Author: Gilbert Ayoola

NGX Trade Engine Delivers Standout Performance The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) closed the latest session firmly in positive territory, with the All-Share Index (ASI) settling at 153,539.83 basis points, underscoring a resilient trade engine amid sustained investor appetite. Market breadth remained constructive, liquidity improved, and price discovery was efficient, which signals that confidence is deepening even as macro and regulatory headwinds persist. The tone of trading reflected selective accumulation rather than speculative excess, with investors gravitating toward fundamentally strong stocks. The year 2025 has been shaping up as the Nigerian stock market’s strongest since 2020. As of December 24, the NGX…

BUA Foods Delivers 80% Gain Year-to- Date With 80% gain from the beginning of the year to date, BUA Foods Plc remains one of Nigeria’s most valuable listed consumer staples companies, underpinned by scale, cost leadership, and strong execution across its core food segments. Current market performance increasingly reflects the company’s intrinsic value, supported by earnings visibility, improving operating efficiency, and a resilient demand outlook. Analyst forecasts indicate that BUA Foods is on course to more than double revenue in the current financial year, consistent with its medium-term strategic growth plans. The earnings trajectory toward Q4 2025 is expected to…

Volatility as the World’s Most Traded Currency Volatility is no longer a condition of markets; it is the market. It transcends borders, asset classes, and economies, functioning like a real global currency that reprices value, redirects capital, and reshapes trends in real time. It is not anchored to any single nation or benchmark. It circulates everywhere. This is not a Nigeria-specific phenomenon. It is global, structural, and persistent, driven by shifting geopolitics, fragmented supply chains, technological acceleration, policy uncertainty, and rapid information flow. Prices no longer move solely on fundamentals; they move on expectations, narratives, and speed. In such an…

Nigerian Banks Flood CBN with N3.7 Trillion Excess Cash Nigerian commercial banks ended the pre-Christmas period with an unusually large liquidity overhang, depositing an estimated N3.7 trillion with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through its Standing Deposit Facility (SDF) on December 24. This represents one of the highest single-day SDF placements in recent months and underscores the scale of excess cash in the banking system. Financial data from the CBN covering December 22 to 24, 2025, show a sharp and rapid build-up of idle funds in the days leading up to Christmas. The surge came despite the CBN’s attempt…

Nigerian Equities Extend Rally, Close Strong on Friday, December 19 The Nigerian stock market sustained its bullish momentum on Friday, December 19, closing the week on a positive note after five consecutive sessions of capital appreciation. Market sentiment remained firmly upbeat as buying pressure continued to dominate trading activities, pushing key indicators higher and confirming the strength of the ongoing rally. At the close of the session, the All-Share Index (ASI) advanced by 1.13%, reflecting broad-based gains across several sectors. Market capitalisation expanded in tandem, underscoring renewed investor confidence and sustained appetite for equities. Trading statistics showed 34 gainers against…

Access Holdings Cleared for N40bn Private Placement Access Holdings Plc has secured sweeping shareholder approvals to strengthen its capital base, following resolutions passed at its Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held virtually on Thursday, December 18, 2025. At the meeting, shareholders authorised the group to raise up to N40 billion in fresh equity through a private placement, with the new shares to be allotted at a unit price of N20.25. The approvals also covered an increase in the company’s issued share capital from N26.66 billion to N27.65 billion, reflecting the anticipated issuance under the transaction. The outcome of the meeting was…

Nigerian Equities Close Higher as Bulls Dominate Trading Activities The Nigerian equities market closed Thursday’s trading session on a positive note, extending its upward trajectory amid heightened investor activity and renewed appetite for select stocks across sectors. Trading on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) was marked by brisk participation, reflecting a market buoyed by optimism and selective bargain hunting. At the close of business, the benchmark All-Share Index (ASI) finished in the green, rising northward to 150,363.03 points from 149,842.82 points recorded in the previous session. This performance translated into an appreciation of approximately 0.26%, underscoring a modest but broad-based advance…

Airtel Africa-Starlink: Satellite-to-Phone Deal Catalyst for Re-rating Airtel Africa Plc’s collaboration with SpaceX’s Starlink to unveil satellite-to-phone services across Nigeria and 13 other African markets marks a structurally important inflection in the telco’s growth narrative. The initiative extends Airtel’s network reach beyond terrestrial constraints, positioning the company to monetise connectivity in hard-to-serve rural and remote geographies while strengthening service resilience, disaster recovery, and enterprise grade coverage. Strategically, the partnership compresses time-to-coverage, reduces marginal capex intensity versus Greenfield tower builds, and enhances Airtel’s long-term competitive moat in spectrum and infrastructure-constrained markets. Revenue Optionality and Margin ImplicationsSatellite-to-phone capability introduces incremental revenue pools…

First HoldCo Extends Rally on Strategic Divestment, Closes at Record High First HoldCo Plc delivered a standout performance on the equities market on Wednesday, December 17, 2025, as renewed investor demand propelled the stock to an unprecedented market close of N39.60, marking a N3.60 gain to advance on a maximum of 10.0% on the gainers table from its previous level. The rally followed a volatile intraday session in which the stock advanced steadily from its opening price of N36.00, underscoring strong bullish sentiment. The renewed market positioning is anchored on fresh capital inflows, driven by the bank’s successful completion of…

CBN Pulls Plug on Aso Savings, Union Homes : Hard Reset for Mortgage Sub-Sector In a decisive regulatory sweep, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has revoked the operating licences of Aso Savings and Loans Plc and Union Homes Savings and Loans Plc, effectively ending the long-troubled runs of two once-prominent primary mortgage banks. The action, announced via an official press release, underscores the regulator’s zero-tolerance stance on weak capitalisation, poor governance, and persistent non-compliance within the financial system. The revocation was executed pursuant to Section 12 of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020 and Section 7.3…