Nigeria Financial News

Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, who holds the position of Director-General at the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), has disclosed that blockchain technology will be employed for the generation and validation of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificates within Nigeria.

A decision by a bloc of West African nations to shut down their borders with Niger as a way of sanctioning its coup plotters is harming local businesses in northern Nigeria, where a cross-border economy has boomed for years

Binance continues to experience an increase in regulatory heat as the Federal Government of Nigeria is being urged by the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) to prohibit the activities of Binance within the nation.

(Reuters) -Bottler Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) HBC beat half-year profit expectations and lifted its annual revenue target on Wednesday, supported by strong sales and higher prices of its drinks.

Colombia in the quarter-finals. The Lionesses managed to secure their spot in the quarter-finals after a tense penalty shootout against Nigeria in the last-16 match. Despite the late-game sending off of Lauren James, the team emerged victorious. However, this red card has left them potentially shorthanded for the remainder of the tournament. Still, the European champions have consistently demonstrated remarkable determination and resilience in this competition, positioning themselves as strong contenders for victory leading up to this match. Colombia, on the other hand, has emerged as the unexpected revelation of the World Cup, reaching this stage for the first time in their history. Boasting a well-balanced combination of young talents and seasoned players, the South American team had already triumphed over Germany and South Korea, securing their place in the quarter-finals with a close victory against Jamaica in the last-16 round.

As the tournament progresses, top teams like the USA, Canada, and Germany remain strong contenders, setting the stage for exciting quarter-final matches later this week.

England's women's national football team, known as the Lionesses, secured their spot in the quarter-finals of the Women's World Cup with a tense penalty shootout victory against Nigeria in Brisbane. The triumph set them up for a quarter-final clash against one of the two surprising teams that have shown impressive progress in the tournament. Under the guidance of coach Sara Wiegman, England has emerged as one of the favorites to lift the trophy. Topping their group and witnessing the elimination of one of their main rivals, the US, in a penalty shootout against Sweden, has bolstered their confidence. However, the team is well aware that there's still a long journey ahead, and as England fans know, hope can be a double-edged sword. The Lionesses are determined to seize this opportunity, and the Women's World Cup holds the promise of an exciting and unpredictable path for the team from this point onward.

There are two matches to be played on August 7. Let’s have a look at both of them. England are coming to the Round of 16 with a spotless record in the group stages.

Associated Press analysis mentions the take of Nigeria's Senate on Saturday which urged its President to explore options other than military ones. Nigeria President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is the current chair of ECOWAS where decisions are taken by consensus with member states. Moreover, any military action against Niger is likely to create more chaos in the region, and two non-ECOWAS countries Algeria and Chad with strong militaries have warned against any military action against the Niger coup leader and have said any such action will be a “declaration of war" against them too.

Also read: Traces of explosives found on foreign grain ship, says Russia The four men exhausted their food supplies on the 10th day of the voyage and resorted to drinking seawater and their urine to survive, all while securing themselves with a makeshift net to avoid falling into the deep waters below, where they spotted large marine creatures like whales and sharks. After enduring their ordeal, Brazilian Federal Police finally rescued the desperate group at the port of Vitória in southeastern Brazil. Two of the stowaways chose to return to Nigeria upon their request, while Yeye and another stowaway, Roman Ebimene Friday, 35, applied for asylum in Brazil, seeking compassion from the Brazilian government, as reported by Reuters.

Emtech Solutions has raised $4 million as a part of a fresh funding round led by Matrix Partners India. The round also saw participation by global investors, including BTN, VestedWorld, Equity Alliance and Lofty Inc. The US-based company said it would use the fresh funds to continue developing its products and infrastructure stack.

India mobile average revenue per user (ARPU) reported by Bharti Airtel for the fiscal first quarter has been aided by better subscriber mix with more postpaid customers added in the quarter, and the full impact of the entry level tariff interventions taken by the telco from November 2022 to March 2023, analysts said. Airtel’s ARPU for the quarter at Rs 200 beat street estimates of Rs 197, indicating that its premiumisation strategy is being executed effectively, they added. “Bharti’s 1Q performance is yet another indicator of its strong execution backed by an effective premiumisation strategy and cost control, that is yielding results in the form of market share gains, robust FCF (free cash flow) generation, and B/S (balance sheet) deleveraging, notwithstanding high ongoing capex,” analysts from Citi said.

Sun Pharma on Thursday reported a 2% year-on-year (YoY) drop in net profit to Rs 2023 crore in Q1FY24 due to exceptional items worth Rs 323 crore. The company reported a net profit of Rs 2061 crore during the corresponding quarter of the same period. Revenue rose 10.7% YoY to Rs 11,785 crore in Q1FY24.

Airtel’s consolidated net profit for the fiscal first quarter rose around a modest 0.3% from a year earlier, supported by strong 4G user additions and data consumption growth, despite a currency devaluation in Nigeria. But net profit fell over 46% sequentially to Rs 1,612 crore, stung by losses suffered by Airtel’s Africa unit in the April-June period due to the Nigerian currency devaluation.

Naveen Kulkarni, CIO, Axis Securities, says “the exceptional losses in Bharti Airtel’s African business due to devaluation of the Nigerian currency was not completely unexpected as analysts were expecting something on the lines that there will be a significant impact on their transnational effect on the Africa revenues.”What is your first take on Bharti Airtel numbers? There has been an exceptional loss on the back of Nigerian currency devaluation. Were the analysts factoring in this sort of an exceptional loss and what is your first take on the numbers?The exceptional part, of course. is a difficult aspect to model but more or less I would say that we were expecting something on these lines that there will be a significant impact on their transnational effect on the Africa revenues.

The fate of Group H will be determined on August 3. Both matches will be played on August 3 at 3:30 PM (India time). The match against South Korea is crucial for Germany, two-time World Cup champions.

Bharti Airtel is projected to post strong results for the first quarter, compared with the same period a year ago. However, sequential earnings growth may be limited, impacted by foreign exchange losses and increased taxes. During the quarter, revenue from operations is expected to grow by an industry-leading 11% year-on-year, according to an average estimate from six analysts.

Binance has declined to comment on a media report that CEO Changpeng Zhao almost shuttered the crypto trading platform's arm in the United States in an effort to protect its global company.

Oil prices rose more than 1% on Wednesday, trading near their highest since April, after industry data showed a much steeper-than-expected draw last week in crude oil inventories in the U.S., the world's biggest fuel consumer.Brent crude futures for October rose 92 cents, or 1.1%, to $85.83 a barrel by 0001 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 84 cents, or 1.03%, to $82.21 a barrel. Both benchmarks settled lower on Tuesday, breaking a three day streak of gains.

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Nigeria (SEC) issued a warning for local investors against using one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges, Binance. It refers to the previous circular, issued against the fraudulent company, which had been illegally using Binance brand. 

US Republican Congressman George Santos attempted to set up a crypto-related investment deal with a donor during an election campaign in 2020, according to a recent New York Times report.