Author: Marketforces Africa

Lafarge Africa has said that it will freeze capital expenditure this year. Chief Executive Khaled El Dokani made this known on Tuesday after the cement company forecast a drop in second-quarter sales.

Lagos Public Procurement Agency issues guidelines to ensure ease of doing business. The Lagos State Public Procurement Agency (PPA) has issued new guidelines for registration, renewal and upgrade of registration of contractors, suppliers and consultants with the agency.

Emefiele woos conglomerates to help boost economy Godwin Emefiele, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has urged industrial conglomerates operating in the country to support efforts aimed at growing the economy. Emefiele gave the advice on Tuesday in a virtual meeting with the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of conglomerates in Nigeria. He said that as the country continued the process of full reopening of its economy following the lockdown over (COVID-19), the industrialists had vital roles to play. The CBN governor said that President Muhammadu Buhari’s desire was to return Nigeria to the period when the manufacturing and…

FGN Bond Auction: We expect investors’ patronage to be positive – Meristem Ahead of the Federal Government Bond auction on Wednesday, Meristem, a capital market conglomerate, has stated that it expects investors’ patronage to be encouraging, though recognises that investors could be demanding for high rates. The FGN, through the Debt Management Office, will be conducting a bond auction on Wednesday 20th of May 2020. In a note, the firm explained that market participants are relying heavy on cash and liquidity in these times, and this continues to pressure yields further. “Investors could be demanding for high rates to compensate…

Investors rally ₦136 billion as stock market sustains momentum The Nigerian Stock Exchange sustains yesterday’s positive sentiment as investors rally ₦136 billion gain. On an increase of 1.09%, the NSE market capitalisation jerked up to ₦12.613 trillion due to price appreciations on stocks. The All-Share Index (ASI) closed higher by 109 basis points (bps) to close at 24,202.87 points. The growth was positively impacted by price appreciation in Okomuoil, DangCem and 27 others. The ASI increased by 261.12 absolute points, representing a growth of 1.09% to close at 24,202.87 points. At 10% CAVERTON emerged as the top gainer while LASACO…

Sterling Bank CEO drums funding support for companies in ‘HEART’ sectors Abubakar Suleiman, the Chief Executive Officer at Sterling Bank Plc has re-emphasises lender’s interest in supporting the Health, Education, Agriculture, Renewable energy and Transportation (HEART) sectors with funding. The bank CEO in a tweet explained the reasons why many businesses cannot attract funding. In what he dubbed the ‘Caesar Standard’ or one more reason some business owners could not get funding support, Suleiman said a company that can comfortably evade taxes or forge documents to underpay import duties is highly unlikely to repay loans. Explaining further in the tweet…

Tomato Jos raises €3.9 million in Series A Funding Tomato Jos, a Kaduna, Nigeria-based agro-processing company that focused on the local production of high-quality tomato paste for the African market, raised €3.9m in Series A funding. The round was led by Goodwell Investments, via its West Africa partner Alitheia Capital, with participation from Acumen Capital Partners and VestedWorld. The company intends to use the funds to expand operations and its business reach. Established in 2014 and led by Mira Mehta, Chief Executive Officer, Tomato Jos is an agricultural production company focused primary on production of tomatoes. However, this also include…

How to be a shareholder, buy cheap stocks and build portfolio The golden rule hasn’t changed: buy low, sell high. that is how to make profit in equities trading. This is not a good time to be subservient, there is only one way out of economic twists and turns COVID-19 brought to our door steps – Investments! However you plan to do it. The thing is; you must do it to stay afloat. After this pandemic, investment is not going to be a buzz word as it used to be. People would have to make their money works in mining…

Airtel extends work-from-home work policy Airtel Nigeria has extended its work-from-home policy by two weeks to safeguard staff from contracting coronavirus, stem the spread of the virus. Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer at Airtel, Mr Segun Ogunsanya, made this known in a statement on in Lagos. He said that the company’s employees particularly affected were those in Lagos, Ogun State and Abuja. Ogunsanya said employees have been told to continue to work from home until the end of May. Ogunsanya urged the company’s employees in others parts of the country to observe the nationwide 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.…

Equities market rebounds 0.29% on renew bullish activity The Nigerian Stock Exchange All Share Index (ASI) rose marginally by 0.29% amid renewed bullish activity, The Exchange recorded 25 gainers as against 13 losers at the close of trade on Monday. Consequently, investors gained ₦72.4 billion, thus pushed market capitalisation to ₦12.5 trillion. Hence, the year to date loss of the NSE ASI moderated to 10.80%. Specifically, the NSE banking and Industrial closed higher by 0.51% and 0.94% respectively. The increase was buoyed by gains in GUARANTY, ACCESS and BUACEMENT; their respective share prices by 1.11%, 2.40% and 0.63. On the…