Nigerian interbank rates falls after AMCON retires bonds

Nigeria's interbank lending rates eased to 10.2 percent on average on Friday, from 10.37 percent last week after state-owned 'bad bank' AMCON repaid matured bonds, buoying liquidity in the system, traders said.Nigeria's state-backed AMCON repaid 867 billion naira ($5.24 billion) worth of bonds on Friday, cutting its liabilities to around 3 trillion naira, bankers said. Dealers said 30 percent of the repaid bond -- about 260 billion naira -- was expected to enter the system in the form of cash on Friday, while the balance would be in treasury bills,...

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Nigerian 'bad bank' AMCON redeems 867 bln naira in bonds

Nigeria's state-backed 'bad bank' AMCON repaid 867 billion naira ($5.24 billion) worth of bonds on Friday, cutting its liabilities to around 3 trillion naira, bankers said.Dealers said 30 percent of the bond, representing about 260 billion naira, is expected to come in the system in form of cash, while the balance would be in treasury bills, transferring that part of the liability to the central bank.AMCON was set up to absorb bad debts left over from a 2008/9 financial crisis that nearly bankrupted nine lenders until the central bank bailed them...

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Nigerian Breweries seeks shareholder approval for merger

Nigerian Breweries, said on Friday it would seek shareholder approval on Dec. 4 for its plan to merge with rival Consolidated Breweries.Heineken, the majority shareholder in Nigerian Breweries, acquired a controlling stake in Consolidated Breweries in 2005 and is seeking to merge both businesses to take advantage of Nigeria's growing market for beer and malt drinks.In a notice to shareholders, Nigerian Breweries said it planned to exchange four of its shares for five of Consolidated Breweries, involving up to 396.85 million ordinary shares in total.Nigerian...

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Nigeria's forex reserves down 1.9 pct month-on-month to $38.7 bln

Nigeria's foreign exchange reserves fell 1.94 percent month-on-month to stand at $38.76 billion on Oct. 29, the lowest level in more than three months, data from central bank showed on Friday.The reserves also dropped 14.28 percent year-on-year, compared with $45.22 billion the same time last year. The reserves were last seen at the current level on July 21, when they stood at $38.72 billion.Since last month Nigeria's central bank has increased the amount of dollars sold at its twice-weekly foreign exchange auction, and also sells dollars directly...

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Oil drops below $87 as U.S. GDP and Fed boost dollar

• Dollar hits 3-1/2-week high against currency basket• U.S. advance Q3 GDP +3.5 percent (consensus +3.0)• Improved outlook on U.S. economy helps cap losses in oilBrent crude oil slipped below $87 a barrel on Thursday as expectations U.S. interest rates may rise sooner than expected pushed the dollar to its highest in more than three weeks.A 3.5 percent annual rise in third-quarter U.S. gross domestic product reported on Thursday came a day after the U.S. central bank gave a surprisingly upbeat assessment of the economy, reinforcing a more hawkish...

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Nigerian naira seen stable next week

Nigeria's naira is seen stable around its current range as more energy companies buy the local currency to fund month end domestic payments and the central bank also provides support.The naira currency closed at 165.65 to the dollar on the interbank market, compared with 164.80 last Thursday.The naira has been under pressure over the past five weeks, unnerved by falling global oil prices, which caused offshore investors to cut back their positions in the debt and stock markets.Traders said demand for hard currency was gradually slowing down, while...

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Nigerian police withdraw speaker's guards after defection to opposition

Nigeria's police said on Thursday it had withdrawn all security personnel guarding parliament speaker Aminu Tambuwal, the country's fourth most powerful government official, following his defection to the opposition coalition.Tambuwal defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday, a move that gave it a much needed boost in its campaign to unseat President Goodluck Jonathan in February 2015 elections. He has not yet resigned as speaker.The withdrawal of Tambuwal's security detail indicates...

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Nigeria’s Mobile-Phone Companies to list on stock exchange soon

The Nigerian Stock Exchange said it’s making headway in persuading the four mobile-phone companies in Africa’s largest economy to sell their shares.“The stance has moved from them not wanting to list to them looking at how to deal with the issues that would make it unattractive to list,” Chief Executive Officer Oscar Onyema said by phone fromSeoul today. “We’re gaining traction.”Africa’s second-biggest bourse after the Johannesburg Stock Exchange is trying to entice more companies to place initial public offerings to better mirror the make-up...

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Nigeria naira firms 0.18 pct as oil companies sell dollars

The Nigerian currency firmed 0.18 percent to 165.40 naira against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, after two multinational oil companies sold the greenback on the interbank market, dealers said.Dealers said the local unit of ExxonMobil sold $50 million, while French oil firm Total sold $88 million, to boost dollar liquidity on the interbank market.The naira has been under pressure over the past five weeks, unnerved by falling global oil prices, which caused offshore investors to cut back their positions in the debt and stock markets. Nigeria is northeast...

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Nigeria grants 5-year VAT exemption on capital market fees

Nigeria granted market transaction fees a five-year exemption from value added tax (VAT) on Tuesday as part of measures to encourage investment in the share market of Africa's top economy.The exemption from the 5 percent VAT rate covers commissions on bond as well as equity trades."The elimination of VAT on stock market transaction fees will ultimately reduce the cost of transactions for investors, and will encourage investments in the Nigerian capital market," Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) Chief Executive Oscar Onyema said in a statement.The local...

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Nigeria further limits banks' foreign currency borrowings

Bank trying to ease pressures on naira, stem dollar demand Naira down almost 4 percent this year as oil prices fall Lenders tap international debt markets to shore up capital  Nigeria's central bank has cut the limit on banks' foreign currency borrowings to 75 percent of shareholders’ funds from 200 percent, according to a central bank circular seen by Reuters on Tuesday. The regulation replaces a 2001 rule capping foreign borrowings, including Eurobonds, at 200 percent of shareholders’ funds as Nigeria tries to manage exchange rate...

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Nigerian naira falls 0.15 pct despite oil firm dlr sales

Nigeria's naira currency weakened marginally by 0.15 percent against the dollar on the interbank market on Monday, on a renewed surge in dollar demand despite about $112 million in sales by an oil company.A unit of French oil major Total sold about $112 million to some lenders on Monday, but was insufficient to support the naira.The local currency fell to 165 to the dollar compared with 164.74 it closed at on Friday, due to increased dollar demand from importers and corporations stocking up for year-end sales.The naira had recovered from a 7-month...

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Nigerian bond yields seen rising

Increased demand for Nigerian government bonds from local pension funds this week buoyed debt note prices after four weeks when falling global oil prices and a rapid decline in the value of the naira currency had forced offshore investors to gradually exit. Traders said most offshore investors stayed on the sidelines this week, while the pension funds took the front seat in the local debt market of Africa's biggest economy. "The offshore investors might further cut back on their bond holdings as we gradually approach the year end, but this will...

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Nigeria central bank to regulate bank dividend payments

* Central Bank's decision could hurt banking stocks* Banks must meet capital adequacy ratio, have cash reserves* Central bank wants banks to loan to real economyNigeria's central bank has introduced new rules to prevent banks that do not meet minimum capital requirements from paying dividends in a bid to shore up the sector, according to a document seen by Reuters.The central bank said in a circular dated Oct. 8 sent to lenders and discount houses that the amount banks can pay in dividends would depend on their capital levels, statutory reserve...

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Nigeria interbank rates stay flat as cenbank cancels T.bill sale

Nigeria's interbank lending rates remained unchanged at 10.37 percent for the fourth week on Friday after the central bank cancelled the sale of fresh open market (OMO) bills as investors demanded higher yields.The central bank had offered to sell treasury bills in the week, but withheld the auction due to demand for high yields by investors as the risk of holding Nigerian assets has risen with falling oil prices and a weakening naira currency, dealers said.Instead it repaid 170 billion naira ($1.03 billion) worth of matured OMO bills this week,...

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MTN shares hit after cuts Nigerian growth forecast

Sees Nigeria user additions at 3.5 mln Adds 1.4 mln users in South Africa Shares down more than 4 pct MTN Group Africa's largest mobile telecoms operator, slashed its full-year forecast for Nigerian subscriber growth by nearly a third on Thursday, raising concern about its ability to fight off competition in its top market and sending its shares sliding. The Johannesburg-based company has been fighting to stay in the lead in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, ahead of competitors such as the UAE's Etisalat , India's Bharti Airtel and privately-owned...

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Nigeria naira hits 8-month low as firms hedge currency risk

Nigeria's naira eased to an 8-month closing low of 165.55 against the dollar on Tuesday, due to strong dollar demand from importers and companies reducing their exposure to the local currency, dealers said.The naira fell 0.16 percent from Monday's close of 164.28 to the dollar, a level last seen on Feb. 21, a day after the president suspended the central bank governor, sending financial markets into a tailspin.Concerns about the falling price of oil, Nigeria's main source of foreign currency earnings, contributed to the drop. The local subsidiary...

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Why I will not support a Buhari presidency again‏

I am aware that the statement I'm about to make will surely attract range of rage from many of my friends across the globe, nonetheless am compelled to go ahead with my decision to renounce my support for the great general. In the last couple of weeks, I have been ruminating over my ardent support for a General Mohammudu Buhari presidency since his foray into the political arena. My conclusion has been that under the prevailing circumstances in our country today, a Buhari presidency remains a mirage, especially with the successful transformation...

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Naira firms against dollar as investors eye Nigeria assets

Nigeria's naira firmed against the U.S. dollar on Monday as financial markets got a breather following weeks of sell-offs and two oil companies sold the greenback to some lenders, dealers said.The unit closed at 165.28 naira to the dollar, firmer than Friday's close of 165.35 naira, its lowest level since March.Nigeria's stock index ended a 10-day losing streak to gain 1.2 percent on Monday, with renewed buying after investors viewed the market as oversold."The recovery in the debt and equity markets impacted positively on the forex market," one...

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Nigeria's SEC investigating share price freeze on Access Bank

Nigeria's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said it was investigating last month's price freeze on the shares of top tier lender Access Bank ahead of its planned 68 billion naira ($415 million) rights issue.The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in September suspended the shares for a week after the bank applied to the bourse, arguing that information on its capital raising was not publicly available and that it wanted to avoid speculation in its shares.The SEC, the main securities market regulator said in a statement it was aware of last month's...

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Nigerian interbank rates flat, more cash flows expected

Nigeria's interbank lending rates were unchanged for the third straight weeks at 10.37 percent on Friday, supported by a large pool of naira liquidity and expected large cash flows in the coming weeks.Traders said the central bank repaid 218 billion naira($1.32 billion) in matured open-market Operations bills this week. Expectations that monthly budgetary allocations will soon be disbursed to government agencies put the market in a comfortable position.Although market liquidity opened with a cash balance of around 431 billion naira on Friday, lower...

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Nigeria hikes government bond yields to draw investors

Nigeria priced its 3-year government bond at 12.14 percent at Wednesday's auction, up 102 basis points from the previous sale, to attract foreign investors unnerved by falling oil prices and a weakening naira.The Debt Management Office said on Friday that yields on its longer-term 10-year and 20-year government bonds were priced for sale at more than 30 basis points higher than at its last debt auction, in September.The foreign investors who are significant buyers of Nigerian debt were not rolling over bonds at maturity, analysts said. Instead,...

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Nigerian bond yields seen further up

Nigerian bond yields are expected to rise next week as concern about falling global oil prices and a weakening currency persists. Offshore investors have been cutting back on their local debt holdings since last month, putting the local currency under pressure and sending bond yields higher.Traders said yields has gone up by around 30 basis points since last week as more investors dumped the local debt and repatriated their funds back to their home countries.At the primary auction this week, the debt management office (DMO) sold about 83.94 billion...

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Nigeria naira sheds 0.24 pct as demand for dollars grows

The Nigerian naira fell 0.24 percent against the dollar on Wednesday as demand for the U.S. currency strengthened despite the sale of large amounts of dollar by the local unit of Royal Dutch Shell, dealers said.The naira closed at 164.58 to the dollar, weaker than Tuesday's close of 164.18.Shell sold an undisclosed amount of dollars to some lenders, but dealers said high demand countered its effect. Hard currency is in demand in Nigeria on concern that lower oil prices <LCOc1> will weaken the naira and widen the current account of Africa's...

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Nigeria to open up power market for competition

After series of postponements, all is now set for the Federal Government to declare the Transitional Electricity Market, which will mark the commencement of full competition in the industry. One significant change under the new arrangement is that participants in the market will commence full trading by contracts. During this stage of the market, institutional and normative structures of a competitive and efficient electricity market will be put in place. The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission said it had successfully satisfied all the...

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Nigeria’ll lose Africa’s top oil producer status – IEA

Nigeria will be overtaken as Africa’s largest crude oil producer by Angola from around 2016 to the early 2020s, as crude theft and regulatory uncertainties persist in the Nigerian oil industry, the International Energy Agency says in a new report published on Monday. The report entitled: ‘Africa Energy Outlook’, a special package in the 2014 World Energy Outlook series, stated that during the period, Angola was also likely to be Africa’s largest crude oil exporter. It noted that Angola had a taste of the position in May 2014 when monthly exports...

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Nigerian naira firms on NNPC dollar sales

The Nigerian naira firmed against the dollar on the interbank market on Monday, gaining 0.48 percent, after state-owned energy company NNPC sold an undisclosed amount of U.S. currency to lenders. The naira closed at 163.85 to the dollar, compared with 164.65 at Friday's close.The naira has been slipping since last month, weakened by falling global oil prices and low inflows of hard currency into Nigeria's debt and equity markets.Traders said the NNPC's dollar sales brought a temporary relief to the market, but the naira is seen depreciating again,...

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Nigerian Breweries to merge with Consolidated

Nigerian Breweries (NB) said on Monday it won regulatory approval to merge its operations with rival Consolidated Breweries, majority owned by its parent firm Heineken.Heineken, the majority shareholder in Nigerian Breweries, acquired a controlling stake in Consolidated Breweries in 2005 and said it would seek approvals to merge both businesses to take advantage of Nigeria's growing market for beer and malt drinks.Nigerian Beweries, a unit of the world's third biggest brewer, said it has won Nigeria's Securities and Exchange Commission approval...

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Sierra Leone eyes tenfold power sector expansion

Sierra Leone is aiming to increase its power capacity tenfold by 2017, a plan the energy minister said should be driven by foreign investors despite the outbreak of Ebola and a history of bureaucratic difficulties. Sierra Leone has recorded strong economic growth rates in recent years as major mining projects came online, but the broader recovery from years of conflict during the 1990s has been slow and risks being derailed by an Ebola outbreak that has gripped the country. "We are open for business," Henry Macauley told a packed conference...

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Nigerian bonds seen steady

Nigerian bond yields eased marginally this week after the debt management office announced a cut in the amount of bonds it plans to raise this month. The debt office had announced plans to raise about 73.61 billion naira ($448 million) in bonds with maturities ranging between 3 years and 20 years at an auction next Wednesday, lower than the usual 100 billion naira offer. "We expect strong demand at the auction on Wednesday because of the low volume of bonds on offer. But we see yields settling around the prevailing market level," one dealer...

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Nigeria interbank rates stay flat for second consecutive week

Nigeria's interbank lending rates stayed flat for the second consecutive week at 10.37 percent on Friday, after the central bank paid off open market bills to boost liquidity, dealers said. The central bank repaid about 130 billion naira ($790.27 million) in matured OMO bills and injected around 70 billion naira in net credit from cash reserves. The market liquidity opened with a cash balance of around 550 billion naira surplus, marginally lower than 560 billion last Friday. The open buy-back rate was flat at 10.25 percent this week, 1.75 basis...

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Skye Bank signs Agreement for the purchase of Mainstreet Bank,

Skye Bank PLC has signed the Agreement for the purchase of 100 per cent shares of Mainstreet Bank from the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON). The Agreement was signed at the Lagos office of AMCON on Wednesday, October 8, 2014.The Bank's executive Management team led by the Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Timothy Oguntayo, signed on behalf of the Bank, while AMCON was represented by its executive Management.It wass also gathered that Skye Bank had paid the mandatory deposit of 20 per cent for the acquisition...

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Nigeria naira closes at 7-month low, despite cenbank intervention

* Stocks at 1-month low as funds exit * Benchmark 10-year bond down 27 basis point * Oil price worry investors holding Nigerian assetsNigeria's naira currency eased to a 7-month closing low against the U.S. dollar onWednesday, despite a central bank intervention to prop it up, as falling oil prices pushed investors out of domestic debt and equity markets, dealers said.The unit closed at 164.50 naira to the dollar, a level last seen on March 6, but down just 0.1 percent from the 164.35 naira it closed at on Friday. Financial...

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Nigeria bonds seen rising on concerns for naira

Yields on Nigerian bonds climbed this week by around 20 basis points across the board, caused by selling pressure from some offshore and local pensions. That trend is expected to continue next week. Traders said some investors were selling off their bond positions over concerns that the central bank could hike the benchmark interest rate to support the falling naira currency. The naira has been slipping for the past three weeks, weakened by declines in global oil prices and low inflows of hard currency into Nigeria's debt and equity markets. "The...

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Nigeria interbank rates ease as cenbank pays off matured T. bills

Nigeria's interbank lending rates eased marginally to an average of 10.37 percent on Friday, down from 10.50 percent last week, after the government paid off open market treasury bills and retired matured bonds, dealers said. The bank repaid about 308 billion naira ($1.88 billion) in matured open market bills, while the debt office retired 100 billion naira in matured bond this week, boosting liquidity and lowering the cost of borrowing among lenders. The market opened with a cash balance of around 516 billion naira made up of government budgetary...

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S.Africa's Nedbank to take 20 pct stake in Ecobank for $493 mln

Nedbank Group said on Thursday it will acquire a 20 percent stake in pan-African lender Ecobank for $493 million, ending months of speculation the South African bank would walk away from the deal over governance concerns. Nedbank, South Africa's fourth-largest lender, had a right to acquire the stake under the terms of a 2011 loan to Ecobank. But a crisis over corporate governance and the departure of Ecobank's chief executive in March raised questions about whether Nedbank would go through with the deal. Nedbank will pay $493.4 million in cash...

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