Business
NGX positions Dangote Refinery IPO as pan-African investment opportunity
The Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX Group) says the anticipated Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals is being positioned as an African investment opportunity.
Chairman of NGX Group, Umaru Kwairanga, disclosed this at the London Africa Summit on Friday, which focused on strengthening business and investment ties.
Mr Kwairanga, in a statement on Saturday, said NGX had engaged stock exchanges across Africa to broaden participation in the planned offer and deepen regional capital market integration.
“We want to consider the Dangote Refinery offer as an African offer and not a Nigerian offer.
“That is why we invited stock exchanges from across the continent to Lagos and took them to the refinery to see what has been built,” he said.
He said representatives from Kenya, Ghana, South Africa and other African countries visited the refinery to assess its operations and investment potential.
According to him, investors increasingly seek tangible evidence and growth prospects before committing capital.
“Investors are not looking for stories. Investors are looking for evidence, prospects and projections, and that is what we are bringing from Africa,” he said.
Mr Kwairanga described Africa as one of the world’s most attractive investment destinations, citing its youthful population and expanding economic opportunities.
He noted that the Nigerian equities market delivered returns of more than 50 per cent in the first five months of the year.
“There are a lot of opportunities. With technology, investors can participate from anywhere in the world, including from the comfort of their homes,” he said.
Mr Kwairanga also highlighted the longstanding partnership between the Nigerian and London capital markets.
He described the relationship with the London Stock Exchange as instrumental in attracting global capital to Nigeria.
He said NGX had invested heavily in technology and market infrastructure to support efficient capital raising and improve market operations.
According to him, more than N4 trillion raised through recent bank recapitalisation exercises was facilitated by the exchange’s technology platforms.
Mr Kwairanga said NGX had undertaken international roadshows across the United States, Brazil, China and the United Kingdom.
READ ALSO: Dangote refinery raises processing capacity to 700,000 barrels per day
He said the engagements were aimed at showcasing investment opportunities and strengthening investor confidence in Nigeria.
He added that recent reforms, including migration to a T+1 settlement cycle and extended trading hours, aligned the market with global best practices.
“We are bringing opportunities, growth and scale from Africa, while London is bringing global capital, international experience and investment depth.
“When these are combined, they create the confidence investors need to commit capital to the continent,” he said.
Mr Kwairanga expressed optimism that stronger collaboration between African exchanges and international financial centres would increase capital inflows.
He said the partnerships would also support economic growth and deepen capital market development across the continent.
(NAN)
Composite insurance underwriter Lasaco Assurance has turned the corner on the N731.5 million half-year loss it logged in the first six months of last year, which heralded its first annual loss in thirteen years during the financial year 2025.
The insurer, in the last mile of a recapitalisation deadline in the Nigerian insurance industry that expires this month, recorded N384.9 million in the year to June, compared with a year ago, according to its latest corporate report published Friday.
Its return to profitability owed less to revenue growth than to cost-cutting. Insurance revenue, its core income source, retreated by 3.2 per cent from the half-year 2025 level to N16.3 billion.
That happened following a slide in the cash its general business insurance contract brings to the pool.
Lasaco Insurance cut back insurance service expenses by 17 per cent, and it also reduced net expenses from reinsurance contracts by 11.4 per cent; both were key factors that drove insurance service results to N3.1 billion from N1.1 billion a year ago.
Investment result was less impressive, dropping 13.4 per cent to N1.6 billion, owing to a decline in interest revenue calculated using the effective interest method.
The financial services company earned less in interest terms from fixed deposits and much less from bonds during the period.
It incurred a net foreign exchange loss of N67.9 million, compared with the N58.1 million gain recorded in the same period last year, hurting net investment results.
One other dark spot in the broadly strong result was a plunge in other operating income to N33.3 million from N246.1 million. Operating expenses, up by 9.2 per cent, rose to N4.2 billion from N3.8 billion.
Profit before tax stood at N436.2 million, compared to a pre-tax profit of N518.1 million one year prior, while post-tax profit came to N384.9 million, relative to a net loss of N731.5 million in the corresponding period of last year.
ALSO READ: Lasaco Assurance Plc appoints new managing director
Nigeria’s latest round of insurance industry recapitalisation, which concludes this month, requires life insurance businesses to scale up their minimum paid-up capital from N2 billion to N10 billion and non-life insurers from N3 billion to N15 billion.
Composite insurance firms have also been set a minimum threshold of N25 billion, up from N5 billion.
From its recently concluded rights issue, the underwriter raised N19.3 billion, which it said has passed capital verification with the National Insurance Commission and has received confirmation of admissibility from the market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission.
NGX Insurance Index, the equity index that tracks the performance of Nigeria’s most capitalised and liquid insurance stocks, has been up by 23.8 per cent since President Bola Tinubu signed the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act on 4th August 2025.
BY NKECHI BAECHE-ESEZOBOR—The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), on Friday debunked reports in the media allegedly issued by the management of Niger Insurance Plc, describing it as false, misleading and intended to deceive the public.
According to the commission,the report which was published by various media organizations lon July 15, 2026, misrepresented the legal status of Niger Insurance Plc, whose operating licence was revoked in 2022.
The commission disclosed this in a statement made aviation to BusinessTodayNG that it remains the only Federal Government agency established by law and vested with the exclusive statutory powers to license, regulate, and cancel the licence of any insurance institution in Nigeria.
It said due to the insolvent state of affairs of Niger Insurance and its persistent inability to pay verified insurance claims, NAICOM, in the exercise of its statutory mandate to protect policyholders, cancelled the its licence in 2022. Consequently, Otunba Sanya Ogunkuade, Esq. was appointed by NAICOM as the Receiver/Liquidator of the Company.
NAICOM added that “Following the cancellation of the licence, some former directors of the Company instituted a suit at the Federal High Court in 2022, purposely to challenge the cancellation of the Company’s licence and the appointment of the Receiver/Liquidator.
“The suit was struck out by the Federal High Court on 31 January 2023 on the grounds that the Plaintiffs lacked the power to institute the suit after the appointment of the Receiver/Liquidator, whose appointment had been duly registered by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
“The decision of the Federal High Court validated the cancellation of the Company’s licence and the appointment of the Receiver. An appeal by the Plaintiffs to the Court of Appeal by the Plaintiffs in the above suit was also struck out on 27th February 2025 by the Court of Appeal. A further appeal by the Plaintiffs to the Supreme Court is still pending
It added that an appeal against the judgment was also dismissed by the Court of Appeal on February 27, 2025, while a further appeal remains pending before the Supreme Court.
NAICOM noted that another suit filed by the same group of former directors resulted in a judgment delivered by the Federal High Court on June 5, 2026.
However, the Commission said the judgment is already being challenged at the Court of Appeal, where applications for a stay of execution have also been filed by both NAICOM and the Receiver/Liquidator.
The regulator maintained that the June 2026 judgment cannot override the earlier Court of Appeal decision, which upheld the cancellation of Niger Insurance’s licence.
The Commission also disclosed that some former directors whose names appeared as plaintiffs in the latest suit had written to disclaim any knowledge of the action, alleging that their names were used without their consent.
It further revealed that it has petitioned the Inspector-General of Police over what it described as the unlawful activities of individuals allegedly parading themselves as the management of Niger Insurance Plc.
According to the Commission, the petition seeks to prevent attempts to interfere with or dispose of the company’s assets, which are meant to satisfy legitimate insurance claims and other obligations.
The Commission reiterated that Niger Insurance Plc remains prohibited from underwriting new insurance business and that its affairs continue to be managed exclusively by the Receiver/Liquidator.
The commission also advised the general public to distance themselves from any person or group of persons purporting to act for or on behalf of the Company, other than the lawfully appointed Receiver/Liquidator
While reassuring that the company’s licence remains revoked, its former board and management remain dissolved, and the Receiver/Liquidator will continue to administer the company’s assets pending the final winding-up of its affairs.
The post NAICOM Dismisses Niger Insurance Claims, Says Company’s Licence Remains Revoked appeared first on Business Today NG.
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