Five things to know to start your day

MTN to boost stock market liquidity by N375bn

The move by the MTN Group to offer 14 per cent of its 78.8 per cent sshares in MTN Nigeria to Nigerians will boost its stock market liquidity by N375bn, analysis of data has shown.

The company recently said through its Group President and Chief Executive Officer, Ralph Mupita, that the group planned to sell14 per cent of MTN Nigeria to Nigerian investors.

Mupita had said, “MTN Nigeria, in which MTN Group has a 78.8 per cent stake, sought to have the largest retail shareholder base on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, where it has a market capitalisation of N3.4tn ($8.2bn).”

Read Also: Five things to know to start your day

Also, speaking on CNBC AFRICA, CEO, MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola, said, “In the short-medium term, MTN Group would like to sell about 14 per cent of its stake in MTN Nigeria, with the focus primarily on retail investors.

Bitcoin at lowest exchange supply in six months

The amount of bitcoin held on exchanges has been on a steady decline since mid-May, and at current level’s exchange supply is at its lowest since early January according to crypto analytics firm Santiment.

Santiment said, “The six-month low is a promising sign, as it generally will indicate that there is a decreased risk of more major BTC selloffs.”

Although exchange inflows began to spike in early May, a steep selloff followed after the middle of the month. With bitcoin selloff intensifying on May 19, culminating in a $1.2tn decline for the entire cryptocurrency market.

According to Cointelegraph, exchange flow data is an important metric for monitoring bitcoin’s price trajectory in the short to medium term. Net inflows often foretell a steep selloff as more investors transfer their holdings from cold wallets.

While bitcoin continues a downward trend, there is renewed confidence in the crypto asset with adoption in places like Latin America, and the anticipated shift in mining from China to other regions, breaking the China hold on the asset.

SEPLAT to host capital markets event at the London Stock Exchange

Seplat Energy Plc, a leading Nigerian energy company dual-listed on the Nigerian Exchange and London Stock Exchange will host a capital markets event at the London Stock Exchange in London for analysts and investors on Thursday 29th of July at 15:00 London Time.

According to a notice made available on the website of the Nigerian Exchange Group Limited (NGX), the session will focus on providing an update on corporate strategy and opportunities needed to drive Nigeria’s energy transition. The session will be facilitated by representatives of the company.

PSC defies ‘damning’ Salami Panel report, considers Magu for promotion

Ibrahim Magu, former acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), is being considered for promotion to the rank of assistant inspector-general (AIG) by the Police Service Commission (PSC).

Presidency is said to be worried about the “defiance” of PSC which may create the impression that Magu is being rewarded despite the damning report by a presidential panel on him.

Magu, who was promoted to commissioner of police in 2018, had been recommended for removal as EFCC boss by the Justice Ayo Salami panel, which also asked that he be prosecuted over allegations of abuse of office.

The panel had specifically recommended that Magu should be removed “for failing to properly account for N431,000,000.00 security votes/information fund released to the office of the Executive Chairman of EFCC between November 2015 and May 2020”.

Jeff Bezos steps down as Amazon CEO — 27 years after founding company

Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest person, has officially stepped down as the chief executive officer (CEO) of Amazon, a global online shopping platform.

Read Also: Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, to step aside as CEO this year

Bezos had announced in February that he would step down in the third quarter of this year, adding that he will focus his energies and attention on new products and early initiatives.

Checks on Amazon’s investor relations website shows that Andy Jassy, former CEO of Amazon Web Services – the company’s cloud platform, has been listed as the new president and CEO of the e-commerce giant.

Meanwhile, Bezos, who founded Amazon on July 5, 2021 (27 years ago), is now the executive chair on the retail firm’s board.