CAPITAL MARKET
Stock Market Commences Week on Negative Note, Depreciates by 0.07%
The stock market of the Nigerian Exchange L:mited (NGX) yesterday opened the week on a negative note, reversing last session gains. The NGX All Share Index (ASI) decreased by 38.22 basis points or 0.07 per cent to close at 51,791.45 basis points, while the market capitalisation lost N21 billion to close at N27.921 trillion. The downturn was impacted by losses recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, amongst which are; Nigerian Breweries, Conoil, Lafarge Africa, Red Star Express and Cutix Plc. Also, market breadth closed negative, with 18 losers versus 17 gainers. Fidson Healthcare recorded the highest price gain of 9.82 per cent to close at N12.30, per share. Learn Africa followed with a gain 9.78 per cent to close at N2.47, while UACN Property Development Company (UPDC) rose 9.71 per cent to close at N1.13, per share. This Day
BANKING
Zenith Bank named best commercial bank
Zenith Bank Plc has emerged as Nigeria’s best commercial bank in the World Finance Banking Awards 2022, retaining the award for a second consecutive year. The bank was also named the Best Corporate Governance Bank in Nigeria in the World Finance Corporate Governance Awards 2022. The awards, which were presented to the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive of Zenith Bank Plc, Mr. Ebenener Onyeagwu, at the London Stock Exchange recently, were in recognition of the bank’s ability to embrace digital transformation, best-in-class sustainability, and corporate governance practices, leading to stellar business performance in a difficult economic climate. Punch
ECONOMY
FX pressure to continue as Nigeria’s reserves decline by $1.37bn in 6 months
With the increasing price of crude oil coupled with weak macroeconomic environment, financial experts say they expect the FX liquidity conditions to remain pressured as foreign portfolio inflows remain low and accretion to the FX reserves from crude oil receipts remain weak. According to data obtained from Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s website, Nigeria’s external reserves depreciated by $1.37 billion or 3.37 per cent in the first six months of 2022 to $39.16billion as of June 30 from $40.52 billion it closed in 2021. External reserves are assets held on reserve by CBN in foreign currencies and these reserves are used to back liabilities and influence monetary policy. This Day
FG issues guideline to retain oil sector spending in Nigeria
The Federal Government has developed and issued an insurance guideline to drive the retention of oil sector financial spending in Nigeria and help reverse capital flight. Speaking on the topic, “Strengthening Nigerian Content Implementation with the Seven Ministerial Regulations,” at the ongoing Nigeria Oil and Gas conference in Abuja on Monday, the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Simbi Wabote, said the guideline was in accordance with the law. He said, “With regards to insurance of assets and liabilities in the oil and gas industry, Sections 49 and 50 of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act (2010) state the requirements for players in the Nigerian oil and gas activities on the need to engage local insurance companies for insuring their assets, liabilities and so on. Punch
FAO: Global Agricultural Production to Increase by 1.1% in 2031
The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have predicted that global agricultural production would increase by 1.1 per cent every year over the next decade. The OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2022-2031 stated that the additional output would be mainly produced in middle- and low-income countries, which indicated wider access to inputs and showed that increased productivity-enhancing investment in technology, infrastructure and training would be critical drivers of the expected growth in agricultural production. This Day
Solid minerals imports rise by 74% in 12 months
The value of solid minerals imports rose by 74.39 per cent from N23.56bn in the first quarter of 2021 to N41.09bn in the same quarter in 2022. This is contained in the Q1 2022 Foreign Trade Statistics report of the National Bureau of Statistics. According to the report, solid minerals are elements found on the earth, and they include naturally organic substances that are solid like precious stones and kaolin. The report read in part, “The value of solid minerals imports in the first quarter of 2022 stood at N41.09bn, this value was 37.84 per cent higher than the value recorded in Q4, 2021 (N29.81bn) and 74.39 per cent of the value recorded in Q1, 2021 (N23.56bn).” Solid mineral imports were dominated by plasters of calcined gypsum or calcium sulphate imported from Turkey worth N6.87bn and China valued at N1.87bn. Punch
Nigeria to leverage EU’s €1.3bn to develop energy, agric sectors
To boost the adoption of sustainable climate-smart agriculture and renewable energy in Nigeria and grow the country’s economy, the European Union (EU) has unveiled the ‘Team Europe Initiative (TEI) Nigeria Green Economy’ project, committing about €1.3 billion. The project was inaugurated by the EU ambassador to Nigeria and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Ms Samuela Isopi, at the 8th EU-Nigeria Business Forum tagged: “Nigeria and the New Economy”, in Lagos. According to Isopi, the initiative, which aims to improve the competitive advantage of Nigeria’s agriculture and energy sectors, consists of 60 projects to be completed by 2027. Guardian