CAPITAL MARKET
Abbey Mortgage Bank lists additional 3.69bn ordinary shares on NGX
One of the foremost financial services institutions, Abbey Mortgage Bank Plc, has announced on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) its listing of additional shares of 3,692,307,692 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each via a rights issue. In an official statement from the management of the bank on Sunday, it said, “We are pleased to inform our stakeholders that an additional 3,692,307,692 ordinary shares of Abbey Mortgage Bank Plc. (the Company) were on Wednesday, 16 February 2022 listed on the Daily Official List of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX). Punch
Gains in 29 stocks lift NGX capitalisation further by N7 billion
Price gains in 29 stocks yesterday sustained the bullish profile of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) as market capitalisation increased further by N7 billion. At the close of trading yesterday, the All Share Index (ASI), which measures the performance of quoted companies, rose by 12.99 points, representing an increase of 0.03 per cent to close at 47,246.90 points. Similarly, market capitalisation of listed equities gained N7 billion to close at N25.464 trillion. The upturn was impacted by gains recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, amongst which are Berger Paints Nigeria, May & Baker Nigeria, Eterna, Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) and Africa Prudential. Guardian
BANKING
FCMB unveils mortgage loans for customers
First City Monument Bank has announced mortgage loans for Nigerians who want to own their homes. According to a statement, the bank is offering Nigerians mortgage loans of up to N75m, and anyone can qualify. Citing a Central Bank of Nigeria report, it said Nigeria requires about 700,000 housing units annually for 20 years to accommodate the rising population. FCMB urged Nigerians, including salaried individuals, to take advantage of its convenient and flexible mortgage loan product to fulfill their homeownership dream. Punch
FirstBank, CDC/BII to Support Women, SMEs With $100m Credit Facility
CDC Group, the UK Government’s development finance institution yesterday announced a $100 million finance facility to First Bank of Nigeria Limited (FirstBank). The Chief Executive of CDC Group, Nick O’Donohoe in a statement said: “Promoting financial inclusion is a key component for advancing sweeping productive and sustainable growth across both rural and urban areas in Nigeria. This facility will channel CDC’s flexible and long-term capital toward expanding the financial solutions made available to women entrepreneurs, who are often the drivers of small business ideas and services to their communities. This Day
Fidelity Bank Appoints Amuchie as ED
Fidelity Bank Plc has announced the appointment of Mr. Stanley Chiedoziem Amuchie as Executive Director, Chief Operations and Information Officer of the Bank upon approval by the Central Bank of Nigeria. Stanley joins the Board of Fidelity Bank Plc with impressive multi-functional work experience spanning banking, audit, risk management, corporate governance, quality control, operations and information technology, strategy, financial control, business and financial advisory, accounting, general management, business development and consulting, with over 23 years of experience in the banking and financial services industry. This Day
ECONOMY
Nigeria, Iraq Kick against Hike in OPEC Oil Output as Prices Surge Towards $100
Nigeria and Iraq have said the strategy employed by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, OPEC+, to gradually raise oil production is enough to balance the market. Both countries insisted that there was no need for OPEC to be more aggressive, despite crude oil surge this year to almost $100 a barrel. The 23-nation alliance, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, would meet on March 2 to decide the next line of action in terms of the amount of oil it expected members to pump in April. This Day
IMF Chief Pledges Large Scale On-lending of SDRs to Africa
The International Monetary Fund’s Kristalina Georgieva has noted that for an inclusive and sustainable growth in Africa, the IMF would accelerate its Special Drawing Rights (SDR) allocation with more funding to the African continent. She said this at the EU-AU Summit Roundtable on financing for sustainable and inclusive growth recently. She noted that with $33 billion for African countries out of a $650 billion global allocation tilts the scale further from an inclusive growth for Africa. This Day
‘Importers will source FX from Ghana, others if CBN stops funding banks’
Stakeholders in the maritime industry have said the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) plan to stop the sale of foreign exchange (FX) to commercial banks will drive importers to source funds from the Republic of Benin, Ghana and Togo. They said the plan would lead to a massive movement of funds outside the country, as well as affect the economy negatively. The President of the Shippers Association of Lagos (SAL), Jonathan Nicol, stated that the planned stoppage of forex to commercial banks has led to panic buying of foreign exchange and could cripple the economy. Guardian
2021 Budget: 94.1% Implementation on Infrastructure, Human Capital Development Achieved, Says FG
The federal government yesterday disclosed that it executed 94.1 per cent of the 2021 budget in the areas of infrastructure and human capital development. Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed disclosed this in Abuja, during a town hall meeting on the achievements of the federal government in infrastructure development organised by the Ministry of Information and Culture. This Day
Nigeria to invest more in gas, says Buhari
President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday, at the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) summit in Doha, Qatar, restated Nigeria’s interest in investing more in natural gas despite the tight investment climate. Although Nigeria has more gas than crude oil, harnessing the resources has been elusive given the investment needed to explore, process or export gas. With Chinese loans already becoming a mirage as the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano pipeline project faces funding challenges, Buhari said the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) was designed to enable Nigeria to derive more value from natural gas. Guardian
