Author: Julius Alagbe

Fitch Affirms United Kingdom at ‘AA-‘ with Stable Outlook Fitch Ratings has affirmed the United Kingdom’s credit rating: long-term ability to honor financial obligations at ‘AA-‘ with a stable outlook. The UK’s ratings are supported by its high-income, large, diversified, and flexible economy; credible macroeconomic policy framework; and financing flexibility from deep capital markets and sterling’s international reserve currency status. These factors are set against its high public and external debt and a debt interest/revenue ratio that is more than double the ‘AA’ peer group median. Fitch forecasts GDP growth of 1.2% in 2025 and 2026, partly reflecting further cooling…

Transactions Value on Nigerian Exchange Increases by 7.50% Investors in the Nigerian stock market traded a total turnover of 4.773 billion shares worth N107.426 billion in 152,965 transactions this week on the floor of the Exchange. The Nigerian Exchange Ltd.(NGX) weekly report made available in Lagos, said this was in contrast to 8.564 billion shares valued at N99.936 billion that exchanged hands last week in 177,870 deals. Consequently, the value of transactions traded by investors on the Exchange advanced by 7.50 per cent. The Financial Services Industry led the activity chart with 3.734 billion shares valued at N60.627 billion traded…

Africa’s $100B Refining Opportunity Unlocks as New Capacity Surges Africa is set to add 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) of new refining capacity by 2030, marking one of the fastest downstream expansions globally, according to the newly released 2025 OPEC World Oil Outlook. This medium-term growth – led by landmark projects in Nigeria, Angola and Uganda – signals a turning point for the continent’s energy sovereignty and investment attractiveness. At the forefront of Africa’s refining expansion is Nigeria’s 650,000-bpd Dangote Refinery, which began operations in 2024 and is already reshaping regional fuel trade dynamics. Further developments include the 200,000-bpd…

Oil Prices Climb as Russia –Ukraine Tensions Escalate Oil prices climbed in the global commodity market on Friday as Russia-Ukraine tensions escalated amidst a larger-than-expected draw in US crude inventories, bolstering market sentiment. Brent crude was trading at $67.22 per barrel, up 0.1% from the previous session’s $67.13. The US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained 0.2% to $63.51. Ukraine’s military reported “one of the largest air attacks of the year,” which killed one person and injured 15, as President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow of showing no readiness for peace talks. He added that Moscow has shown no indication of…

CBN Allots OMO Bills to Investors at The Rate of 25.99% The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) offered local banks and foreign portfolio investors 25.99% as a spot rate for OMO bills with 124 days to maturity, details from the primary market auction conducted by the authority revealed. Economic reforms have continued to boost foreign investors’ sentiment about the Nigerian economy and financial market offerings. The CBN achieved FX inflows via OMO sales at relatively high spot rates to attract and keep offshore investors in the economy. The CBN conducted an open market operation on Thursday after more than N1…

eTranzact Trains PoS Agents on Anti-Money Laundering eTranzact International Plc, through its Financial Inclusion Unit, has hosted Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) training for Point-of-Sale agents. This is contained in a statement on Thursday in Lagos by Adeyemi Opene, Head of Corporate Communications at eTranzact International Plc. The virtual training aligned with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s directive mandating licensed Payment Terminal Service Providers to periodically train agents on AML and CFT. It addressed regulatory guidelines on cash-out limits, suspicious transaction patterns, shell company usage, and the need to report any suspicious activity to banks…

LCCI Seeks Policy Interventions to Tackle Structural Weaknesses The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has urged policy interventions to address structural weaknesses undermining the economy and to balance capital importation. LCCI Director-General, Dr Chinyere Almona, said this in a statement on Thursday in Lagos. Almona said that while headline inflation eased for the fourth consecutive month to 21.88 per cent in July from 22.22 per cent in June, month-on-month inflation rose to 1.99 per cent from 1.68 percent, showing persistent price pressures. She noted that in spite of increased capital inflows in Q1 2025, structural imbalances continued to…

Champion Breweries Moves to Acquire Bullet Champion Breweries Plc, a subsidiary of enJOYcorp, has entered into an agreement for the acquisition of all brand assets and intellectual property of the Bullet range of ready-to-drink (RTD) alcoholic and energy beverages from Sun Mark International Limited. The brewer disclosed in a regulatory filing submitted to the Nigerian Exchange that the transaction is structured as an asset carve-out, with the assets to be held in a newly incorporated company in the Netherlands. Post-acquisition, Champion Breweries Plc will hold a majority interest in the new business, while Vinar N.V, a Belgian entity and the…

Nigeria Bonds Yield Falls Amidst Widening Real Interest Rate With mild bargain hunting across the mid, belly, and long end of the curve, the average yield on Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) bonds fell slightly in the secondary market ahead of Debt Management Office (DMO) fresh supply at the August primary market auction. Trading activity was largely quiet, albeit with a bullish undertone. Fixed income market traders and analysts at CardinalStone Securities Limited saw selective buying interest at the short end (-1 bp) and mid-segment (-2 bps) of the curve. Traders reported that investors showed particular interest in Nigerian government…

Repo, Overnight Rates Sink as Huge OMO Inflow Boosts Liquidity Money market rates—repo and overnight lending rates—sank sharply as liquidity balance in the financial system increased strongly. According to updated data by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), system liquidity surged to N1.015 trillion from about N95 billion deficit on the back of massive inflows totalling N1.110 trillion. FMDQ platform data highlighted that money market rates trended downward, with the open repo rate (OPR) falling 580 basis points to 26.50% and the overnight rate declining 570 basis points to 27.00%. The financial system experienced a significant intraday surge in liquidity…