Author: Marketforces Africa

UBA Slides Slightly Ahead of 2024 Earnings Results Tier-1 banking name UBA Group Plc. saw a slight decline in market value in the equities market in the just concluded week. Ahead of its fourth quarter and full-year 2024 earnings release, the Pan African lender’s share price declined to N33.90 on Friday from N34.2 at the beginning of the week due to lower investors’ sentiment. With 34.199 billion shares outstanding, UBA’s equities market capitalisation declined to N1.159 trillion on the Nigerian Exchange. The banking group has seen significant demand from buy-side actors in the local bourse in the recent time. This…

UAC of Nigeria Market Value Increased by 12.5% to N105bn UAC of Nigeria Plc (UACN) is now worth N105 billion in the equities market after the conglomerate company’s market value surged by 12.5% on stronger earnings expectations.  According to data from the Nigerian Exchange, UACN Plc share price rose to N36 in the equities segment due to increased positioning in diversified company stocks from N32. In December, when its share price was N23.55, equities analysts at CardinalStone Securities Limited set a 12-month target price of N38.21 for UACN. At the market price of N36, its 2.926 billion shares outstanding have…

Oando Energy Gains 15% on Buy Side Activities Oando Energy Plc’s saw a 15% increase in market value in the stock market as investors started repositioning after December sell pressures. The share price of Oando Plc climbed to N71.80 in the equities segment of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) from N62.50 at the beginning of the week. The positive price movement that followed increased demand for the energy company’s share lifted its market capitalisation to N892.575 billion on Friday. Buy-side activities in the stock market triggered the latest market re-rating of the energy stock. At the current market price, Oando Energy…

Telecom Operators to Disconnect Banks over Huge USSD Debt Telecom operators in Nigeria, MTN, Glo, Airtel, 9Mobile, have gotten approval to disconnect some banks owing huge amount for support services provided. The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says it has ordered telecommunications companies to disconnect the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) codes assigned to nine financial institutions due to unpaid debts. This was made known in a public notice signed by NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Mr Reuben Muoka during the week. According to the commission, the affected banks must settle their outstanding debts by Jan. 27, 2025 or risk losing…

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…