CAPITAL MARKET
Shareholders Approve Nova’s Merchant Bank’s N800m Dividend
Nova Merchant Bank recently held its fourth Annual General Meeting in Lagos where shareholders commended the board and management for its impressive performance over the years. At the meeting, the shareholders approved the payment of N800 million as dividend for the 2020 financial year and urged the bank to continue the growth trajectory notwithstanding the current challenging macro-economic environment. This Day
Sell-off in 16 stocks drag indices by 0.02 per cent
Sell-off in I6 stocks triggered a reversal on the previous trading session’s gain yesterday, as the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) All-share index (ASI) depreciated by 0.02 per cent. At the close of transactions yesterday, the market capitalisation of listed equities declined by 0.02 per cent to N19.729 trillion from N19.732 trillion reported on Wednesday. Similarly, the ASI depreciated by 5.65 basis points to 37866.90 points from 37872.55 points reported the previous day. Guardian
Expert seeks local funding to grow capital market
Unless the economy is conducive enough for small businesses to grow, the government will continue to battle with unemployment, insecurity among other economic challenges, a financial expert, Dare Osamo, has said. it was high time the government realised that there is a limit to which the current administration could grow the economy. He advocated the need for the government to ensure the ease of doing business in the country is seamless. Guardian
BANKING
GT Bank restructures as CBN approves board appointments
Guaranty Trust Bank Plc has completed its corporate restructuring, saying it would enhance its long-term growth prospect. This followed its successful transformation into a holding company. In a statement, the company said a new operating company has been established and amendments were made to the articles of incorporation for a corporate name change. The newly-established operating company has adopted Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) Plc. The company also announced its new board of directors while changing the board of its banking subsidiary, Guaranty Trust Bank Limited. The appointments, it said, have been approved by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and filed at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Nigerian Exchange Group. Guardian
ECONOMY
To accommodate fresh loans, FG raises new borrowing limit to N61tn
With the new borrowing limit set by the Federal Government, Nigeria can expand its current debt portfolio from N33.11tn to N61tn. The new borrowing limit contained in a document, Medium Term Debt Strategy, shows that Nigeria has raised its borrowing limit from 25 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product to 40 per cent of the GDP. This revelation came even as the Senate gave new approvals to the Federal Government to borrow $8.33bn and €490m from external sources. Punch
AfCFTA can raise Africa’s spending to $6.7tn – Adebayo
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Niyi Adebayo, on Thursday, said the African Continent Free Trade Area has the potential to boost consumer and business spending in Africa up to the tune of $6.7tn and drive huge foreign direct investments. Adebayo said this while outlining the Federal Government’s intervention programmes to improve the country’s trade relations with India. Punch
Only 1,300 of 7,000 oil wells active, as DPR optimises production
The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has reaffirmed its commitment to boost production in the nation’s oil reserves. According to the Department, out of 7,000 reservoirs in the country, operators in the oil and gas industry are currently utilising only 1,300 reservoirs. The Director, DPR, Sarki Auwalu, at the 2nd quarter, 2021 business dinner of the Petroleum Club Lagos sponsored by
A. A Holdings, said plans are also ongoing to improve the business environment for oil and gas investments to ensure investors get returns on their investments. Guardian