Author: Marketforces Africa

Zenith Bank Target Price Sets at N107.50, 44% Upside With a buy rating, equity analysts have set Zenith Bank Plc’s target price at N107.50 at a time when the company’s share price was N74.65. In its weekly stock recommendation, investment firm Cowry Asset Limited told investors that Zenith Bank Plc has 44% upside potential at the reference price on forecasted earnings per share of N10.93. On the Nigerian Exchange, Zenith Bank shares have been fluctuating below N78.50, its highest value in the last 52 weeks. The bank share price slipped to N72.55 on Wednesday as a sell-side actor took advantage…

Fitch Affirms Uganda Issuer Rating at ‘B’, Outlook Stable Fitch Ratings has affirmed Uganda’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ‘B’ with a stable outlook. Uganda’s ratings are supported by favourable medium-term growth prospects, a record of relative macroeconomic stability helped by the central bank’s inflation targeting framework, and Fitch’s expectation that government debt/GDP will stabilise in the medium term. The ratings are constrained by low gross domestic product per capita, weak governance, a low government revenue base and twin budget and current account deficits (CAD) higher than peers. “We project real GDP growth to rise to 6.5% in…

FEC Approves $34m, N13bn for Power Sector Transformation The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved major funding to upgrade power infrastructure across the country, in a bid to boost electricity supply and support national industrial growth. ‎Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, disclosed this after Wednesday’s FEC meeting chaired by President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. He said four key proposals were approved, marking a new phase in the country’s ongoing power sector transformation agenda. ‎Adelabu said that the first approved proposal involves the resumption of compensation payments for right-of-way access for key industrial and transmission projects. ”FEC approved…

Federal Government to Revoke 1,000 Mining Licences- Alake The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, has announced Federal Government plans to revoke 1,000 dormant mining licences in addition to the 900 it revoked in 2024. Alake disclosed this at the opening of the maiden edition of the National Steel Summit on Wednesday in Abuja. “To clean up our licencing system, I had to invoke over 900 licences which were domant titles, and they had become tools in the hands of speculators rather than instruments of development. “I wish to announce here again that very shortly I am going…

Lagos Assembly Moves to Slash Tenancy Agency Fees by Half The Lagos State House of Assembly says Section 3(4) of the new Tenancy Bill will reduce agency or commission fees from 10 to five per cent of annual rent. The Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, disclosed this during a one-day public hearing on Wednesday at the Assembly complex. The bill is titled ‘A Bill for a Law to Regulate the Relationship Between Landlords and Tenants’ Obasa, represented by member Stephen Ogundipe, said any agent collecting more than five per cent commits an offence punishable by refund, two years’ imprisonment, or a fine…

Nigeria Will Start Producing 10m Tonnes of Liquid Steel by 2030 – Tinubu President Bola Tinubu has assured that by 2030, Nigeria will start producing 10 million tonnes of liquid steel. Tinubu, represented by the Vice-President Kashim Shettima, made this known on Wednesday at the Inaugural Stakeholders Summit on the Development of the Steel Sector in Nigeria, held in Abuja. The Nigerian leader, however, implored the private sector to join hands with the government in revamping the sector, saying the government cannot actualise the plan alone. “We aim to create over 500,000 direct and indirect jobs. We have already developed…

Nigerian Exchange Shrinks as Equity Investors Lose N121bn The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) shrank by about N121 billion as sell pressure on some key stocks halted the bulls, resulting in a sharp reduction in combined equity portfolio value on Wednesday. The local bourse halted its bullish momentum today, closing in negative territory, as profit-taking activities in some medium- and blue-chip stocks weighed on the overall market performance. The Nigerian Exchange All-Share Index (ASI) declined by 0.13% to settle at 145,865.48 points, trimming the year-to-date (YTD) return to 41.72% following significant profit-taking activities from the sell-side actors. The stock market pullback despite…

EU Mobilises €500m for Ukraine’s Emergency Winter Gas Purchases The European Commission (EU) has signed a guarantee agreement with EBRD to enable an unprecedented €500 million loan for Ukraine’s energy security. The financing will allow the state-owned company Naftogaz of Ukraine (NAK) to finance emergency gas purchases, an official statement revealed. The Commission said it will guarantee 90% of the loan within the amended HI-BAR programme financed under the EU’s Ukraine Investment Framework following major Russian attacks on the company’s upstream gas production and processing facilities. These attacks on civilian infrastructure occurring at increased intensity in the first half of…

Most Ghanaian Banks to Be Capital-Compliant When Forbearance Ends –Fitch The vast majority of Ghanaian banks are on track to be capital-compliant once regulatory forbearance relating to the treatment of Ghana’s domestic default expires at the end of 2025, Fitch Ratings says. This is due to strong profits, low risk-weighted asset growth and, in some cases, capital injections. Ghana’s domestic debt exchange programme (DDEP), which was launched in December 2022 and concluded in 2023, imposed large losses on the banking sector. This had a significant impact on banks’ capitalisation given their high exposure to sovereign fixed-income securities. In response, the…

Yields on Naira Assets Mixed, Banks Trim T-Bills Holdings The yields on naira assets closed on a mixed note, with banks selling interest in Treasury bills to support daily liquidity positions amidst tightening funding levels in the financial system. The average yield on OMO bills was squeezed in the secondary market as foreign portfolio investors and local deposit money banks continue to search for positions. However, trading activities in the Treasury bills segment was negative as banks trimmed positions as liquidity to meet funding requirements. The portfolio reshuffle set the yields on the naira assets in different directions: OMO bill…