Five things to know to start your Friday

FG plans to raise N1.8tn from the bond market in Q1

According to the Debt Management Office, the Federal Government intends to collect N1.8 trillion from the bond market in early 2025.

The government will release these bonds through three monthly auctions in January, February, and March 2025. Some will be new bonds, while others will be re-opened bonds.

It needs the money to help cover the expected budget shortfall of N13.08 trillion in 2025. This deficit represents 3.87 per cent of the country’s GDP.

Fola Adeola sold nearly N11bn in Aradel shares

Fola Adeola, who co-founded Guaranty Trust Bank, has sold a large number of shares in Aradel Holdings, an energy company. The sale was worth N10.9 billion and involved 18,250,000 shares.

According to documents filed with the Nigeria Exchange Limited, the sale happened on December 31st, 2024, at N598.50 each.

Aradel Holdings is a comprehensive energy company that works across several areas of the energy sector. These include upstream (finding and producing oil and gas), midstream (processing and storing), downstream (delivering to customers), power generation, and renewable energy.

Before this sale, Adeola owned more than five per cent of the company.

Oil prices are heading for a fourth weekly gain

Oil prices went up on Friday and are likely to rise for the fourth week in a row. This increase comes from two main concerns: new U.S. sanctions against Russian oil companies and hints from a Federal Reserve official about possible cuts to interest rates.

By early trading (02:13 WAT), Brent crude futures increased by 13 pence (0.2%) to reach $81.42 per barrel, though they had fallen by 0.9% the day before. The U.S. oil price, known as West Texas Intermediate (WTI), rose by 27 pence (0.3%) to $78.95 per barrel, following a 1.7% drop on Thursday.

Both types of oil saw their prices fall on Thursday when Yemen’s Houthi militia suggested they would stop attacking ships in the Red Sea. However, oil prices have still grown considerably since the start of the year, with Brent up by 9% and WTI rising by 10%.

Read Also: Nigeria sees opportunities in Trump’s pro-oil stance to grow petroleum industry

Israel is ready to approve Gaza ceasefire

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced on Friday that Israel’s cabinet will meet to give final approval to an agreement with Hamas. This deal would bring about a ceasefire in Gaza and lead to the release of hostages.

Meanwhile, Israeli warplanes continued their intense bombing of Gaza. Palestinian authorities reported that at least 86 people died on Thursday, just after the announcement of the truce.

The cabinet meetings, which were supposed to take place on Thursday, were delayed due to disagreements among ministers. Israel blamed Hamas for the delay.

However, early on Friday, Netanyahu’s office said the deal was close to approval. “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was informed by the negotiating team that agreements have been reached on a deal to release the hostages,” according to their statement.

The process will involve two meetings: first, the security cabinet will meet, followed by a full cabinet meeting to approve the deal. However, it’s not yet clear whether these meetings will happen on Friday or Saturday, or if this might delay the planned Sunday start of the ceasefire.

The World Bank projected 3.5% GDP growth for Nigeria this year

The World Bank predicted Nigeria’s economy will grow by 3.5 per cent in 2025, followed by a slight increase to 3.7 per cent in 2026. These figures come from their latest Global Economic Prospects report, which suggests a modest improvement for Nigeria despite ongoing economic challenges worldwide.

The report shows that Nigeria’s economy performed well in 2024, growing by an estimated 3.3 per cent. This growth came mainly from strong performance in the services sector, particularly in banking and telecommunications.

In the report’s exact words: “In Nigeria, growth increased to an estimated 3.3 per cent in 2024, mainly driven by services sector activity, particularly in financial and telecommunication services.”

The report also noted that “Macroeconomic and fiscal reforms helped improve business confidence. In response to rising inflation and a weak naira, the central bank tightened monetary policy.”

It further stated: “Meanwhile, the fiscal deficit narrowed due to a surge in revenues driven by the elimination of the implicit foreign exchange subsidy, following the unification of the exchange rate and improved revenue administration.”