Author: Julius Alagbe

MTN Nigeria Delivers 78% Return on Investment Year to Date MTN Nigeria Plc has delivered a 78% return on investment from the beginning of the year to date (YTD), according to stock recommendation data released by Afrinvest Securities Limited. The company’s impressive stock market performance was driven by post first quarter of 2025 earnings reaction in the stock market. Investors confidence heightened in anticipation of better earnings outlook. The telecom company’s share price settled at N355.90 in the equities market on Friday, its latest 52-week high price, which was at a significant distance from its lowest price in the same…

First Holdco Falls as Investors Weigh Bank’s Unremediated Exposures First Holdco Plc’s market value fell by 9.56% over the last seven trading sessions in the equities market as investors exited positions. Investors reacted negatively following the Central Bank (CBN) directive that suspended dividend payments for banks under regulatory forbearance and those in breach of single obligor limits. The Nigerian Exchange’s platform revealed that First Holdco closed at N26.95 on Friday, with trading data showing huge volume executed by investors opening and closing positions on banking stock from N29.8, its peak price in 7 days. First Holdco opened the week at…

GTCO Hits N2.9T as Investors Eye Bank with Unrestricted Dividend GTCO Plc soared on investors’ confidence that pushed its market value to about N2.9 trillion at the close of the trading session on Friday. The financial services holding company’s stock market price surged by 21.3% as foreign and local investors increased their positions, eyeing banking stock with unrestricted dividend payment ahead of second quarter earnings season. The banking index saw intermittent but sharp selloffs last week following a directive that stopped banks with forbearance from paying dividends to shareholders until they are cleared. Data also showed that GTCO has one…

Debt Office to Open New 7-Year Bonds for Subscription The Debt Management Office (DMO) is scheduled to conduct its monthly Federal Government (FGN) Bonds auction on June 23, 2025, with one reopening instrument and a new 7-year issue. Analysts have mixed expectations following the decision of the authority to slash spot rates at the primary market auction conducted last month as the market reacted to disinflation and the monetary policy rate hold decision. Again, inflation eased, and the financial market is flooded with robust liquidity levels, suggesting demand would be strong. This could inform the DMO to cut spot rates…

Naira Rallies, Spot Rate Settles at N1547 on FX Injections The naira appreciated against the US dollar, closing at N1547 per greenback at the Nigeria foreign exchange market (NFEM) as Central Bank (CBN) and foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) drive FX inflows. The domestic currency appreciated at the official market by 26bps to close at N1,547.3636/$, while at the parallel market window, the Naira depreciated by 32bps to settle at N1,585.00/$ FX inflows strengthen with the CBN intervention and FPIs participation. Analysts at Cordros Capital Limited explained that exchange rate was supported by increased supply from FPIs who were looking to…

Vertiv Brings AI Solutions Innovation Roadshow to Lagos Vertiv (NYSE: VRT), a global leader in critical digital infrastructure, has announced that its highly anticipated AI Solutions Innovation Roadshow will make its next stop, this time in Lagos, Nigeria on Thursday 26 June, 2025. The Roadshow, scheduled to take place in Victoria Island, Lagos, is part of a global series of events designed to educate and equip customers and consultants with essential expertise for deploying high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. Vertiv experts will introduce the key infrastructure imperatives to enable AI, sharing insights on latest challenges and opportunities…

Benchmark Yield on Nigerian Bonds Falls by 19bps to 18.64% In the secondary market, the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) bonds posted modest gains as stable yields across maturities drove the average sovereign yield down by 19 basis points to 18.64%. Investors increased their bets on the naira assets ahead of tight auction scheduled for Monday. The Debt Management Office (DMO) will be conduction bonds auction for June next week, where it will offer N100 billion paper across reopening and new issue. Analysts said it appears the Nigerian government is not looking to fund the 2025 budget deficit with local…

Money Market Rates Mixed on Robust Liquidity in Financial System Money market rates closed on a mixed note on the back of a robust liquidity level in the financial system. The repo rate (OPR) held firm at 26.50% while the overnight lending rate edged up 2 basis points (bps) to 26.96%. The banking system liqudity reduced by N57.66 billion following Treasury bills auction sales and repayment. This brough the opening net long position to N1.09 trillion according to Erad Partners Limited. The short-term benchmark market rates reacted to funding request from deposit money banks with lower activities at the Central…

Pension Remittance Defaulters to be Blacklisted in Nov– PenCom The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has warned that organisations failing to comply with pension remittance obligations will be blacklisted starting Nov. 10. The Director-General of PenCom, Ms Omolola Oloworaran, issued the warning during the commission’s second-quarter media briefing in Lagos on Wednesday. Oloworaran noted that this was to reinforce PenCom’s adoption of its zero-tolerance approach to non-compliance with the Pension Reform Act of 2014. She said, “Moving on, it is now zero tolerance for non-compliance with the pension reform act of 2014. Effective immediately, PenCom has launched an uncompromising compliance drive…

DMO Allots N47.355bn Green Bonds to Investors at 18.95% The Debt Management Office (DMO) has allotted green bond worth N47.355 billion to investors at 18.95%, according to the authority’s auction result. On behalf of Nigerian government, the debt office had opened N50 billion in green bonds for subscription and this attracted N91 billion from investors. “Investors again demonstrated confidence in the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) Securities by the high level of subscription of N91.42 billion recorded in the recent Sovereign Green Bond offer”, DMO said in a release. The offer, which closed on Wednesday was for N50 billion and…