Goddy Ikeh
The Nigerian Exchange sustained its bullish momentum on Thursday as investors recorded a gain of N406bn, pushing the market capitalisation to N84.3tn.
Ghana’s Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, has said Ghana recorded a primary fiscal surplus of 11.1 per cent of GDP, exceeding the government’s 2025 mid-year target of 0.4 per cent,
The World Bank has pledged continued support to the 90,000k fibre-optic cable project being laid across Nigeria.
The World Bank’s Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer, Anshula Kant, who made the pledge in Abuja on Wednesday during a meeting with President Bola Tinubu, said that the bank was willing to support Nigeria’s efforts to improve its telecommunication services.
Kant said that the World Bank was also supportive of Nigeria’s macroeconomic reforms being implemented under President Tinubu’s leadership.
“One of the biggest forthcoming projects we are partnering on is in the digital space, providing broadband access across the country.
“I congratulate the President for embarking on such ambitious macroeconomic reforms and staying the course. These are not easy, but there are already showing strong results,” Kant said.
Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, who was also at the meeting, described the fibre optic cable initiative as one of the largest of its kind globally.
He said that the funding of the fibre optic project was structured through sustainable and commercially viable financing model.
“It is self-financing and structured to ensure the users of the infrastructure will pay for its services, making it highly viable,” he said.
The minister commended the World Bank for supporting the project.
In his remarks, Nigeria’s Minister of Telecommunications and Digital Economy, said that the fibre project would cross across the country to connect every home, office, school and hospital with access to fibre-based broadband.
“We’re laying 90,000km of fibre across Nigeria with rings across geopolitical zones and full state coverage. It is about solving connectivity once and for all,” he said.
The minister said that the project was being implemented through a special purpose vehicle with funding support from the World Bank and private investors.
GIK/APA
The African Development Bank and Casablanca Finance City (CFC), Africa’s leading financial centre, have jointly organized a high-level strategic dialogue in Casablanca to accelerate private sector engagement in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Moody’s has upgraded the outlook on Ecobank Transnational Incorporated’s long-term issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings to stable from negative.
The President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has raised concerns over rising logistics and regulatory bottlenecks stifling its competitiveness, disclosing that port-related charges have made it more expensive for oil marketers to lift products from its Lekki-based refinery than from offshore storage depots in neighbouring countries like Togo.
Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service, has recorded a significant revenue surge in the first half of 2025, collecting a total of N14.27tn, representing a 43 per cent growth compared to the same period in 2024.
The Nigerian Exchange Limited closed Wednesday’s trading session on a flat note, gaining N67bn in market capitalisation amid mixed sentiment across key sectors.
The Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr. Emomotimi Agama, says that the Commission is committed to fostering innovation in the Nigerian capital market through emerging technologies such as blockchain and quantum computing, while ensuring investor protection remains a priority.
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Olayemi Cardoso, has announced that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the CBN has resolved to retain the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at 27.50%.