CAPITAL MARKET
Conoil Reiterates Commitment to Sustain Higher Values for Shareholders
Conoil Plc has reiterated its resolve to maintain its leadership position in the downstream petroleum sector by building a stronger financial position and creating higher values for its shareholders. At its 51st Annual General Meeting held in Lagos, the company assured its shareholders that conscious efforts will be directed at achieving better execution of value-added products and services especially in the areas of marketing and customer management. While noting that the challenges ahead given the current state of the nation’s economy, it however, expressed optimism that it would strive hard to maintain profitability. Spurred by shareholders’ words of encouragement after the meeting had ratified a total dividend cash payment of N1.04 billion, which translates to 150kobo for every 50kobo share held. This Day
Equities Offer Superior Return Above Inflation’
Coronation Asset Management has advised investors to tap into the equities market to get a return that supersedes inflation figures. Coronation Research in its new report, ‘Equities for a superior return,’ noted that the Nigerian investment climate is still strong and attractive for both long- and short-term investors. Managing Director/CEO, Coronation Asset Management, Mr. Aigbovbioise Aig-Imoukhuede speaking at a virtual press briefing over the weekend said: “This report written by Guy Czartoryski and Adebayo Adebanjo challenges the widely-held opinions about Nigerian investments, in particular views about the equity market. Nigerian listed equities, if properly selected, can deliver an adequate return to investors over the long term.” This Day
UBA raises $300m via senior notes
Shareholders of Conoil Plc have approved a total dividend payment of N1.04bn, translating to 150 kobo for every 50 kobo share. The dividend was approved during the 51st annual general meeting of the company, according to a statement on Friday. The company promised at the AGM to explore opportunities in the coming years to deliver solid financial results and increase competitive returns on its shares. It assured its shareholders that conscious efforts would be directed at achieving better execution of value-added products and services, especially in the areas of marketing and customer management. Punch
BANKING
Access Bank to unveil more AccessX centres to enhance self-service banking
Tier-1 bank, Access Bank Plc, has said it intends to keep providing top-notch digital services to its customers and demonstrate the best of innovative solutions by launching more AccessX Experience Centres in the next few years. The Group Head, Retail Operations at the bank, Abraham Aziegbe, disclosed this to newsmen during the unveiling of the AccessX Experience Centre at Maryland in Lagos at the weekend. Aziegbe explained that the new experience center will act as a one-stop digital hub where its customers can truly experience the bank’s digital capabilities and get opportunities to experience the things that the bank is doing and see into the future of what it is planning to do. The Sun
ECONOMY
Report: 12m Nigerians Risk Food Crisis, FAO Warns
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) yesterday said about 12.1 million Nigerians faced food crisis adding that 19 per cent of affected households are in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States. The FAO pointed out that ongoing conflict in the northeast and the lingering economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continued to drive hunger in the country. According to its October 2021 Food Security and Nutrition Analysis – known as the Cadre Harmonise (CH), which assessed 20 states, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the number of people in critical or worse phases of food insecurity may increase to about 16.9 million unless efforts are made to scale up and sustain humanitarian support and other government interventions for livelihood recovery and resilience. This Day
Outrage over 54% increase in electricity meter prices
The Federal Government and electricity consumers may be at daggers drawn over a 54 per cent increase in the cost of electricity meters which takes effect today. The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), in a circular to all the 11 Discos, announced a 32.8 per cent and 21.7 per cent increase in the cost of electricity meters. In the circular, NERC increased the price of a single-phase meter from the current cost of N44,896.17 to a revised price of N58,661.69. This was even as it increased the price of a three-phase meter from the current cost of N82,855.19 to a revised rate of N109,684.36. The Sun
OPEC misses oil production target in October
OPEC’s crude oil production rose by 217,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 27.453 million bpd in October, but still fell short of the cartel’s share of the 400,000-bpd total output hike of the OPEC+ group. Under the OPEC+ deal, the 10 OPEC members bound by the OPEC+ pact should be raising their combined production by 254,000 bpd each month. Yet, estimates from secondary sources in OPEC’s Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR) published on Thursday continued to show what analysts, tanker-tracking firms, and previous OPEC monthly reports showed: the cartel has been undershooting its collective production quota—mostly because of a lack of capacity at some members to pump crude to their respective quotas. The Sun