Business

Foreign institutional investors returned to Nigerian equities on Monday as Nigeria officially regained its FTSE Russell Frontier Market status, with major banking stocks attracting some of the strongest trading activity.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is moving to tighten regulation of Nigeria’s online forex and contracts-for-differences market, with proposed higher capital requirements, stricter operating standards and stronger safeguards for customers’ funds.

Nigeria has officially returned to FTSE Russell’s Frontier Market classification, effective from the opening of trading on September 21, ending a three-year period in which the country was classified as Unclassified.

Paramount Skydance’s planned acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery has moved closer to completion after the company reached a settlement with California and 11 other US states.

Nigeria’s equities market (NGX) started the week on a positive note on Monday, with the market capitalisation rising by N228bn to close at N162.385tn as the benchmark All-Share Index crossed the 250,000 level.

Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE plans to pursue a listing on the New York Stock Exchange after completing the expansion of its Lagos refinery to 1.4 million barrels per day by the first quarter of 2029.

Oliver Alawuba, the Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of UBA, made the call in Abuja during the celebration of Brazil’s National Day, hosted by the Embassy of the Federative Republic of Brazil in Nigeria.

Credit to Nigeria’s private sector rose for the third consecutive month in August 2026, reaching ₦84.55 trillion, according to the latest data from the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Access Bank has officially opened applications for Season 8 of its flagship Womenpreneur Pitch-a-ton initiative, inviting female founders across Nigeria to compete for mini-MBA certifications, business grants, and pan-African market exposure.

The move follows the sharp reversal in Unitree Robotics shares after the company’s Shanghai debut last month. Its stock surged more than fivefold on its first day of trading before falling 55% from its peak.