Guinness Nigeria on Wednesday said it is seeking approval from the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) for a share sale operation to raise N39.7 billion ($130 million). “Our expectation is that this rights issue will help mitigate the impact of increasing finance costs, optimize our balance sheet and improve the company's financial flexibility. We expect that this issue will help us return the...

The Government of Kwara has set aside N12 billion ($38million) to fund new infrastructure projects under the state’s infrastructure development fund (IFK). According to the Governor of Kwara State, Abdulfatah Ahmed (photo), the money will be used to fund infrastructure projects such as the first Diamond underpass in Nigeria, new campuses for the state university (KWASU), Ilesha-Baruba and...

The Nigerian Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Kayode Fayemi (photo), has revealed that his ministry will direct part of the N30 billion ($97million) Mining Intervention Fund approved by the Federal Executive Council last year to local operators in the sector. This is aimed at assisting them in scaling up their operations and reducing reliance on importation. According to Fayemi, the...

Chinese investment in Nigeria reached $13billion in 2016, according to the Deputy Ambassador of China to Nigeria, Jin Ping. Ping disclosed this on Tuesday when he led a delegation to the National Assembly to strengthen the bilateral ties between both countries. He said China is committed to Nigeria’s development and has demonstrated this through projects such as the $1.3billion...

In line with vows to generate 25% of Nigeria’s total power capacity before the end of 2018, Transcorp Power Limited on Monday commissioned a new 115 MW Gas Turbine (GT 15) at its Power Plant in Ughelli, Delta state. This brings the total operating capacity of the plant to 620 MW. “With the successful commissioning and synchronizing of the turbine to the national grid, it has increased the...

The President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari (photo) has written to the National Assembly to seek for approval to issue an additional $500 million Eurobond to fund capital projects in the 2017 budget. This was revealed during a Senate session on Wednesday. The leader’s demand follows the oversubscription of a similar bond worth $1B approved earlier this year by the Senate, also to...

The Central Bank of Nigeria on Tuesday revealed plans to sell $150 million in currency forwards on the interbank market through commercial lenders. According to the apex bank, the sales will mature within 60 days. The central bank has been intervening in the official currency market in the past two weeks, as part of efforts aimed at easing the difficulties encountered in the funding of...

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed on Tuesday that Nigeria’s annual inflation dropped to 17.78% last month from the 18.72% in January driven by a slower rise in general price levels. This is the first decline in 15 months. According to the statistics office, the major sectors responsible for the slower rise in the headline index were Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other...

Nigeria is to start exporting processed cashew nuts by 2019, according to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh (photo). Ogbeh who disclosed this on Tuesday at the maiden edition of the 2017 First Bank Agric Expo in Lagos, said that currently a tonne of processed cashew nut when exported is sold for $10,000 while the raw cashew nut is sold at $1,200. He...

The Government of Taraba has signed a N2.2 billion ($7million) contract with Pinnacle Communications regarding the digitization of the Taraba State Broadcasting Service (TSBS). “The contract is in partial fulfilment of Governor Darius Ishaku’s campaign promise to beat the 2017 deadline for full digitization of all broadcast media organizations in Nigeria,” Anthony Danburam, the...