Author: Marketforces Africa

Nigeria, Egypt to Elevate Diplomatic Ties, Expand Partnership The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday that Nigeria and Egypt have agreed to elevate their diplomatic ties and bolster comprehensive partnership between them. The agreement seeks to promote mutual integration in tackling continental challenges and waive visas for diplomats. The ministry made this known in a statement in Abuja, issued by Alkasim Abdulkadir, Special Assistant on Media and Communications Strategy to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Yusuf Tuggar. The statement said Amb. Tuggar had visited Cairo, Egypt, to participate in the third round of political consultations with Egyptian Foreign…

BUA Foods Plc traded at a 52-week high of N415 per share on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) trading platform amidst major off-market share trading

UniAbuja to Commence Chinese Language Learning, Culture Programme -VC The Vice-Chancellor (VC) of the University of Abuja (UniAbuja), Prof. Aisha Maikudi, has said that the university will soon commence a Confucius Institute, that is, a Chinese language learning and culture programme. Maikudi disclosed this while welcoming students from China’s Tsinghua University’s School of Journalism and Communications to the institution. She said that the University of Abuja is a close partner of China, based on its long-standing relationship with the country, adding that her students were already studying some Mandarin courses. The VC expressed her delight at the visit, and assured…

AfDB Partners U.S. on Credit Rating Platform for African Markets The African Development Bank (AfDB) has signed a 700,000 dollars Donor Contribution Agreement with Prosper Africa, a U.S. Presidential initiative, to develop a Credit Rating Online Data Platform for African markets. Beth Dunford, AfDB Vice President for Agricultural, Human, and Social Development, in a statement on Saturday, said the United States Department of the Treasury was also part of the agreement. According to Dunford, the initiative aims to reshape how international investors assess risk in African markets. “The platform will serve as a vital online data and analytical tool to…

Naira Plummets, External Reserves Dip as CBN Auctioned $300m The naira exchange rate plummeted against the US dollar as importers and companies required higher units of the local currency to settle foreign payments in the just concluded week. According to spot data from the official market, the naira depreciated by 0.3% to N1,547.58 per greenback despite three times FX intervention sales in the week. Transactions were consummated between N1,543.00 and N1,570.00, AIICO Capital Limited said in a note, adding that. by weekend, enhanced IS dollar liquidity led to a tighter range of N1,540.20 to N1,552.00. The Central Bank of Nigeria…

US Dollar Rises Ahead Macro data, Inauguration The US dollar rose against its major trading partners early Friday, except for a small decline versus the euro, ahead of another busy data release day before the long US holiday weekend. FX markets may enter holding mode today as the US data flow slows and some wait-and-see approach prevails ahead of Monday’s presidential inauguration, said ING Francesco Pesole. Analyst said the perception at the end of a busy week in macro news is that the optimism around a month-on-month slowdown in core inflation is cautious at best. ‘The inherently forward-looking markets are…

Bitcoin Rises by 3.3% as Top Cryptocurrencies Rally Bitcoin (BTC-USD) price crossed $102,000 on Friday, up by about 3.3% over 24 hours as major digital assets boost global cryptocurrencies market capitalisation. The surge was boosted by interest in stablecoins as pressures on Bitcoin linked exchange traded funds eased. According to data from CoinMarketCap.com, the global crypto market cap inched higher to $3.6 trillion due to buying interest, translating to a 2.61% increase over the last day. On the back of the latest rally, the total crypto market volume over the last 24 hours reached $166.73 billion, which makes a 2.13%…

Alleged N12bn Fraud: Court to Arraign Oba Otudeko, EX-FirstBank MD A Federal High Court in Lagos has fixed Jan. 20 for arraignment of Chairman of the Honeywell Group, Oba Otudeko, over alleged N12.3 billion fraud. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) preferred a 13-count charge against Otudeko and a former Managing Director of First Bank Plc, Olabisi Onasanya. Also charged is a former board member of Honeywell, Soji Akintayo, and a firm, Anchorage Leisure Ltd. The charge is marked FHC/L/20C/2025. The defendants were accused of allegedly looting N12.3 billion from First Bank. According to the EFCC, they committed the…

Naira Rises as CBN Sells $146mn to Banks in 2-Day The naira rose against the US dollar in the foreign exchange market as demand pressures eased after two days of FX intervention by the Central Bank. The local currency strengthened as US dollar volume available in the official market outweighed daily demand logged for foreign payments. Spot FX data obtained from the FMDQ platform revealed that the naira depreciated by 0.06% in the official window, closing at N1,548.47 per dollar. Analysts at AIICO Capital Limited reported that transactions executed within N1,500.00 and N1,570 per greenback. Conversely, the exchange rate appreciated…

Nigerian Bonds Yield Hits 20% as DMO Releases Auction Plan In the secondary market, the Federal Government of Nigerian (FGN) bonds benchmark yield crossed 20% for the first time in a long time due to sell pressures, spooked by rising headline inflation. The local bond market was rocked with bearish sentiments as sell-offs were predominant at the mid-segment of the curve, investment firm CardinalStone Limited said in a note. The market witnessed sell pressure on the JUL-34 paper, causing its yield to rise by 138 basis points on the day. Profit-taking activities were also witnessed at the belly of the…