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Nigeria’s Access Bank says its N365bn capital raise to be fully digital

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Access Holdings, which is the parent company of Nigeria’s Access Bank, has revealed that its N365bn rights issue will be done entirely digitally.

In a notice sent to the Nigerian Exchange Limited, the holding company said the bank wanted to raise N365bn through a rights issue to strengthen its capital base, drive growth, and be ready to take advantage of new possibilities in the financial sector.

The bank also planned to raise $1.5bn in capital through the sale of stock, quasi-equity, and debt. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, the head of the Holdco, told reporters at the second Annual General Meeting that digital technology would play an interesting role in the bank’s efforts to raise capital.

He said, “If you remember the 2004 capital raising, we went around Nigeria. It led to the democratisation of our capital market, others followed suit. The number of shareholders of banks and the capital market increased as a result of that effort.

“This time around, we have digital technology that we are going to deploy fully. There have been public offers that have leveraged digital technology but using Access Bank’s capacity, the NGX’s digital capacity, we are going to do some interesting things. This rights issue, we have shareholders and each of them would be able to make that investment decision just by touching their phones.  That way, the issue of dilution and concerns that they may have about participation would be dealt with.”

Aig-Imoukhuede told shareholders about the time in 2004 when the banking group raised money and stressed that they were up to the job.

He said, “We’re moving on to the rights issue resolution. At this junction, I think we’ll take one minute to crave your indulgence as I appreciate you all for the support you have given our predecessor company,  Access Bank, and of course now Access Holdings.

“We have sought to raise capital. The amount that we mention today is high and significant and the capital-raising effort that we are pursuing is a significant step into the future. I would like to remind shareholders that between 2004 and 2007, our team when I was CEO raised $2bn of common equity capital. Therefore, come 2024, Access Bank  is much older, much wiser, much stronger, larger and significantly respected by the capital market, really raising over N300bn is not much of a challenge.”

There are more than 700 branches and service sites for Access Bank on three continents. The company does business in 20 countries and has more than 65 million users. Over 500,000 people save money at FTB, and more than 42,000 people take money from them. More than 40% of these people are women.

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South Africa: Petrol, diesel prices to rise on Wednesday. Here’s why

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Following an increase in the price of oil due to the crisis between Iran and Israel, petrol and diesel prices will be raised in South Africa on Wednesday.

The cost of unleaded petrol will go up by 25 cents per gallon for both 93 and 95. Depending on the sulphur concentration, diesel’s wholesale price will increase by either 20 or 21 cents per litre.

Illuminating paraffin’s wholesale price will increase by 21 cents per litre, and the maximum retail price of LP gas will rise by 36 cents per kilogramme.

Fuel prices dropped to their lowest points since February 2022, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine disrupted supply chains and limited the import of Russian crude oil, sending oil prices to multi-year highs. This was at the beginning of October.

The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources stated on Monday that the average price of Brent Crude oil rose from $72.82 per barrel to $75.07 over the last month, following several months of pressure on the price of oil.

“The main contributing factor is the continued conflict in the Middle East and the stand-off between Iran and Israel,” the department said in a statement.

Investors are worried that an Israeli strike on Iran’s oil infrastructure will not only remove Iranian crude from the market but also incite a larger confrontation including other oil exporters in the region.

Since oil is priced in dollars, the rand exchange rate also affects fuel prices in South Africa.

According to the department, the rand averaged R17.53/$ over the previous month, down from R17.68 in September. However, this was insufficient to offset the rising price of oil.

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Fitch upgrades Egypt’s credit rating to ‘B’

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Fitch, a credit rating agency has upgraded Egypt’s rating from “B-” to “B” citing tighter monetary circumstances and the country’s improved financial standing thanks to a number of foreign investments and assistance.

“Egypt’s external finances have been bolstered… FX buffers have recovered, and we have somewhat greater confidence that the more flexible exchange rate policy will prove more durable than in the past,” Fitch said, as it also assigned Egypt a stable outlook.

As it attempts to recover from a protracted economic crisis that has resulted in record inflation, a growing debt load, and significant currency devaluations over the last two years, the North African country has been looking for significant investments.

In order to stabilise its economy, Egypt obtained a $8 billion loan package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) this year, along with a $35 billion real estate investment package from Abu Dhabi and about $1 billion from the EU.

The IMF insisted that the loan amount was suitable, despite Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s suggestion last month that his government should reevaluate the agreement in light of the country’s growing regional concerns.

Fitch also cautioned on Friday that Egypt faces a significant risk from a further escalation of the regional conflict.

Yemen’s Houthi attacks on Red Sea ships have caused trade to be rerouted from the Suez Canal, which has negatively impacted tourism and Egypt’s revenue stream. There are also dangers associated with the larger Middle East conflict.

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