June inflation surprises, slows further to 17.75%
The Consumer Price Index, (CPI) which measures inflation (rate of change in the increase in prices) slowed to 17.75 percent (year-on-year) in June 2021. This is 0.18 percentage points lower than the rate recorded in May 2021 of 17.93 percent. It means that prices continued to rise but at a slightly slower pace in..
Hole in the pipelines: Massive oil theft denies Nigeria petrodollars
To understand the scale of oil theft in the Niger Delta, consider that over half of the crude oil sent through the 180,000 barrels of crude daily capacity Trans Niger Pipeline is stolen.
Nigeria squandering its youth bulge misses gains of vocational skills
The mass failure of candidates in the 2021 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and the backlog of students waiting for admission into higher institutions show why attention should be paid to acquiring vocational skills.
Regional connections: Air Peace restores Banjul, Dakar flights
Air Peace has announced the resumption of flights into Banjul in Gambia and Dakar in Senegal on July 23, 2021, to provide more options for regional connectivity. The spokesperson of the airline, Stanley Olisa, who made the announcement in a news release issued to reporters on Wednesday
Contentious PIB won’t make it to Aso Rock as planned
The most debatable bill in the history of Nigeria’s oil industry may not get presidential assent as planned, as the House of Representatives has stepped down the report of the Conference Committee of the National Assembly for reasons that may not be unconnected with percentage due to host communities.
Backward Integration: CBN Clears Dangote, BUA on Sugar Importation into Nigeria
The Federal Government of Nigeria under the National Sugar Development Council established the Nigerian Sugar Master Plan to encourage and incentivize sugar refining companies in their Backward Integration Program (BIP) for local sugar production.
Accordingly, the underlisted three companies, who have made reasonable progress in achieving backward integration in the sector shall only be allowed to import sugar into the country: :
1. BUA Sugar Refinery Limited
3. Golden Sugar Company
In view of the forgoing, Authorized Dealers shall NOT open Forms M or access foreign exchange in the Nigerian foreign exchange market for any company including the three listed above for the importation of sugar without the prior and express approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria as the Bank is charged with the mandate of monitoring the implementation of the backward integration programs of all the companies.
Stakeholders Highlight How Nigeria’s Capital Market Could Develop the Solid Minerals Sector
The Nigerian capital market has been described as a catalyst for the development of critical sectors of the economy, as it provides a platform for obtaining medium to long-term finance. The comment was made by Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, during a Webinar organized by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in collaboration with the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development with the theme, “Financing the Solid Minerals Sector through the Capital Market and the Critical Role of Commodity Exchanges”.
Nigeria’s equities investors lost N25bn in week ended July 16
Investors’ unwillingness to strategically position in Nigeria’s equities, particularly those expected to deliver impressive half-year (H1) result impacted negatively on the performance of the market in the trading week ended Friday, July 16
The market decreased by 0.12 percent while investors lost about N25billion. This was caused by mixed trading sessions which saw more losses than gains on the Bourse in the review week
Some investors continued to cherry-pick attractive counters in the week under review, while others chose to sell down their holdings for profit following previous gains.
Except the Banking (+0.09percent) and Oil & Gas (+1.81percent) sectoral indices, other key sectoral indices of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) closed the review week in red. NGX Consumer Goods Index (-0.85percent), NGX Industrial Index (-0.30percent), NGX Insurance (-1.07percent), NGX Pension (-0.33percent).
The record negative returns from Nigeria’s equities market seen year-to-date (YtD) stood at -5.77percent on Friday.
The Nigerian Exchange Limited All-Share Index (ASI) and Market Capitalization which opened the review trading week at 37,994.19 points and N19.796 trillion respectively closed the week at 37,947.18 points and N19.771trillion.
United Capital navigates volatile half-year, pre-tax profit up 65%
United Capital plc, Nigeria’s leading investment bank and a foremost pan-African financial and investment services group, has announced its unaudited financial statements for the half-year (H1) ended June 30, 2021
The investment bank’s financial statement shows revenue of N6.85 billion as against N4.44 billion in H1’2020, indicating 54.3 percent growth.
Also, the group recorded Profit Before Tax (PBT) of N3.74 billion in H1’21, up by 65 percent as against N2.26 billion in the same period last year, while delivering an Earnings Per Share of 105 kobo.
Profit After Tax stood higher at N3.14 billion in H1’21, up by 64.4 percent compared with N1.91 billion it recorded in H1’20.
United Capital remains a leader in the financial and investment services space, with a mission to provide bespoke and innovative value-added services to its clients.
The Group aims to transform the African continent by providing innovative and creative investment banking solutions to governments, companies, and individuals.
The Group is listed on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) and is at the forefront of becoming the financial and investment role model across Africa by leveraging innovation, technology, and specialist skills to exceed client expectations while creating more value for all stakeholders.
While commenting on the group’s performance, the Group CEO, Peter Ashade, said: “I am excited to inform our stakeholders that United Capital Plc recorded a very impressive half-year 2021 result following a record year performance in 2020. We ended the first half of the year on a very high note as reflected in our earnings growth and strong financial performance.”
He further said: “United Capital Plc is in a growth phase, and I must say that our strong financial performance is a testament of our unwavering commitment to increasing value creation for all our clients amid the harsh socio-economic environment and lingering effects of the devastating pandemic.
“In the remaining half of the year, we will be focused on our transformation agenda by deepening our value propositions to different market segments especially mass affluent and the underserved mass market clients, while driving phased automation of our business processes.
“Our bespoke affluent segment propositions including private trusts, and wealth management solutions are curated to increase, preserve, and transfer wealth for our fast-growing affluent customer base.
“Furthermore, our best-in-class digital platforms remain central to our purpose of transforming lives and promoting financial inclusion across Africa by providing easy access to collective investment schemes and micro loans while promoting socio-economic development.
“Our stakeholders can be assured of our commitment to delivering superior returns. More importantly, we will continue to work with our regulators and other capital market operators on structural reforms to deepen the capital market as the domestic economy continues the path to recovery.”
