Latest news with #Lagos
Bloomberg
a day ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Nigeria MPC Member Sees ‘Undervalued' Naira Rallying This Year
The Nigerian naira is undervalued and expected to rally this year amid improvements in fiscal and monetary conditions, according to a member of the central bank's monetary policy committee. The currency is projected to 'appreciate to 1,450 naira per dollar by the end of 2025,' from 1,535.50 at present, Murtala Sagagi said after a May 20 committee meeting, the central bank said in statement published on its website. 'The value of the naira has been relatively stable even though it is still considered undervalued,' he said.
Forbes
2 days ago
- Health
- Forbes
Why $500 Million In U.S. Aid Cuts Threatens Global Black Motherhood
Bill Gates gives to a child a rotavirus vaccine in Ghana. Few issues in global health make the stakes clearer than childbirth and Black maternal health. When a U.S. rescission package cuts $500 million earmarked for USAID family planning and reproductive health programs, the results can be far reaching. It lands in packed maternity wards from Lagos to Gaborone, in supply rooms where oxytocin vials are already in short supply, and on the balance sheets of multinationals that depend on a stable, healthy workforce. How Reproductive Health Funding Cuts Create Medical Care Chaos According to Mihir Mankad, director of global health advocacy and policy at MSF USA, the rescission has particularly devastated the medical community abroad. 'Humanitarian and medical groups have been left scrambling to carry out lifesaving services without money, staff, or certainty about what comes next,' Mankad said. 'Doctors don't know what to tell their patients when they ask where they'll be able to continue their HIV or tuberculosis care.' The proposed rescission would claw back half a billion dollars entirely from family-planning and reproductive health accounts. No exemption shields safe delivery kits, contraceptives or the mentorship programs that empower local nurse midwives to become clinical leaders. According to Mankad, the cuts have created devastating consequences for the world's most vulnerable populations. 'The revocation of nearly $500 million for family planning and reproductive health services is particularly devastating, given that the US government previously provided more than 40 percent of global support in this area,' Mankad said. 'This decision crystallizes the significant service gaps that have emerged in the wake of the U.S.' abrupt withdrawal of funding for these critical programs in January.' Nurses give aid to a pregnant woman before delivering a baby at the maternity ward of the central ... More hospital in Freetown. Private philanthropy is scrambling to fill the void. The Gates‑backed Beginnings Fund, also $500 million, will target 10 African nations with the goal of improving the quality of care for 34 million mothers and their infants and saving the lives of 300,000 mothers and newborn babies by 2030. Matching dollars, however, is not the same as matching reach because one operates on a multiyear venture model, and the other has long underwritten national health budgets at scale. Maternal mortality remains worst where women of African descent predominate. The African region records 448 deaths per 100,000 live births, and even though progress has been made, it's been slower than desired. These statistics are not abstract. Each death severs family income streams, depresses local consumption, and deepens intergenerational poverty. For investors tracking frontier markets, the numbers should jolt. The United Nations Population Fund estimates that every dollar invested in modern contraception cuts pregnancy-related medical costs by $1.47. Put differently, the threatened rescission destroys a stream of avoided costs that would otherwise exceed the outlay itself. Add workforce participation gains and education dividends and the net present value climbs further and the operational risks are equally concrete. U.S. firms with African supply chains learned this during Ebola and COVID‑19. Procurement delays spiked when nursing staff fell ill or walked out in protest of unsafe conditions. If maternal deaths rise, skilled labor attrition will follow. The domestic aftermath of this is equally loud. Black women in the United States die in pregnancy at 49.5 per 100,000 live births, which is more than double the national average, according to the CDC. These parallel crises, domestic and global, should sound alarms in corporate risk management departments. Boardrooms should treat the rescission as a contingent liability because multinationals already report climate risk, but a reproductive health risk is its understudied sibling and is equally capable of causing a rupture in operations. Maternal deaths destabilize workforces by removing experienced employees, triggering absenteeism as families grieve, and creating labor shortages that cascade through global supply chains. Poor maternal health outcomes also trigger workforce attrition, supplier instability and market contraction, which are the same operational vulnerabilities that climate events create. Global Black maternal health sits at the intersection of public health, human capital and economic growth. Foreign assistance typically represents approximately only 1 percent of the US' federal budget but saves countless lives around the world. A half a billion dollars is budget dust on Capitol Hill, yet it equals the annual obstetric supply bill for dozens of third-world countries. To cut it is to leave the world's most vulnerable mothers paying the price for a political compromise they never made.
Bloomberg
2 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Top 2025 Nigeria Stock Beta Glass Plans Regional-Export Push
Beta Glass Plc, the best performer on Nigeria's bourse this year, plans to ramp up exports to earn hard currency, boost revenue and sustain investor confidence. The West African unit of Athens-based Frigoglass Group has seen its stock surge more than fivefold to 334 naira, outpacing the 28% gain in Nigeria's benchmark equities gauge over the same period.
Zawya
2 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
Nigeria: Credit Ratings reflect our strong financial position—Odu'a Investment boss
The Group Chairman of Odu'a Investment Company Limited (OICL), Chief Bimbo Ashiru, has described the recent upgrade of the company's corporate credit rating to 'Aa-' by Agusto & Co. as a reflection of the strong financial position, operational resilience, and sound governance structure it has consistently upheld. Ashiru, who made these remarks at the Ground-Breaking Ceremony of the redevelopment of Obafemi Awolowo House into Awolowo Technology Mall, in Lagos, believed the rating was also a testament to the confidence reposed in the company's strategic direction, and a reinforcement of its credibility before its stakeholders, partners, and the financial markets. The two-term Commissioner for Commerce and Industry in Ogun State also used the opportunity of the event to restate the Group's resolve at preserving its heritage and repositioning its assets for relevance and value in the current and future marketplace. According to him, the transformation and redevelopment of the 47-year-old Awolowo House into a five-storey ultra-modern technology mall, was one of the company's ways of aligning its legacy with the future, and ensuring that what was once iconic remains impactful. The OICL boss described the project as the outcome of the company's strategic shift from passive asset management to proactive, value-driven real estate investment, under the leadership of its flagship real estate subsidiary, Wemabod Limited. 'The Awolowo Tech Mall, when completed, will serve as a catalyst for commercial activities in the Ikeja Central Business District and a launchpad for youth innovation, business incubation, and technology-driven enterprise. It is, in every sense, a project that aligns with our investment philosophy—sustainable, inclusive, and impact-oriented,' he added. In his remarks at the event, the CEO, Wemabod Nigeria, Bashir Oladunni, explained that the redevelopment became imperative to enable the company to align with the urban infrastructure efforts of the Lagos State government, which, he noted, that continued to evolve. He added that with the new planning permissions and the repositioning of Ikeja Central Business District, the company, in partnership with El-Salem Nigeria Limited, would be transforming the historic site into a 21st-Century digital and commercial powerhouse. Bashir described the new structure, which would, more than double the commercial space from 4,800 sqm to approximately 9,000 sqm, as aligning with Wemabod's strategic direction to increase market share and contribute meaningfully to the state's economic development. Copyright © 2022 Nigerian Tribune Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Zawya
2 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
Nigerian banks face uncertainty over looming Eurobond maturities: IFR
A cliff-edge fall is approaching for bonds maturing in the next 18 months issued by Nigeria's banks, which have been heavily affected by a rapid depreciation of the naira and a subsequent weakening of their capital ratios. Banks' balance sheets have been materially affected, raising concerns over how and whether they can repay and refinance their upcoming bonds. From October 2025 through to November 2026, five Nigerian banks face a combined US$2.2bn in Eurobond payments for maturing or callable bonds. The securities in question are First Bank of Nigeria's US$350m 8.625% October 2025s, Ecobank's US$150m 7.125% February 2026s, Access Bank's US$500m 6.125% September 2026s, Access Bank's US$500m 9.125% Additional Tier 1 note callable in October 2026, Fidelity Bank's US$400m 7.625% October 2026s and United Bank of Africa's US$300m 6.75% November 2026s. According to LSEG data, since June 2023, the naira has depreciated around 70% against the US dollar, due to the country's reforms which included a liberalisation of the currency. 'The devaluation of the currency inflated foreign currency assets and risk-weighted assets in local currency terms, which put downward pressures on capital ratios,' said Tim Slater, director, banks, at Fitch Ratings. The macroeconomic backdrop has not helped the country's lenders either, with the Central Bank of Nigeria having tightened monetary conditions significantly through rate hikes and tools such as open market operations. Meanwhile, inflation is set to remain stubbornly high and falling oil prices have not been helpful either. 'The banking sector's exposure to the oil sector is significant at around 29% of gross loans as of December last year,' said Slater. 'This oil exposure has historically been a source of bad asset quality and solvency pressures during episodes of low oil prices and low oil production.' All of these issues have raised some concerns about how easily Nigeria's banks will meet their upcoming Eurobond payments, although these worries have become less acute over the past few months. 'Since the second half of last year, the currency has stabilised and we are starting to see the benefits of the currency liberalisation coming through for the banking sector, particularly in terms of foreign currency liquidity,' said Slater. 'This is timely considering the upcoming Eurobond maturities.' 'Over the past 12 months, the foreign-currency liquidity of Nigerian banks has improved significantly, with the banking sector returning to a net foreign asset position,' he added. Ecobank Nigeria's CAR woes Of the five Nigerian banks with upcoming maturities, the biggest concern lies with Ecobank Nigeria, which has been in breach of its capital adequacy ratio since last year. The breach of its CAR requirement led S&P and Fitch to downgrade Ecobank Nigeria to CCC from B– and CCC+, respectively, deep into junk status. Ecobank Nigeria is more sensitive to the devaluation of the naira against the US dollar due to its balance sheet being more dollarised. The bank also has a significantly higher exposure to oil and gas compared to other banks in Nigeria. The bank recently completed a tender offer to buy back half of its previously outstanding US$300m 7.125% February 2026 bond while removing a covenant on the bond relating to the bank's CAR. This has mitigated concerns for the bank meeting its maturity payment. 'Ecobank Nigeria was the one that made me worried when it came to refinancing,' said Damilola Olupona, an Africa fixed income analyst at StoneX, based in Nigeria. ' We thought it could even default on its 2026 bond. Outside of this, we have no worries. On the macro front, the landscape has improved significantly in terms of FX liquidity in Nigeria. This improved liquidity feeds into the banks making them able to meet their debt obligations.' Union Bank of Nigeria is also in breach of its 10% minimum CAR requirement. However, the bank does not have any outstanding Eurobonds. To refi or not? While concerns have eased on Nigerian banks in meeting their upcoming maturities, the attention has turned to whether they will be able to access the market to refinance these bonds. 'The big question is how many of the bank will come back to the market,' said Olupona. Slater said: 'The vast majority of Nigerian banks have enough cash on their balance sheets to repay those bonds without relying on refinancing them'. Nevertheless, he said banks might still look to refinance depending on market conditions closer to the time of maturity. One of the banks most likely to refinance is Access Bank, which has the senior US$500m September 2026s and US$500m of AT1 callable October 2026. Given the combined US$1bn due in such a short space of time, the bank might look to lean on refinancing one of these bonds to reduce the impact on its balance sheet, according to market participants. The rest of the banks will likely adopt a wait and see approach to see if levels for refinancing reach sustainable levels. 'At today's rates, the banks would have to refinance at around 9.25%–9.5% but Nigeria's sovereign yield curve is contracting at the five-year point so these banks could potentially price much lower in the near future,' said Samuel Sule, chief executive officer at Renaissance Capital Africa, based in Nigeria. Having a number of banks reenter the market over a similar timeframe might be difficult. 'There has to be synchronised market access to enable a clear, sustainable path for refinancing,' said Sule. 'This has been the case historically'.
