Author: Julius Alagbe

Equities Investors Lose N698bn as BUAFOODS, ARADEL, STANBIC Fall Equities investors lost about N698 billion at the Nigerian market as intense sell pressures halted positive momentum. As a result of the bearish pose, the Nigerian Exchange All-Share Index declined by 1.02% to close at 108,053.95 points. Stockbrokers said the market’s negative performance was driven by intense selling pressure on some mid- to high-capitalized stocks. The top losers include BUAFOODS -10.00%, ARADEL -6.90%, STANBIC -5.43%, NB -2.80%, FIDELITYBK -2.01%, FBNH -1.67%, TRANSCORP -1.64%, FCMB -0.89%, UBA -0.77% and GTCO -0.08%, among others. However, the market activities improved, as the total volume…

Binance Exec Alleges Lawmakers Demand $150m Bribe in Mickey Mouse Operation Tigran Gambaryan, an executive of Binance Holdings Limited, has accused the Nigerian government of demanding citizens’ data from the cryptocurrency firm in a bid to target members of opposition political parties. Gambaryan, who was detained in Nigeria for eight months, said government official sought access to Binance’s database of Nigerian users to implicate certain opposition figures in the depreciation of the Naira. Gambaryan took to social media platform X on Friday to reveal what he called a “Mickey Mouse operation” orchestrated by Nigerian lawmakers and security agencies to divert…

Nigerian Breweries Loss Increases by 36% to N145bn Nigerian Breweries Plc net loss increased sharply over 12 months as the company’s face tough operating challenges that eclipsed its significant revenue surge. Net revenue of the company rose by more than 79% to N1.074 trillion from N599.509 billion in the comparable year in 2023. In its audited financial statement for 2024, Nigerian Breweries revealed that net loss climbed by 36.5% year on year to N144.338 billion from N105.769 billion in the comparable period in 2023. This resulted in a significant loss per share of N12.07 on each shares outstanding. Due to…

Fitch Withdraws All Ratings for Dangote Industries Fitch Ratings has withdrawn Dangote Industries Limited’s (Dangote) National Long-Term Rating and senior unsecured rating of ‘B+ (nga)’, while maintaining them on Rating Watch Negative (RWN). The international rating agency stated that the negative rating watch on the group it recently assigned remains unresolved because of the pending refinancing of the company’s maturing debt. “Fitch will no longer provide ratings or analytical coverage for Dangote and has withdrawn them for commercial reasons.” Dangote is a conglomerate based in Nigeria and West Africa. Its key business segments are cement, fertilizer, oil refining, and food.…

Nigerian Exchange Hits N68trn as Investors Gain N842bn The equities market capitalisation of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX)  hit N68 trillion as investors gained more than N842 billion on the day. The Nigerian market closed trading activities for today on a bullish note, as key market performance indicators surged by 1.25%. The push experienced came from strong buying interest across major market sectors, particularly the Industrial sector. The Nigerian Exchange All-Share Index increased by 1,349.29 basis points today, representing a rise of 1.25% to close at 109,171.82. However, the market activities were down as the total volume and total value traded…

Honda, Nissan End Merger Talks as Disagreements Deepen Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. have decided to terminate discussions on a potential merger, ending the restructuring attempt to create one of the world’s largest automotive groups. Both companies held board meetings on Thursday, where they agreed to withdraw the basic agreement signed in December 2024 and officially end merger discussions, according to local media reports. Honda would hold an online press conference at 4:50 p.m. local time (0750 GMT) regarding details of the decision. The two companies initially focused on forming a holding company that would oversee both brands.…

Food Security: FG Moves to Recapitalise Bank of Agriculture The Federal Government, FG, has announced plans to recapitalise the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) to enhance food security and make food more accessible and affordable to Nigerians. Sen. Aliyu Abdullahi, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, made this statement when the Emir of Borgu Kingdom, Niger, Dr Muhammad Dantoro, visited him on Wednesday in Abuja. Abdullahi emphasised that the government was reforming the Bank of Agriculture to better serve Nigerians. “We are reforming the Bank of Agriculture to serve Nigerians. We are recapitalising the Bank of Agriculture to…

Federal Government to Revive Textile Industry- Minister The Federal Government has pledged its commitment to revive the textile industry, its value chains, as well as promote made in Nigeria goods. Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Sen. John Enoh made the pledge on Wednesday in Lagos, during his visit to Sunflag Nigeria Ltd., on a three day industrial tour. Enoh noted that key agendas of the President Bola Tinubu’s administration, included economic growth, through manufacturing and job creation. The minister said that several years ago, the textile industry, competed almost fairly with government, in terms of employing Nigerians.…

Investors Park Funds in Nigerian Bonds Ahead of Inflation Demand for Nigerian government bonds on the rise amidst expectation that a move to rebase consumer price index will usher in monetary policy easing. Lower inflation figure would mean that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) would temper hawkish position to drive economic growth. “If the CBN eventually cut benchmark interest rate, the fixed income market assets will also be repriced – spot rates would started dropping to reflect new market dynamics’, analysts explained. Hence, investors have continued to increased bets on fixed income market, with surging demand for bonds as…

Nigeria to Host 2025 Afreximbank Annual Meetings The Federal Government and African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) on Tuesday signed the Agreement for Nigeria to host the 32nd Afreximbank Annual Meetings (AAM). Speaking at the Afreximbank Annual Meetings 2025 Signing Ceremony in Abuja, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, said that President Bola Tinubu approved the hosting. “We are, therefore, delighted to work with Afreximbank management and give them our full support,” Edun said. He commended Afreximbank’s commitment to supporting Africa and Nigeria’s economic growth and improving their healthcare infrastructure in particular. ” We are…