Author: Julius Alagbe

Fitch Affirms Angola at ‘B-‘ with Stable Outlook Fitch Ratings has affirmed Angola’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ‘B-‘ with a stable outlook. Ratings analysts stated that Angola’s ratings reflect weak governance indicators, high inflation relative to peers, high levels of foreign-currency-denominated government debt and one of the highest commodity dependences among Fitch-rated sovereigns. These constraints are balanced by current account surpluses and international reserves above peer medians, which provide some buffer against lower oil prices and still-low concessional financing, it added. Fitch analysts expect Angola’s current account surplus to narrow to 1.4% of GDP in 2025, 0.6%…

Equities Investors Lose N1.17trn in Fresh Stock Market Rout Equities investors trading highs and lows in the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) platform lost more than N1.17 trillion on Monday in a fresh stock market rout following an unimpressive outing last week. The huge loss came despite the addition of 1.96 billion ordinary shares of Chams Holding via private placement, suggesting the market daily loss was much more . Last week, the Nigerian Exchange shrank by N1.5 trillion due to selloffs triggered by a new capital gains tax policy. The market, however, rebounded but failed to cover the initial loss. In the…

Fidelity Bank Gross Earnings Increased by 46% to N748.7bn Fidelity Bank Plc has recorded a gross earning of N748.7 billion for the half-year ended 30 June 2025, representing a 46% growth from N512.9 billion recorded in the equivalent period in 2024, HI’24. Highlights of the financial results, which was uploaded on the Nigerian Exchange Limited, NGX shows that the bank delivered robust results across key financial metrics. The bank’s net Interest Income rose to N420.4 billion, compared to N326.4 billion in H1’24; and customer deposits expanded to N7.2 trillion, from N5.9 trillion in full year, FY 2024. Similarly, the bank’s…

The total US dollar volume that flowed into Nigeria’s foreign exchange (FX) market sank by more than 25% week on week….

Presco Sets to Pay Interim Dividend amidst Rights Issue Presco will be paying an interim dividend to shareholders this week amidst an ongoing rights issue. Following a bumper earnings harvest in the third quarter, the company board of directors approved N10 as an interim dividend payable to shareholders on November 21. “An interim dividend of N10.00 for every share of 50k held, subject to appropriate withholding tax and approval, will be paid to shareholders whose names appear in the Register of Members as at the close of business on Friday, 7 November 2025,” Presco told the Nigerian Exchange last month.…

Midwestern Oil & Gas Appoints Elozino Olaniyan First Female CEO Midwestern Oil and Gas Company Limited has appointed Mrs Elozino Olaniyan as its new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective Dec. 1, 2025. The appointment, which was announced in a statement on Sunday by the company’s management, makes her the first female CEO to be appointed after 26 years of existence. The company stated that the development aligned with its drive to strengthen corporate governance, deepen leadership capacity and support the country’s energy growth objectives. Olaniyan, an energy industry professional with more than 30 years’ experience, had worked…

Nigeria Eurobonds Rally as $1.1bn Notes Expire Next Week Nigeria’s Eurobonds traded positively in the international market amidst rising demand for African issuers’ papers. The average yield declined as Nigeria is set to settle its $1.1 billion in Eurobonds that is expected to expire next week. The bargain hunting on Nigeria US dollar papers reversed last week’s mild sell-offs attributable to geo-political tensions, Anchoria Securities Limited told investors in a note Hence, the average yield declined across the curve by -21 basis points (bps) to close at 7.77% compared with 7.97% recorded in the previous week. The bullish performance in…

S&P Revises Nigeria’s Outlook to Positive, Affirms ‘B-/B’ Ratings S&P Global Ratings revised its outlook on Nigeria to “positive” from “stable” on Friday, backing the ongoing economic reforms. It also affirmed the country’s rating at “B-/B”. According to the rating note, the positive outlook reflects the country’s improving external, economic, fiscal, and monetary results. Despite low GDP per capita, a weak, albeit improving, fiscal revenue base, high debt servicing costs as a percentage of revenues, and challenges in compiling national statistics, analysts think authorities are taking steps to improve the economy’s growth prospects, and macroeconomic resilience. “In our view, the…

Zenith Bank Edge Higher as Foreign Investors Take Positions Zenith Bank Plc’ share price increased in the equities segment of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) as foreign portfolio investors re-entered positions. The bank’s share price settled at N64 on Friday amidst significant trading volume, a chunk of which was transacted as block trades, negotiated price, in off-market deals. The banking sector is expected to be affected by lower interest rate and a firmer local currency, which have effectively reduced non-interest revenue size posted by local lenders. According to data from the Nigerian stock market, Zenith Bank, which opened the week at…

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) intervened in the forex market as a surge in foreign currency demand put pressures on the local currency….