Tag: business news

By Adedapo Adesanya The 2024 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to the Japanese anti-nuclear group Nihon Hidankyo, a grassroots movement of atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Mr Jørgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said the award was made as the “taboo against the use of nuclear weapons is under…

TikTok, the popular social media platform owned by China’s ByteDance, has announced the layoff of hundreds of employees from its global workforce, including a significant number in Malaysia. The move is part of the company’s strategy to shift towards greater use of artificial intelligence (AI) in content moderation. Initial reports suggested that more than 700…

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Customers of Zenith Bank Plc have begun to enjoy seamless financial transactions on the bank’s digital channels after the recent infrastructure upgrade, which disrupted operations for a few days. Full access to the company’s digital channels was restored after the exercise, according to a statement from the foremost financial institution in Nigeria…

Dufil Prima Foods Limited has opened the subscription window for its October 2024 corporate bond, providing investors with a new opportunity to invest in its debt securities. The offer includes a commercial paper maturing on April 16, 2025, with an implied yield of 27.00%, priced at a 23.8306% discount rate to its face value. According…

By Adedapo Adesanya There was a 6.9 per cent gain at the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Thursday, October 10 as the market capitalisation added N262.14 billion in value to close at N4.086 trillion from N3.823 trillion that was quoted at the previous session. In the same vein, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (USI)…

The Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) has formally apologized to Fidelity Bank Plc for a false story that was published earlier in the year by one of its members, Comrade Abiodun Michael, regarding the bank’s stability. The union expressed regret over the false story published by its members as well as its failure as a…

By Dipo Olowookere For the third consecutive trading session, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended in the negative territory on Thursday with a marginal 0.01 per cent loss. This followed sustained profit-taking by investors as the macroeconomic environment became tougher due to inflationary pressures triggered by another hike in the price of petrol in the…

The Lagos Rail Mass Transit (LRMT) Red Line’s first phase, spanning 27 kilometers from Oyingbo to Agbado in Ogun State, is set to commence full fee-paying passenger operations on Tuesday, October 15, 2024. The disclosure was made by Engr. Abimbola Akinajo, Managing Director of the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), in a statement released…

HSBC is reported to be exploring the sale of its business in South Africa as the global investment bank continues to reduce its exposure to Africa in order to focus on its core target markets in Asia. It is not yet clear which bank will purchase HSBC’s business and securities unit in South Africa, but…

This exclusive program, designed to support high-potential education technology startups leveraging artificial intelligence, provides a unique opportunity for Utiva to accelerate its impact on education across Africa. The Growth Academy, a three-month hybrid initiative, offers participating startups equity-free support, access to Google’s suite of tools, and hands-on mentorship from AI experts. Startups also receive strategic…

By Dipo Olowookere The vibrant African startup ecosystem has received a further boost with the foray of an exclusive investment platform, XA Network, into the continent. XA Network was established by tech alumni in Southeast Asia comprising the former Managing Director of Google Sub-Saharan Africa, Mr Nitin Gajria; an architect of the Black Founders Fund…

The Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) states that meter installation by electricity distribution companies declined by as much as 60.86% in the second quarter of 2024. In its second quarter 2024 report published on its website on Thursday, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) revealed a significant drop in meter installations. According to NERC, only…

Africa is becoming a key market for social media companies amid a surge in engagement by young, tech-savvy users. Thanks to favourable demographics, rising internet penetration, and promising economic prospects, the continent’s advertising and consumer markets are poised for strong long-term growth. This has drawn increased investments from major players like Meta, the parent company…

Geregu Power Plc, Nigeria’s first listed power generation company, has released its 2024 nine-month results, showing that pre-tax profits doubled to N36.2 billion. This compares to the N17.4 billion in pre-tax profits reported in the corresponding period of 2023 representing a 107% increase. The company reported a profit after tax of N24.1 billion. When annualized,…

By Dipo Olowookere The shares of Aradel Holdings Plc will be listed on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Monday, October 14, 2024, Business Post reports. Before this happens, the energy firm will leave the NASD over-the-counter (OTC) Securities Exchange, where its stocks are currently being traded by investors. A notice obtained…

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has criticized the recent hike in petrol prices, accusing the national oil company, NNPC, of wanting to sell fuel to them at over N1,000 per liter while purchasing it for less than N900 from the Dangote refinery. The national president of IPMAN, Abubakar Garima, stated in an…

In a bid to enhance transparency and curb corruption in the public service, Guinea-Bissau has adopted the use of blockchain technology to manage wage expenditures for civil servants. Officials overseeing public wage bill management in the country have rolled out a new software platform that leverages blockchain to securely store and exchange salary and pension…

A Texas drug ring has been indicted by United States Authorities for laundering $15,000 to $50,000 in cryptocurrency and selling about 12kg of meth disguised as Adderall pills. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio revealed in a press release that six men from Texas have been sentenced to prison for running…

By Aduragbemi Omiyale One of the leading financial institutions, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), has sold Eurobond worth $400 million to investors. A note from the company disclosed that the paper was issued at an interest rate of 10.125 per cent. Business Post reports that the dollar-denominated bond has a maturity of five years and is…

The Federal Government is exploring gas reticulation systems for urban buildings in Nigeria and has established a Technical Working Group (TWG) to develop a policy for safe and efficient gas distribution. Gas reticulation involves a network of pipes supplying gas directly to buildings, a practice common in developed countries for efficient energy delivery. This initiative,…