Sunday.

NNPC, Chevron sign final phase of $1.7bn deal

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and Chevron Nigeria Limited have executed the second and final phase of an alternative financing agreement expected to increase crude oil production in the country by about 39,000 barrels per day from the Sonam and Okan fields located in the OML 90 and 91 of the Niger Delta.

This Day

Market Turns Bearish on MSCI’s Reclassification

The Nigerian equities market reversed the gains recorded last week as foreign investors and domestic institutional adopted cautious trading and profit taking following the decision of Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) to delete FBN Holdings, Forte Oil Plc, Guinness Nigeria Plc and PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc from its Main Frontier Markets Indexes.

Glo, Airtel, Dangote, Seven Others Advance to Final Stage in 9mobile Bid

The scramble to acquire 9mobile, Nigeria’s fourth largest network operator, has advanced to the next stage, with 10 out of the 16 firms that submitted expressions of interest (EoIs) for the telecoms firm, prequalified by Barclays – the financial adviser to the deal – to proceed to the financial bid stage of the exercise.

Afreximbank Raises $150m in Samurai Syndicated Term Loan Facility

The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has successfully completed its first ever Samurai Syndicated Term Loan Facility, raising the equivalent of US$150 million, comprising two tranches of Japanese Yen 6.2 billion and US$100 million.

Alleged Tax Evasion: Lawmakers Threaten Arrest Warrant against Telecoms CEOs

The Chairman, House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the activities of telcoms operators and vendors, Hon. Ahmed Abu (APC, Niger) has threatened to serve bench warrants against chief executives of major telecommunications companies over their failure to appear before it and defend allegations of tax evasion amounting to about N143 billion.

Vanguard

Cost of funds to fall as over N700bn inflow hit interbank

Cost of funds in the interbank money market will decline this week in response to inflow of over N700 billion from matured treasury bills and statutory allocation  to the three tiers of government.

Insurers groan as premium growth lags behind liabilities

The insurance industry, during the nine months period ended September 2017, witnessed marginal growth in gross premium written while claims expenses went up significantly. This development may have put the badly affected underwriters in financial stress.

Guardian

FG mulls reduced interest rate for local manufacturers in Q1 2018

The Federal Government’s commitment to support and encourage local manufacturing firms through access to cheap funds may soon be realised with the implementation of a reduced interest rate regime for local manufacturers in the first quarter of 2018.

Inflation drops for ninth consecutive month to 15.91%

The National Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday released the Consumer Price Index, which measures inflation, with the index dropping year-on-year from 15.98 per cent in September to 15.91 per cent in October.

$5.5bn borrowing: FG meets global investors in US on Friday

The Federal Government is set to meet global debt investors this week as it looks to sell its longest-maturity Eurobond yet.

ERGP: FG to hire Malaysian economic experts for N458m

The Federal Executive Council on Wednesday approved the retention of Malaysian consultants to help conduct a study that would aid the implementation of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan.

TSA: $21.3m trapped in Heritage Bank, NPA tells Reps

About $21.3m of Federal Government’s funds held for the Nigerian Ports Authority by Heritage Bank had been trapped in the vault of the lender since 2016, the NPA told the House of Representatives in Abuja on Wednesday.

3,050MW plant: FG, Chinese bank negotiate $4.92bn loan

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, announced on Wednesday that the Federal Government had commenced negotiations for a $4.92bn loan from the China Exim Bank for the construction of the 3,050 megawatts Mambilla Hydro Power Plant.

Discos ripping off consumers with new prepaid meters – Reps

The House of Representatives on Wednesday accused electricity distribution companies of ripping off power consumers in the country with their new Mojec prepaid meters and called for urgent investigation to be conducted into the development.

We’ll take a decision on Ajaokuta soon – FG

The Federal Government has said that it will take a decision on what happens to the Ajaokuta Steel Complex in due course.

This Day

Fitch Rates Nigeria’s Planned Dollar Notes ‘B+(EXP)’

Fitch Ratings has assigned Nigeria’s upcoming senior unsecured USD-denominated notes an expected rating of ‘B+(EXP)’.

Stanbic IBTC Grows Nine Months Gross Profit by 78% to N46Billion

Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, a member of Standard Bank Group, has recorded a growth of 77.7 per cent growth in profit before tax (PBT) for the nine months ended September 30, 2017.

Guardian

NSE’s All-share index plummets by 0.9%

The reign of the bears continued unabated on the trading floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), as major highly capitalised stocks depreciated in price, resulting to a further slide in the All-share index by 0.9 per cent.

Nigeria’s crude oil suffers setback as more traders opt for U.S. blend

Nigeria’s crude oil is under serious pressure at the international market, as Asian refiners have increasingly been moving away from their usual favourite, frequently opting for United State (U.S) crude oil, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has said.

Vanguard

African SMEs face $136bn financing gap annually—IFC

The International Finance Corporation, IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has estimated that in Africa, small and medium enterprises, SMEs, face a financing gap of over $136 billion annually.

NNPC should be partially privatised — Moghalu

Despite effort by the current administration to diversify the nation’s economy, a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mr. Kingsley Moghalu, has urged the Federal Government to partially privatize the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC.

The Nation

Oil prices end gain streak, drop to $61

The recent gains recorded by global oil prices have slipped as the commodity has lost more than $2 in seven days.

McGrath: ExxonMobil adds 600,000bpd to Nigeria’s output

The Chairman/Managing Director, ExxonMobil Nigeria Unlimited, Mr. Paul McGrath, has reiterated commitment to local content development, saying the firm contributes 600,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil to Nigeria’s daily output that currently hovers around 2.2 million bpd.

Nigeria’s debt grows by N8tn in two years

Nigeria’s total debt stock rose by N8tn between September 2015 and September 2017, according to statistics provided by the Debt Management Office.

2018 budget: FG targets N311bn from asset sale, privatization

The Federal Government is aiming to generate of N311bn from privatization of public properties and the sale of national assets next year to partly finance the 2018 budget.

CBN sells dollars at 306/dollar on spot market

The Central Bank of Nigeria on Tuesday sold dollars at N306 for the second time, after maintaining a level around 305/dollar on the official spot market for two months, traders said.

This Day

Adeosun, Foreign Investor Hold Talks on Textile Industry

Dutch textile and design company, Vlisco Group on Tuesday held a high-level discussion with the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, over the former’s proposed investment in the Nigerian cotton textile industry.

Zambia Becomes AFC Member Country

Zambia has become the first Southern African member country of the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), a leading development finance institution for infrastructure in Africa.

FG Signs $5.8bn Contract for Mambilla Hydro Power Project

The federal government has signed the contract for the Mambilla hydropower project which was first designed 40 years ago and is expected to add 3,050 megawatts of power to the national grid.

EFCC Seeks N’Assembly’s Approval to Retain 7% of Recoveries

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday urged the House of Representatives to accord the agency powers to retain seven per cent of all its recoveries from proceeds of crimes which are assets allegedly owned by corrupt public officials.

Vanguard

Naira depreciates to N360.27 in NAFEX

The naira, yesterday, depreciated to N360.27 in the Investor and Exporter (I&E) Foreign Exchange, forex Window.

13 countries shun Nigeria’s crude

Thirteen countries may have shunned Nigeria’s crude oil as data obtained from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, shows they have not purchased the product since 2016.

Indomie buys Dangote plants in Ikorodu, Calabar for N3.75bn

Dangote Noodles Limited, a unit of Nigerian company Dangote Flour Mills, has sold two production lines in Ikorodu and Calabar, to rival pasta maker De United Foods Industries, maker of Indomie Noodles.

Guardian

Federal Government’s Truck Transit Park to gulp N4.8 billion

The planned Truck Transit Park initiative of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), would gulp over N4.8 billion, even as investors are jostling to secure a stake in the project.

France, Nigeria trade volume tops 1.8 billion euros

The Economic Counselor of France in Nigeria, Francis Widmer, yesterday, said the trade volume between the two countries has exceeded 1.8 billion euros in the first quarter of 2017.

Reuters

Nigeria’s Senate gives go-ahead for $5.5 billion foreign borrowing

Nigeria will move ahead with plans to borrow $5.5 billion from foreign investors after the Senate on Tuesday approved President Muhammadu Buhari request for the move.

Chellarams Plc say pretax profit for quarter was 363.89 mln naira

Revenue for quarter ended Sept 30 was 2.89 million naira versus 2.91 million naira year ago

CBN rules out naira fall as external reserves hit $34bn

The nation’s external reserves have hit $34bn from $33.6bn attained on October 25, the Central Bank of Nigeria has stated.

IMF wants Nigeria to stop tax holidays

The International Monetary Fund has advised the Federal Government to urgently revisit tax holidays and exemptions given to companies.

Recoveries from whistle-blower policy exceeded our expectations – Adeosun

The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, on Sunday said that the recoveries, which the Federal Government had made through the implementation of the whistle-blower policy, had exceeded its expectations.

TCN yet to access $1.5bn power project loans – MD

Transmission Company of Nigeria says it has yet to access the power infrastructure expansion loans totaling $1.5bn from foreign creditors.

2017 budget: FG records 49% non-oil revenue shortfall

The Federal Government recorded a 49 per cent shortfall in non-oil revenue needed to finance the 2017 budget, figures obtained from the Budget Office of the Federation have revealed.

Naira closes at 363/dollar, CBN sells forex to manufacturers, airlines

The Central Bank of Nigeria has injected $285.7m into the Inter-Bank Foreign Exchange Market to meet requests in four sectors of the economy.

This Day

CBN Reads Riot Act to Exporters over Non-repatriation of Export Proceeds

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reiterated its resolve to heavily sanction exporters that fail to repatriate their export proceeds within the stipulated days for oil and gas as well as for non-oil exports.

Nigerian Bourse Plunges Despite Positive Results, Retention on MSCI Frontier Index

The Nigerian stock market remained bearish last week to close 0.34 per cent lower despite impressive nine months results by most companies and the decision of the MSCI to retain Nigeria indexes in the MSCI Frontier Markets.

IEA: Global Oil Supply Rose 90,000b/d in September to 97.5mb/d

Global oil supply rose 90,000 b/d in September to 97.5 mb/d as non-OPEC output edged higher with output standing at 620,000 b/d higher than last year.

IMF Advises Nigeria to Recapitalize Banks

Following the intense weakening of Nigeria’s macroeconomic environment, resulting in the deterioration of asset quality and rise in non-performing loans (NPLs) in the banking industry, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has advised the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to consider asking the country’s lenders to recapitalize.

Nigerian Breweries Records N24bn Profit, Declares N7.9bn Interim Dividend

Nigerian Breweries posted revenue of N254.7 billion in 2017, up from N222.7 billion in the corresponding period of 2016.

Guardian

BDCs seek CBN’s intervention in rising transaction charges by banks

The Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), an umbrella body of Bureaux de Change (BDCs) operators is seeking the intervention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over what it described as “burden” on operators in the form of charges for transactions by banks.

Investors worried about N10 million fraud allegations against SEC

Stock market investors have expressed concern over the alleged N104million fraud levelled against the Director General (DG), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mounir Gwarzo, saying that such crisis would definitely have a multiplier effect on market.

Fresh trouble for Atiku’s INTELS as OGFZA alleges rules’ violation

Oil and gas logistics giant and port concessionaire, INTELS Nigeria Limited (INL), is in fresh trouble as the Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority (OGFZA) has ordered a comprehensive audit of a decade of its operations (2006-2016).

The Nation

Union Bank closes application for N50b rights issue

Union Bank of Nigeria (UBN) Plc will today close application for its N50 billion rights issue which was opened on September 20, 2017.

Quoted firms have tomorrow as deadline to submit Q3 earnings reports

Quoted companies that have not submitted their operational reports and financial statements for the third quarter must submit their reports to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) before the close  of work tomorrow in order to avoid poor corporate governance tag and sanctions that may range from N100,000 to about N100 million.

Guinness Nigeria’s N40b rights issue records full subscription

Guinness Nigeria Plc has secured additional N39.7 billion new equity funds from its existing shareholders as shareholders picked up the entire rights offered by the brewer.

Vanguard

Excess liquidity to persist as N214bn inflow boost interbank

The interbank money market will  this week enjoy inflow of N214 billion which will reinforce the volume of idle cash (excess liquidity) in the market leading to further moderation in cost of funds.

Business Day

Nine banks make N485bn in Q3 from Treasury Bills

Cumulative interest income from fixed income securities of nine Nigerian banks that have released third quarter (Q3) 2017 results spiked by 58.64 percent to N484.46 billion in the three months ended September 2017.

Reuters

Fitch Affirms Kaduna State at ‘B’; Outlook Stable

Fitch Ratings has affirmed Kaduna State’s Long-Term Foreign- and Local-Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) at ‘B’ and National Long-Term Rating at ‘A+(nga)’.

2017 budget: Reps raise concerns over 15% capital releases

Members of the House of Representatives are unimpressed with what they term “poor capital releases” for the 2017 budget just as President Muhammadu Buhari is set to lay the 2018 estimates before the National Assembly.

BVN court ruling: Bank heads to meet, Nigerians in diaspora kicks

Company secretaries and legal teams of 19 Deposit Money Banks in the country will on Tuesday hold an emergency meeting to fashion out modalities to comply with a court order directing commercial banks to freeze bank accounts without the Bank Verification Number and publish names and details of the customers.

Pension assets rise to N7tn

The total assets under the Contributory Pension Scheme rose to N7.09tn as of the end of August, this year.

Kaduna refinery dormant, PH, Warri producing below 30% — NNPC

The latest monthly oil and gas report released by the national oil firm showed that the cumulative capacity utilization of the nation’s three refineries dropped further from 12.73 per cent in June to 11.94 per cent in July 2017.

Skye Bank, First Bank to take over Evans Medical

Evans Medical Plc, on Friday, informed its shareholders and other stakeholders as well as the Nigerian Stock Exchange of the move by Skye Bank Plc and First Bank of Nigeria Limited to take over the company.

This Day

Dangote Cement Controls 65% Market Share

Dangote Cement, with plants spread across Africa,   has maintained its dominance in the Nigeria domestic cement market accounting for 65 per cent of the Nigerian market volume.

CBN Sells N140bn Treasury Bills

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) last week auctioned treasury bills worth N133.79 billion via primary markets.

Nigeria’s Fixed Income Market Records N103 Trillion in 9 Months

The value of investments in the Nigerian fixed income market in the first nine months of 2017 is put at N102.88 trillion.

MTN, Airtel, ntel, 13 Other Firms Scramble for 9mobile

The scramble to acquire 9mobile, Nigeria’s fourth largest network operator, promises to be very competitive, as 16 firms have submitted expressions of interest (EoIs) to Barclays to bid for 9mobile.

DMO Clarifies Position on $5.5bn Proposed External Capital Raising

The Debt Management Office (DMO) has clarified the plans of the federal government to source funds from the international financial markets.

Vanguard

CCNN Plc: Stock rebounds, but below expectations

In a series of rebounds recorded by early birds in  the nine-months 2017 financial results season, stocks of Cement Company of Northern Nigeria Plc, CCNN, returned to double digit last weekend on the strength of the impressive results it announced that day.

Lafarge rebounds to profitability, to list N25bn commercial paper this month

Lafarge Africa Plc has returned to profitability and has concluded plans to issue N25billion in Commercial Papers from a  60billion programme in October and list on the Financial Market Derivative Quote.

Wema Bank secures shareholders approval for capital reduction

Shareholders of   Wema Bank Plc have approved the plan by the bank to reduce its share premium capital by N40.172 billion to N8.698 billion from N48.870 billion.

The Nation

NSE downgrades 7-Up from special pricing status

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has downgraded Seven-Up Bottling Company Plc from its special pricing status category following the depreciation in share price of the company.

World largest brewer gets shareholders’ approval to merge Nigerian subsidiaries

Shareholders of three Nigerian subsidiaries of Anheuser-Busch InBev have approved the plan by the world largest brewer to merge and consolidate its Nigerian businesses under a publicly quoted entity.

Guardian

Zenith, others lift NSE’s volume as investors stake N14b in equities

Heavy transactions in the shares of some banks, especially GTBank and Zenith Bank, last week, lifted the volume of shares traded.

Reuters

BW Offshore wins 4-year contract extension offshore Nigeria: Sendje Berge Limited, a subsidiary of BW Offshore Limited, has now agreed terms of a contract extension for the FPSO Sendje Berge with Addax Petroleum Exploration (Nigeria) Ltd on the Okwori field offshore Nigeria which have been duly submitted to relevant Nigerian Authorities for their review and approval.

House probes TCN’s $1.5bn, $500m foreign loans

The House of Representatives has queried loans totaling $1.5bn taken from foreign creditors by the Transmission Company of Nigeria.

World Bank: We’re on the same page with FG on borrowing

The World Bank says it is not in disagreement with the Federal Government on the need to borrow to finance infrastructure.

Agip pushes ahead with 150,000bpd refinery plan

The Nigerian Agip Oil Company, a subsidiary of Italian oil major, Eni, said it had begun feasibility studies for the construction of a new 150,000 barrels-of-oil-per-day refinery in the Niger Delta.

Intels: Reps ask NPA to reverse contract termination

The House of Representatives on Wednesday asked the Attorney-General of the Federation/Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, and the Nigerian Ports Authority to reverse the termination of the logistics contract between Intels Nigeria Limited and the NPA.

NSE suspends trading on Oando shares

The Nigerian Stock Exchange on Wednesday has said that it has suspended trading in the shares of Oando Plc from October 20, 2017.

This Day

Customs Revenue Fraud: N140bn Recovered From Erring Firms, Banks, Says Senate C’ttee

The Senate Joint Committee on Customs, Excise and Tariff and Marine Transport has disclosed that about N140 billion has been returned to the coffers of the government by firms and banks found culpable in its investigations into revenue leakages in the Nigeria Customs Service.

Kachikwu, Baru Meet Osinbajo on Zabazaba Oil Field, Other Industry Issues

Away from the raging controversy over contract award and appointments in alleged breach of due process, the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu and Group Managing Director of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, wednesday met Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in the State House, Abuja.

FG Cautioned on Use of Corporate Tax Incentives to Achieve Projects Implementation

The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has cautioned the Federal Government to avoid institutionalizing a policy of granting long-term tax incentives to corporate businesses to achieve project implementation.

Telcos Challenge NCC to Lead Mobile Money, Cashless Initiative

Telecommunication Operators (Telcos) have called on the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to take urgent steps to lead the mobile money and cashless initiative in Nigeria.

Guardian

NSE’s market capitalization depreciates further by N9.7b

Transactions on the trading floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange continued on a downturn trend yesterday, as virtually all the blue chip companies depreciated in price, resulting to a further decline in market capitalization by N9.7 billion.

NBET pays N10.8b to Gencos for electricity delivered in July

Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc. (NBET) has paid the Electricity Generation Companies (Gencos) the sum of N10.825 billion out of the total invoices of N45.24 for the energy delivered in July 2017.

The Nation

NLNG pays $4.1b taxes to govt

The Nigerian Liquefied and Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited has, in the past six years, paid $4.1billion in taxes, including Company Income of Tax (CIT), to the Federal Government.

Business Day

Indigenous oil firms step up production by 200% in June

Sixteen Nigerian indigenous oil producers who operate in partnership with international oil companies called independents, accounted for over 7.486 million barrels of crude oil in June.

DMO: Foreign debt payment to gulp $11.62bn in 10 years

Nigeria may have to grapple with the payment of $11.62bn in foreign debt in the next 10 years, a projection of the Debt Management Office has shown.

Nigeria’s crude oil over-subscribed, says NNPC

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has said the demand for the nation’s crude oil outstrips the current supply.

This Day

DMO Raises N244bn via Bond, almost Double Amount on Offer

The Debt Management Office (DMO) raised N243.7 billion at a bond auction on Wednesday, almost double the amount it had initially sought, as local funds and foreign investors piled into longer-term debt to lock in higher returns.

Nigerian Equities Market Rebounds, Index Rises 0.44%

The Nigerian equities market Wednesday recorded its first gain in the week following bargain hunting and appreciation posted by Dangote Cement Plc.

Guardian

NNPC to lift force majeure on Bonny Light in October

Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, plans to lift the force majeure on Nigeria’s Bonny Light crude next month.

Naira depreciates to 360/$ in NAFEX as CBN plans to sell N130.4b T-bills

The naira, yesterday, depreciated to N360 per dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange, NAFEX, just as the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN plans to sell N130.4 billion treasury bills next month.

The Nation

Reps give CBN, Auditor-General six weeks to provide TSA’s report

The House of Representatives has given the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation (OAGF) six weeks to provide detailed reconciliation and audit reports of the amounts generated so far in the Treasury Single Account (TSA) of the Federal Government.

Coca-Cola Nigeria okays $600m for expansion

Coca-Cola Nigeria  will invest $600 million by 2020 to boost sales, in line with a global strategy to extend the product range beyond its soft drinks.

Reuters

Lafarge Africa lays out terms of proposed rights issue

The board of directors have approved the terms of rights issue and will raise 131.65 billion naira by way of rights issue at N42.5 per share by issuing 5 new shares for every 9 shares held by investors.

Bloomberg

Nigeria Plans to Sell $5.5 Billion of Eurobonds by Year-End: Nigeria plans to sell as much as $5.5 billion of Eurobonds in the next three months to fund capital projects and replace local-currency debt, according to the Debt Management Office.

Exit from recession still fragile, says CBN

The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria on Tuesday said the 0.55 per cent Gross Domestic Product growth rate, which took the economy out of recession, was still fragile.

Banks, pension managers, others stake N105bn on sukuk bond

The Islamic sukuk bond recently issued by the Federal Government was oversubscribed by more than N5bn, the Debt Management Office said on Tuesday.

N336bn released for capital projects in first quarter – Adeosun

The Federal Government has said it has released a total sum of N336bn for the implementation of capital projects contained in the 2017 budget.

This Day

NSE Index Falls Further Despite 164% Rise in Trading Value

The Nigerian equities market recorded a mixed performance on Tuesday, as the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index(ASI) fell further while value and volume of trading surged by 164.8 per cent.

10 Banks Facilitate N55.6tn Investments on FMDQ OTC Exchange

Access Bank Plc, Stanbic IBTC Bank Limited, Ecobank Nigeria Limited and United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, led the banks that facilitated highest trading value on the FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange between January and July 2017.

Guardian

Statoil plans $10b investment for Nnwa-Doro, Agbami offshore fields

Statoil has unveiled plans to increase its investment in Nigeria with more than $10 billion, having set a goal to satisfy the country’s growing population’s demand for increased energy with natural gas.

Government justifies N701bn power sector’s payment assurance guarantee

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola has said that the N701billion-payment assurance guarantee Power Sector Recovery Programme (PSRP), is consistent with Section 76(2)(b) of the Law, which seeks to ensure that producers of power recovered their investment and some profit.

SEC, Oando get 14-day ultimatum to resolve alleged N799b shareholders’ liabilities

The House of Representatives Committee on Capital Market and other Institutions has issued the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Oando Plc a two-week ultimatum to resolve all lingering issues bordering on the N799 billion stakeholders’ liabilities.

The Nation

Deductions take toll on 11 states’ FAAC allocation

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said 11 states lost a huge part of their August 2017 allocation to deductions.

NCC: telecoms sector investments hit $70b

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said total investments attracted by the telecoms sector to the country have reached $70billion.

Guinea Insurance plans N1b new capital raising

The board of Guinea Insurance Plc has approved a new capital raising of N1 billion as part of efforts to boost the operations and capital adequacy of the insurance company.

Reuters

Nigeria asks Senate to amend law for govt to settle 2.7 trillion naira debt: Nigeria’s government has asked parliament to amend its spending law to enable a debt program to settle 2.7 trillion naira ($8.6 bln) worth of obligations including pensions and salary arrears, according to a letter from Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

Four banks trading below minimum liquidity ratio – MPC members

Four commercial banks in the country are operating with too many non-performing loans on their books and with liquidity ratios below the minimum requirement.

Petrol price fail to crash despite Kachikwu’s assurances

Fifteen months after the price of Premium Motor Spirit, otherwise known as petrol, was increased by 68 per cent, consumers have yet to see any significant decrease in the price, contrary to the promise by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu.

CBN funding of FG excessive, says Salami

The Central Bank of Nigeria is acting like a “piggy bank” with its funding of the government, a member of the Monetary Policy Committee, Dr. Doyin Salami, has said.

Oil price rises to $57 per barrel

Oil prices rose on Wednesday in spite of a rise in US crude inventories with the market heading for its largest 3rd quarter gain in 13 years after the Iraqi oil minister said OPEC and its partners were considering extending or deepening output cuts.

This Day

Emefiele Identifies Bottlenecks to Mortgage Financing

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele has identified various bottlenecks hindering genuine investors and by extension free flow of funds into the mortgage sector.

NNPC Begins Prospecting for Hydrocarbon in Sokoto Basin

The Nigeria National Petroleum Cooperation (NNPC) has said it has started the process that will lead to the exploration of oil and gas in the Sokoto Basin.

Vanguard

Union Bank’s N50bn Rights Issue opens for subscription

Union Bank Nigeria Plc’s N50 billion Rights Issue opened for subscription, yesterday, just as Forte Oil Plc has put on hold its proposed N20 billion capital raising after receiving the approval of Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC.

BoI’s loan to Kaduna MSMEs hits N47bn

The Bank of Industry (BoI) has disbursed loan in excess of N47billion to support entrepreneurs in Kaduna State in the micro, small and medium enterprises, MSMEs, category,  Managing  Director of the bank, Mr. Olukayode Pitan, has said.

Why we don’t manufacture cube sugar — Dangote

Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc has given insights into why the company is not manufacturing cube sugar despite having invested over N400 billion in backward integration projects in the sugar sector.

The Nation

Forte Oil suspends N20b offer

The board of directors of Forte Oil Plc has decided to suspend the energy group’s bid to raise new equity funds. Forte Oil had earlier secured regulatory approval to float a supplementary capital raising through a book building.

Power generation rises to 6619mw

The Minister of  Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has presented the Federal Government’s scorecard on the power sector for the past two years.

Experts seek more local content participation

Experts have called on indigeneous companies and industrialists to embrace local content participation as a means of developing the economy.

Guardian

Equities rebound, indices up by N124 billion

Equity transactions rebounded after a two-day losing streak yesterday, following heavy price gains recorded by major highly capitalised stocks especially Total and Dangote Cement, as indices soared by N124billion.

PENGASSAN tasks government on payment of N720 billion debt to oil marketers: The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has appealed to the Federal Government to settle all outstanding debts to oil marketers.