The crisis occasioned by the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, as well as the slump in oil prices, does not augur well for the chances of Nigeria’s external debt becoming sustainable, FBNQuest Capital Research has said. The firm stated this in a note obtained by Newsfieldglobal yesterday. According to latest data released by the Debt Management Office (DMO), Nigeria’s total public debt rose to $79.5 billion (N28.63 trillion) as of the first quarter of 2020. 34.89 per cent-$27.66 billion (N9.9 trillion)- of this amount is the total external debt, while $51.64 billion (N18.64 trillion) is the…
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Analyst sees lower equity prices from weak quarterly results
Financial market analyst and Managing Director/CEO, Cowry Asset Management Limited, Mr. Johnson Chukwu, has said that he expects weak Q2 and Q3 results will drive equity prices lower. In his presentation at an event on “H1’20 Review; Expectations and Investment Strategies in H2’20,” Chukwu noted that investors with long term horizon may be facing the best time to take position. The virtual event had in attendance government officials, apex and self-regulatory organisations, capital market operators, investment bankers, policymakers, chief executive officers (CEOs), economists, researchers, analysts, academics, and private equity firms. According…
Read MoreAwareness: Insurance brokers to visit Presidency
The Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) said plans were in top gear for its President, Dr. (Mrs) Bola Onigbogi, to visit President Muhammadu Buhari as part of sensitization programme to deepen insurance in the country. The Executive Secretary of the Council, Mr. Fatai Adegbenro, made the disclosure while speaking to members of the National Association of Insurance and Pension Correspondents (NAIPCO) shortly after their 2020 Annual General Meeting (AGM) yesterday in Lagos. He said the planned visit to the Presidency was aimed at sensitizing the government on…
Read MoreNSE extends weekly gains by 1.09%
Transaction activities last week closed positive, extending weekly gains as the NSE All-Share Index and Market Capitalisation both appreciated by 1.09 per cent to close the week at 24,693.73 and N12.882 trillion respectively. All other indices finished higher with the exception of NSE ASeM, NSE Consumer Goods and NSE Oil/Gas indices, which depreciated by 0.06 per cent, 0.44 per cent and 6.51 per cent respectively It was a brief trading week as the market opened for three days in observance of the public holidays declared by the Federal Government of…
Read MoreFBNQuest unveils new internet banking platform
FBNQuest Merchant Bank, the investment banking and asset management business of FBN Holdings Plc, has announced the launch of a new corporate internet banking platform, which offers an upgraded user interface with enhanced convenience for transactions. According to a statement from the company, the platform is a payment processing solution for corporate banking clients that provide online real-time account access for balance and transaction monitoring, investing, fund transfers, bulk payments such as salaries or payments to third parties, and other self-service requests, conveniently and securely. An innovative internet banking…
Read MoreNIOB: Engage professionals in building process
Nigerian Institute of Building, through its President, Mr Kunle Awobodu, has called on developers to engage professional builders to manage building processes. He is also seeking prosecution of those found culpable in a recent collapse of a seven- storey building in Owerri, Imo State, to serve as a deterrent to others. The collapse of the high-rise building under construction, Awobodu said, again brought to the front burner the problem of building management in Nigeria. According to him, investigation and prosecution of those culpable should not be…
Read MoreSubsidy: CSOs seek targeted projects for N15.4bn
Following revelation by the Federal Government that fuel subsidy removal had taken a burden of N15.4 billion of its shoulders monthly, a group of civil society organisations has advised that the money be deployed in targeted projects rather than keeping it in the federation account. The advice was given during a virtual workshop in Abuja that was hosted by Media Initiative on Transparency in Extractive Industries (MITEI), a non-profit group of media practitioners committed to the promotion of transparency in the extractive industries and facilitated by Facility for…
Read MoreOil super major deepens asset sale in Nigeria
International oil companies (IOCs) at the weekend deepened plans for sale of more assets in Nigeria as they slashed $12 billion off their global investment portfolios. Blaming price rout buoyed by Coronavirus pandemic for the move, the IOCs including Shell, ExxonMobil, Total and Aker declared that they had already announced the slash in their investments to survive the big threat posed to their fortunes by the pandemic. “The IOCs will be putting more of their assets up for sale,” an industry source told New Telegraph, adding, “they…
Read MoreCACOVID donates isolation centres, beddings to Ondo, Kwara
The private sector led Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID) has donated fully equipped isolation centres and medical equipment running into several millions of naira to the Ondo and Kwara state governments. The donation was in response to plea by state governors and to strengthen the partnership with governments at all levels to help contain the coronavirus pandemic in the country. The group, which comprises leading private sector operators, had earlier donated similar items to the governments of Rivers and Enugu states, apart from the distribution of food palliatives,…
Read MoreNSE extends gain with N110bn
Nigerian Stock Exchange yesterday sustained its positive outlook for the ninth consecutive trading session as the overall performance measures, NSE ASI and market capitalisation, rose further by 0.87 per cent each. Market watchers attributed the development to renewed confidence as bargain hunters leverage on undervalued stocks. Consequently, the All-Share Index rose by 210.88 basis points or 0.87 per cent to close at 24.354.25 index points as against 24.143.37 recorded the previous day while market capitalisation of equities appreciated by N110 billion or 0.87 per cent to close higher…
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