Author: Marketforces Africa

TotalEnergies Divests Interest in Bonga Field for $510m TotalEnergies has announced that its subsidiary TotalEnergies EP Nigeria (TEPNG) signed an agreement with Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Ltd (SNEPCo) for the sale of its non-operated 12.5% interest in the OML118 Production Sharing Contract (PSC) for an amount of $ 510 million. The company said in an official statement that OML118 PSC is operated by SNEPCo (55%), in partnership with Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (20%), TotalEnergies EP Nigeria (12.5%), and Nigerian Agip Exploration (12.5%). Located deep offshore at 120 km south of the Niger Delta in Nigeria, it contains…

Federal Govt. Introduces Degree Programme in AI The federal government has introduced specialised Higher National Diploma (HND) programmes in Artificial Intelligence (AI). The Executive Secretary, National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Prof. Idris Bugaje, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja According to him, other newly introduced degree programmes included, Cyber-security, Software Engineering, and Networking Assessing the impact of President Bola Tinubu’s administration after two years in office, Bugaje said the move is a major stride toward aligning Nigeria’s education system with global technological trends. According to him, the move is also part of…

Naira Depreciates to N1590 as Gross External Reserves Decline The naira depreciated against the US dollar across foreign exchange (FX) markets as data showed that the gross balance in Nigeria’s external reserves declined in sequence in the last three days. The currency market anticipates additional support from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) intervention after a $50 million injection the previous day. During the session, the USD/NGN pair traded within a range of N1,589.50 to N1,595.00. At the end of the trading activities in the forex market, the naira weakened by 44 bps, closing at N1,590.7471. Analysts at AIICO expect…

CBN Hikes Interest Rates as OMO Bills Demand Slows The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) hiked the interest rates on mid-tenor open market operation (OMO) bills floated at the primary market auction (PMA) on Wednesday – a reaction to a moderate surge in financial system liquidity. The CBN floated another OMO auction, offering ₦600 billion across 104-day and 139-day tenors. This marked the second market operation of the week, with the same offer size. The OMO bills offered to banks and foreign portfolio investors, who were the eligible market participants, were a move to absorb excess liquidity in the financial…

FG’s Series VII Sukuk Offer Attracts N2.21trn Subscription The Debt Management Office (DMO) says the recently issued Series VII Sovereign Sukuk valued at N300 billion attracted N2.205 trillion subscription. The DMO said this in a statement on Wednesday, in Abuja. According to the office, this represents a 735 per cent subscription level, a clear evidence of the huge investor-appetite for the ethical instrument it introduced in 2017. “The Sovereign Sukuk was introduced as an innovative strategy to expand the nation’s investor-base and provide opportunities for all Nigerians to participate in the capital market. “An analysis of the subscriptions showed that…

GCR Upgrades Nigerian Breweries’ Ratings Outlook After two years of net losses, GCR Ratings has affirmed the national scale long-term and short-term issuer ratings of AA (NG) and A1+(NG), respectively, accorded to Nigerian Breweries Plc, with the outlook revised to stable from evolving. The African-focused ratings agency highlighted that the ratings of Nigerian Breweries Plc reflect the company’s leading market position that has enabled strong growth and a return to profitability after two consecutive years of net losses. Following the successful rights issue of N548.9 billion, Nigerian Breweries has evidenced much lower debt, underpinning an improvement in leverage metrics. The…

NGX Index Hits Fresh High as NB, Dangote Sugar, MTN Rally The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) All-Share Index hits a fresh high after monster rallies that bolstered equities market capitalisation by about N2 trillion in four trading sessions.  The stock market ended on a positive note, extending the previous day’s rally, pushing key market performance indicators up by 0.27%. Stockbrokers said today’s upward price movement was driven by sustained buying interest in medium- and large-scale stocks, including HONYFLOUR, DANGSUGAR, NB, MTNN, and others. With the monster rally, equities investors’ wealth has grown by approximately ₦1.94 trillion over the last four consecutive…

N225bn Damages – Fidelity Bank Puts N14bn as Litigation Exposure for 77 Cases The Supreme Court awarded N225 billion in damages in just one case against Fidelity Bank Plc versus an estimated N14 billion set as its litigation exposure for 77 cases in 2024. The huge damages that is set to define Fidelity Bank Plc outlook came as rude shock for the tier-2 lender with N933.139 billion equity capital position in the first quarter. Before the amount was awarded in 2025, Fidelity Bank Plc said in its audited report that its total exposure across its cases was estimated at N14…

Alleged $12m Fraud- Court Fixes Date for SunTrust Bank’s MD Arraignment The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed June 4 for the arraignment of Halima Buba, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SunTrust Bank Ltd, over alleged money laundering to the tune of 12 million U.S dollars. Buba will be arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), alongside Innocent Mbagwu, the bank’s Executive Director/Chief Compliance Officer, before Justice Emeka Nwite. Though the defendants were scheduled to take their plea on Tuesday, the planned arraignment could not proceed due to the absence of the duo in court. The…

Oil Prices Decline Ahead of OPEC+ Meeting In the global commodity market, prices of crude oil declined on Wednesday ahead of two OPEC+ meetings scheduled this week; however, the US’ decision to prohibit Chevron from operating in Venezuela raised supply concerns, limiting price falls. International benchmark Brent crude declined by around 0.3%, trading at $63.58 per barrel. Similarly, the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell by about 0.2%, settling at $60.76 per barrel, compared to $60.89 in the prior session. The slight decline in prices was influenced by expectations that eight member countries of the OPEC+ group—which includes the…