Author: Julius Alagbe

Julius Alagbe is a senior financial journalist and Editor at MarketForces Africa with nearly two decades of experience in finance, accounting, and economics reporting.He is one of Nigeria's most prolific financial market reporters, covering capital markets, monetary policy, corporate earnings, banking, telecoms, and macroeconomic developments across Africa.Julius has built a strong footprint reporting on Nigeria's leading corporates and financial services sector, including coverage of the Nigerian Exchange Group, Central Bank of Nigeria monetary operations, MTN Nigeria, GTCO, and major investment banking transactions.He regularly monitors the CBN’s open market operations, interbank FX markets, and equity market movements, providing readers with real-time intelligence on Nigeria’s financial landscape.His reporting draws on direct access to institutional research from firms including Moody’s Ratings, CardinalStone Securities, Fitch, and other leading African investment houses.Julius brings analytical depth and editorial rigour to every story, making complex financial data accessible to professionals, investors, and policymakers across Africa.Julius Alagbe is based in Lagos, Nigeria.

Investors Ramp Up Nigerian Bonds Amidst Policy Shift Expectation The Nigerian bonds yield retraced in the secondary market on booming investors’ appetite ahead of February auction, inflation figure, and monetary policy committee meeting.  Investors’ confidence on naira asset remained strong as reflected in increase demand for the local bonds in the secondary market. Last week demand for short and mid-term instruments intensified as investors sought to lock in attractive rates amidst broader economic uncertainties, Cowry Asset Limited said. However, the local bonds market witnessed improved trading volumes, which further reinforcing the bullish sentiment ahead of inflation figure. Bonds trading started…

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Nigerian Stocks Foreign Investors Bought in Equities Market Foreign investors made strategic bets on some Nigerian stocks with strong fundamentals and upside potentials. Zenith bank, Fidelity bank, Stanbic IBTC and others were among the stock that attracted offshore attention last week. Other attractive listed stocks for the foreigners in the local bourse last week were Guinness Nigeria, and Okomu Oil Plc. Due to relatively cheap valuation, offshore investors have been betting on Nigerian stocks, especially, financial stocks with good potential. It is no surprise that these stocks posted weekly gain which pushed their respective market valuation higher in the stock…

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VFD Group Plc has announced a full divestment of its interest in Atiat Limited in a deal valued at over N7 billion following a board approval.  In a statement, the diversified investment company told the Nigerian Exchange that the Board approved the Company’s full divestment of 343,546,646 ordinary shares of its holdings in Atiat Limited, a key subsidiary.

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Nigerian Stock Market Grows by N884bn to N65.59Trn Nigerian stocks grew by about N884 billion to close the week at N65.59 trillion on Friday due to increased interest in some listed companies shares. The equities segment of the Nigerian Exchange, NGX, commenced February on a positive note, extending its bullish streak.  Data revealed that the NGX All-share index climbed by 1.38% week-on-week to 105,933.03 points on Friday. Stockbrokers said expectations of more impressive earnings releases and the anticipated January 2025 Consumer Price Index (CPI) data under the new methodology triggered buying momentum.  As a result, the total market capitalisation rose…

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Exporters Lose $10m to NXP Integration –Association Association of West African Exporters and Maritime Professionals (AWAEMAP) says its members recorded over 10 million dollars in losses due to Nigeria Export Proceeds (NXP) integration into the Truck Transit Park portal. The president of the association, Mrs Olubunmi Olumekun, said this in a statement made available to newsmen in Lagos on Friday. Olumekun stated that the introduction of NXP had caused severe disruptions in the export sector within five days of its implementation. While expressing displeasure with the development, she called on the Federal Government to look into the matter. Olumekun stressed…

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Ghana Records Sharper Decline in Business Activity – PMI In Ghana, there was sharper decline in private sector activity, S&P Global said in its purchasing manager index (PMI) report for January.  The report revealed that latest data signalled a disappointing start to 2025 for Ghana’s private sector on the back of a renewed fall in new orders, feeding through to a sharper decline in output and a drop in purchasing activity. Meanwhile, staffing levels were unchanged, the report said, adding that more encouragingly, business confidence rose to a three-year high. In addition, rates of inflation of both input costs and…

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Investors Note: Before Dangote Cement Price Recovery Begins DANGOTE Cement is trading at N394 per share, a significant discount of 42.62% to its 52-week high on the Nigerian Exchange. The company is now valued at N6.713 trillion, and when you convert this to US dollars, you will be getting something like $4.2 billion. Here is it: every time Forbes puts out a billionaire ranking, Dangote Cement stock market price increases. If you don’t know, Aliko Dangote’s target is to become the world’s richest man—inside source. In its best form, Dangote Cement share price was at N686.7 in the equities market.…

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Nigerian Ports Authority to Hike Tariffs by 15% The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) says it is reviewing its charges upward by 15 percent, citing a need for competitiveness and infrastructural upgrades. The Managing Director of the NPA, Dr Abubakar Dantsoho, made this known during a maritime stakeholders’ meeting held in Lagos on Thursday. He said that this was the first time the Nigeria Ports Authority would be reviewing its rates since 1993. Dantsoho, who was represented by Mr. Olalekan Badmus, Executive Director, Marine and Operation, said the authority was compelled by the exigency of bringing Nigerian ports up to speed…

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