Author: Olu Anisere

AFC Appoints Ireti Samuel-Ogbu as Chair, Board of Directors Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) has announced the appointment of Mrs Ireti Samuel-Ogbu as Chair of its Board of Directors. She succeeds Mr. Emeka Emuwa who has completed 12 years of meritorious service to the Corporation. Mrs. Samuel-Ogbu brings a wealth of experience spread over three decades leading and transforming the banking sector in Europe, Middle East, and Africa. Until recently, she led Citi’s institutional businesses in Nigeria and Ghana, with oversight across Banking, Markets and Services. During this period, she steered the franchise through significant macroeconomic and regulatory headwinds, strengthening its…

Oil Prices Fall as China-US Trade Talks Dangle Oil prices fall early on Monday as China shows Beijing is in no hurry to negotiate with the US about the reciprocal tariffs.  The oil market faces a potential glut as members of OPEC+ will pump more crude into the global market officially from May. International benchmark Brent crude fell by around 0.06%, trading at $65.83 per barrel. The US benchmark West Texas Intermediate declined by about 0.13%, reaching $62.85 per barrel, compared to its prior session close of $62.93. US President Donald Trump, in an interview with Time magazine published Friday,…

Dangote Cement Plc.’s market value plunged by 10% in the equities market to close at approximately N7.3 trillion on Friday

Stanbic IBTC Boosts Q1 Profit by 80% Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc grew net profit by about 80% year on year in the first quarter of 2025 to N82.06 billion, details from the financial services group’s earnings release showed. The group performance was bolstered by improvement in core earnings, which proved pivotal to sustaining bottom-line expansion. In Q1, Stanbic IBTC net interest income (NII) rose sharply by 94.9% year on year to N149.9 billion. This was driven by interest income growth, up by 55.84% year on year from N115.80 billion to N180.471 billion. At the same time, interest expenses declined by…

Providus Bank Opens N50bn Commercial Papers for Subscription Providus Bank Limited has opened up to N50 billion in commercial papers across two tenors for investors’ subscription; discount rates range between 20.2528% and 21.4533%, according to an offer document. The Nigerian lender is looking to raise the amount from series 1 and series papers under N100 billion commercial paper program registered with regulators. The bank is accessing funds from investors in the debt capital market to meet its short-term capital needs from commercial papers with 180-day and 270-day tenors via an offer for subscription scheduled to close on April 30, 2025.…

Federal Govt. Drops Hint on NNPCL Forensic Audit The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, has announced that a forensic audit of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) will soon commence. Edun, who was speaking at the Nigerian Investor Forum, which is holding on the sidelines of the IMF/World bank spring meetings in Washington DC, explained that the recent rejigging of the management of the NNPCL is part of the cleansing the Federal Government has taken to audit the company Addressing a group of investors drawn from renowned global financial institutions, including J.P. Morgan,…

IMF Warns Global Public Debt Rising to Historic Levels Global public debt is rising to historic levels, and fiscal pressures are intensifying, IMF Director of Fiscal Affairs Department Vítor Gaspar warned at the launch of the Spring Fiscal Monitor in Washington, D.C. The Spring Fiscal Monitor documents that global public debt is high and rising, approaching 100% of GDP by the end of the decade and surging above the pandemic peak. “High debt, low growth, rising interest costs, spending pressures, and elevated policy uncertainty contribute to narrower fiscal space, making policy trade-offs starker and policy choices more painful,” Gaspar said.…

IMF Urges Nigeria to be Prudent in Spending The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged Nigeria to be prudent in spending following the implementation of hard economic reform that has made it save more revenue. The Director, Fiscal Affairs Department IMF, Vitor Gaspar, said this at a Fiscal Monitor news conference at the ongoing 2025 IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington D.C. on Wednesday. He said that there was an urgent need for fiscal authorities and governments to build buffers. According to him, governments need to act urgently and decisively as they face harsh trade offs and painful choices. He…

MeCure Opens N9bn Commercial Papers for Subscription at 22.54% A leading human therapeutics company in the Nigerian pharmaceutical industry, MeCure Industries Plc, has opened a ₦ 9 billion series 4 commercial paper with a 267-day tenor for subscription. The offer priced at a discount rate of 22.5468% open today is scheduled to close on Tuesday, 29 April 2025, FSDH Capital Limited said in an offer document. According to its offer document, MeCure said the proceeds from its commercial papers will be deployed as working capital and to meet other funding requirements. For close to two decades, MeCure has significantly advanced…

Euro Dips to $1.14 as Trump Dispels FX Market Fears The euro declined to $1.14 in the forex markets, just below the $1.15 peak reached earlier this month, its highest level since 2021, as concerns over the Federal Reserve’s independence eased slightly. The dollar recovered some ground after President Trump stated he has no intention of dismissing Fed Chair Jerome Powell, reducing fears over the independence of the monetary authority. FX options bets had increased sharply as traders and corporate continued to hedge against rapid exchange rate fluctuation, having seen the euro gaining strength against the greenback in successive trading…