Author: Marketforces Africa

Naira: CBN Official Exchange Rate Appreciates to N1539.72 The naira appreciated further to N1539.7248 per dollar at the Central Bank of Nigeria official forex platform. The local currency has continued to record gains against the dominant US dollar, supported by improved FX supply and investors’ confidence. Sources in the investment banking industry said the local currency is receiving CBN support, and there is also inflows from foreign portfolio investors that increased their bets on the naira assets in the financial markets. The CBN sold more than 500 million to banks in May, and there were inflows from various sources, including…

Alleged $1bn Fraud: EFCC Files Charge against CBEX Promoters The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has filed a three-count charge against two of the detained promoters of Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX) over allegations bordering on investment fraud to the tune of over one billion dollars. The two in the charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/216/2025 and filed by EFCC lawyer Fadila Yusuf, are Avwerosuo Otorudo and Chukwuebuka Ehirim listed as 1st and 2nd defendants. The commission, in the charge filed June 10 at the Federal High Court in Abuja, alleged that the two promoters were not duly incorporated under the Companies and…

CBN Denies Shift in BDC’s Recapitalisation Deadline The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has denied a news story circulating that suggested it had extended the deadline for the recapitalisation of Bureau De Change (BDC) operators to Dec. 31. In a statement on Wednesday, Mrs Hakama Sidi Ali, CBN Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department, described the information as false and misleading, stating that it should be disregarded. According to her, the bank has not granted any such extension beyond the previously communicated deadline of June 3. She urged the general public, journalists, media platforms, and all stakeholders to consistently verify information…

Dangote Cement Surges as Investors Sentiment Improves Dangote Cement Plc’s market value surged in the equities market as investors sentiment improved on the stock on Wednesday. The cement company’s share price climbed by 4.5% to close the day at N438.90 as 572,359 units valued at more than N247 million exchanged hands in the local bourse. The price uptick boosted the market value of Dangote Cement Plc’s 16.873 billion shares outstanding on the Nigerian Exchange to N7.405 trillion, according to trading data. Analysts are expecting investors to position themselves ahead of the second quarter of 2025 earnings. In its equities review,…

Equities Investors See N405bn Gain on NGX, Heavyweights Rally In the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) trading platform, transactions on mid- and high-cap stocks were positive, with equities investors recording about N405 billion in capital appreciation on Wednesday. Stockholders ramped up more shares across sectorial indexes amidst an ongoing rally that has pushed key performance indicators above multi-year highs in the stock market. The market capitalisation advanced on the back of strong demand in market heavyweights: DANGCEM (+4.50%), MTNN (+3.23%), and OANDO (+6.32%), data from the Nigerian bourse revealed.  Boosted by positive trading activities, all share index rose by 0.56% to 114,659.11…

Dangote Cement Seeks N100bn from Investors at 24.5% Yield Dangote Cement Plc seeks to access N100 billion from commercial papers offered to investors in the debt capital market, offering a 20.7647% discount rate with an implied yield of 24.5001% on its series 3 commercial paper with 268-day tenor. The cement company opened its commercial paper for subscription under its N300 billion commercial paper programme approved by investment authority to fund its working capital. Details from the offer document reviewed by MarketForces Africa showed that the company is asking fixed interest securities investors to take advantage of its series 19, series…

Airtel Africa Steadies at N8.9trn on Thin Volume Airtel Africa Plc market value has remained at N8.916 trillion due to thin trading activities on the stock after its earnings release on the Nigerian Exchange trading platform. The telecom company stemmed share price volatility with buyback programmes that has eliminated retails investors touch. This has effectively reduced trading activities on the telecom stock which commands highest market value in the equities market. Trading at 52-week high, Airtel Africa is priced at N2372.50 in the equities market. Hence, the market value of the telecom company’s 3.758 billion shares outstanding has steadied at…

Nigeria Bonds Yield Slips, Market Expects Supply Nigerian government Bond yields continue to decline across the belly of the curve as market participants continue to display buying interests in the 31s and 33s in particular. Investors were active in the secondary market amidst tight supply at the main auction. Meanwhile, the average yield expanded at the short (+1bp) end, driven by profit-taking activities in the FEB-2028 (+2bps) bond. However, yield contracted at the mid (-5bps) segment due to the demand for the JUL-2034 (-25bps) bond. Hence, the average yield decreased to 18.82%. Investors are expecting bonds supply to remain tight…

CBN Extends Recapitalisation of BDCs to December Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has extended the deadline for the Bureau De Change (BDC) recapitalisation exercise to December 31, 2025. This marks the second extension since the recapitalisation framework was introduced in February 2024. Originally scheduled for December 3, 2024, the deadline was first moved to June 3, 2025, in response to low compliance rates and feedback from stakeholders. With this new extension, BDC operators now have 18 additional months to meet the updated capital requirements under the revised regulatory framework. The recapitalisation exercise introduces a two-tier licensing structure: Tier-1 BDCs must…

Interbank Rates Mixed as OMO Bills Inflow Boosts Liquidity Interbank rates were mixed as additional inflows from matured OMO bills lifted liquidity levels in the financial system on Tuesday. Money market rates have been in check, tightened on the back of excess liquidity, which reduced banks’ borrowing activities at the Central Bank’s standing lending facility. The Apex Bank, however, effected some liquidity management options with OMO bills and Treasury bill auctions to reduce the surplus liquidity to a greater degree and set rates in line with monetary policy. According to market reports reviewed by MarketForces Africa, the liquidity amount in…