The demand for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) has decreased by almost 35%, according to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA). Farouk Ahmed, the chief executive officer of the NMDPRA, claims that the daily PMS truck out has decreased drastically from 66 million liters per day in May to roughly 47 million liters per day. The Authority encouraged all marketing companies interested in importing PMS to obtain licenses to import petroleum products after President Ahmed Tinubu announced the removal of subsidies on May 29 of this year. According to Ahmed, 56 oil marketing companies have so far obtained…
Author: Ken Ibenne
NITDA Estimates That Digitized MSMEs Might Contribute $53 Billion To Nigeria’s GDP The Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency NITDA , Kashifu Inuwa, stated that the digitization of MSMEs will increase revenue by 26% and reduce operating costs by 22%, and contribute $53 billion to the Nigerian economy. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for a significant portion of businesses and economic growth. Inuwa made this statement during the opening remarks of the TechMyBiz Pitch-A-Thon event in Lagos, which was sponsored by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany and the Digital Transformation Center Nigeria…
Agreements have been reached between Standard Chartered Bank and Access Bank Plc for the sale of Standard Chartered’s ownership interests in its subsidiaries in Tanzania, Angola, Cameroon, The Gambia, and Sierra Leone. According to the release, every transaction is still subject to approval by the relevant local regulators and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Senior personnel from both banks attended today’s announcement in Standard Chartered’s London headquarters, which was also where Sunil Kaushal, Regional CEO of Standard Chartered for Africa and the Middle East, and Roosevelt Ogbonna, Group Managing Director of Access Bank, signed it. According to Standard Chartered,…
Adewale Adeniyi, the acting comptroller general of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), announced that he would start a conversation with the Republic of Benin Customs Administration to talk about border security, cross-border importation, and the application of technological solutions to complex border problems. This was said by Adeniyi on Tuesday during a private visit to offer congratulations to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on his selection as the ECOWAS Chairman. Adeniyi was upbeat about the prospects for regional integration, cooperation, border security, and coordinated monetary frameworks under Tinubu’s leadership of ECOWAS. He claimed that one of the topics discussed with the…
Stakeholders at the Nigeria Employee Summit 2023 repeatedly emphasized the necessity for the government to give exporters in the nation fiscal incentives so they may compete internationally. They claim that when compared to nations like Kenya and South Africa, the cost of doing business in Nigeria is relatively expensive. They assert that the advantages offered will allow exporters to produce and sell favorably on the international market. Speaking on the sidelines of the occasion, Odiri Erewa-Meggisson, Acting Chairman of the Manufacturing Association of Nigeria Exporters Group, said: “It is important that the incentives given to exporters go into the budget…
As approving it would amount to aiding the billionaire in cash diversion, Ecobank Nigeria Limited has written to FBN Holdings Plc, the parent company of First Bank of Nigeria Limited, asking it to halt action on the reportedly purchased 4.77 billion shares by Dr. Oba Otudeko, Chairman of Honeywell Group. In a notice posted last week on the Nigerian Exchange Limited, the group stated that Honeywell had purchased a total of 4,770,269,843 units of FBN Holdings shares through its affiliate, Barbican Capital Limited. With the acquisition, the company’s ownership in the flagship bank increased to 13.3%, making it the dominant…
Data tracking websites said on Monday that the Threads app, which Instagram released as a competitor to Twitter, has racked up more than 100 million users in less than five days, shattering the previous record-holder for the fastest-growing consumer app, ChatGPT, an AI tool. Instagram itself took two and a half years to achieve that threshold following its 2010 inception, while ChatGPT took two months and the video-sharing service TikTok took nine months. Late on Wednesday, Threads went live on Apple and Android app stores in 100 different countries. However, it is not yet available in Europe since parent company…
Kylian Mbappe, the super striker for France, has referred to Paris St-Germain as “divisive” even as questions over his future with the French champions grow. The 24-year-old’s PSG contract expires in 2024, and he made the remarks to the magazine France Football. The all-time leading scorer for PSG has informed the team he won’t sign a new contract. “I think that playing for PSG doesn’t help much because it’s a divisive team, a divisive club,” Mbappe revealed in an Interview. When Mbappe’s contract ends next summer, Paris St. Germain chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi stated he would prevent him from leaving on…
David De Gea has announced that this summer will be his last with Manchester United, where he has spent the last 12 years. The 32-year-old revealed he’s now ready to take on a new challenge in an emotional message on social media. And it ends an illustrious tenure at Old Trafford after joining from Atletico Madrid back in 2011. De Gea’s contract at United had already been renewed when it came to expiring earlier in the month. The Red Devils ultimately made the decision to cancel the game at the end of June, though. De Gea has since made it…
Yesterday, Comptroller Saidu Abba Yusuf, the Area Controller of the Port Terminal Multiservices Limited (PTML) Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), guided the command to a record-breaking accomplishment of vehicle clearance from customs control in under three hours. The NCS announced at the time that N101 billion in total money had been received between January and June 2023. Muhammad Yakubu, the Chief Superintendent of Customs, hailed the prompt clearance of imported automobiles through PTML as the result of comprehensive compliance including NCS personnel and all port users, according to a statement issued by the Public Relations Officer of PTML…
Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), has encouraged the G20 countries to remove export restrictions on food, feed, and fertilizers since they jeopardize the predictable flow of food across global markets and increase price volatility. The WTO Trade Monitoring Report on G20 trade measures was discussed on the call. She noted that at a time when food affordability continues to be a significant worldwide challenge, particularly for developing countries, this is causing the international trade organisation a great deal of anxiety. Remember that between mid-October 2022 and mid-May 2023, G20 economies significantly more trade-facilitating than trade-restrictive…
Luis Enrique, a former manager of Barcelona and Spain, has been named the head coach of Paris St-Germain. The Spaniard takes over for Christophe Galtier, who was fired despite leading the team to the Ligue 1 championship in just one season. Before making Christophe Galtier’s firing official at the beginning of the week, PSG ultimately secured a contract termination deal with him and had Luis Enrique ready to take over. Since being fired by Spain after their unexpected round of 16 World Cup defeat at the hands of Morocco, the Spaniard had been jobless. However, PSG has concluded he is…
The World Bank and World Trade Organization (WTO) have urged progress in trade negotiations for emerging markets like Nigeria. They made this statement in the quarterly report titled “Trade in Services for Development,” which was jointly released on Monday during a virtual meeting that The Guardian was present for. They said that the development will enable emerging nations to earn more from increased trade and investments in the service sector. They pointed out that trade, economic diversification, and greater integration offer important avenues for pursuing more expansive developmental goals. Over the past two decades, the growth of services exports from…
Transactions on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) reopened in a positive mood yesterday as investor wealth increased by N534 billion following Conoil and 66 stocks’ significant price gains. The result was that the All Share Index (ASI) increased by 980.97 points, or 1.61 percent, to close at 61,949.24 points. Market value increased by N534 billion to N33.732 trillion at the close. Gains in medium- and large-capitalised stocks, including Conoil, MTN Nigeria Communications (MTNN), MRS Oil Nigeria, Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO), and NASCON Allied Industries, had an impact on the recovery. United Capital Plc analysts said this week: ” “we…
Croatian midfielder Marcelo Brozovic has been signed by Saudi Arabian team Al-Nassr from Inter Milan for a reputed 18 million euros. Barcelona, the La Liga winners, expressed interest in Brozovic, 30, but the Catalan club declined to match Al-Nassr’s bid. The midfielder began the 1-0 loss of Manchester City to Inter in the June Champions League final. Since his original loan from Dinamo Zagreb to San Siro in 2015, he has spent the previous eight years in Italy. Brozovic played in 330 games during that time and scored 31 goals while winning the Coppa Italia twice and the Serie A…
The Lagos Commodities and Futures Exchange (LCFE) has announced the opening of the N5 billion series one of N30 billion Eko Rice Contract by the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on the exchange in order to encourage the expansion of agriculture in Nigeria. The commodities market has now seen the introduction of its first forward contract. At a later time, the asset will be listed on the LCFE floor. In addition to ensuring product standardization, enhancing the availability of the large amount of paddy rice, promoting adherence to international best practices, providing organizational support through collateral management services, and opening…
The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has issued 101 million National Identification Numbers (NINs). The most recent data from the NIMC show that there are currently 101,013,279 NINs in existence. According to the data, the commission added 5,935,362 NINs to the database in the previous six months. As of January 2023, the number was 95,077,917. Men received 57.3 million NINs, or 56.76% of the 101 million issued, according to the NIMC, while women received 43.57 million, or 43.2 percent. Further study of the June data reveals that Lagos State, where 6 million men and 4.99 million women received NINs, had…
In order to strengthen the capacity of five million Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) exporters in the non-oil sector, the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) and Fidelity Bank are working together. According to NEXIM, the action is consistent with the Federal Government’s overarching goal of boosting export diversification efforts. Abba Bello, the managing director of the NEXIM Bank, made this announcement yesterday in Abuja at the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Fidelity Bank. He said NEXIM had previously created an online platform called the Nigerian Export Academy (NEXA) that provides free courses to exporters and SMEs, but is…
Local Producers Of Energy Drinks Urges The Government To Protect The Jobs Of 2,000 Nigerians Energy drink manufacturers have urged the federal government to defend the more than 2,000 Nigerians who are directly employed in the manufacturing sector by stopping the importation of inferior foreign beverages. Additionally, they encouraged the government to put the health of its people first by preventing the importation of harmful foreign goods. They claim that the majority of imported beverages burst on the open market because they couldn’t sustain Nigeria’s warmth during storage. Ayodele Joseph, Director-General of Africa Brands Group, stated in a press release…
Naira to Dollar Converges in Official and Black Markets at N768 On Monday, the Naira to USD exchange rate converged in both the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window of the foreign exchange (FX) market and the portion of the black market. Since the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) floated the local currency this month to allow it to trade at its actual value, this was practically the second time it had happened. In the official market, the Naira strengthened versus the dollar by 0.26% or N1.98 yesterday, selling for N768.19 to $1 as opposed to N770.17 to $1 last Friday.…
The Central Bank of Nigeria CBN increased the bar on know your customer (KYC) protocols and charged financial institutions (FIs) with implementations with the release of two new policy documents over the weekend. The directives issued to financial institutions (FIs), who have frequently been accused of supporting financial crimes, with the titles “Guidance Note on Politically Exposed Persons” (PEPs) and “CBN Customer Due Diligence (CDD) Regulations 2023,” contain specific calls to action that banks should carry out to stop financial crimes. With the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) already giving the acting governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria…
The World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA) are looking into potential areas of collaboration to promote commercial prospects that are advantageous to both parties and improve the development of the country’s private sector. The only Nigerian representatives at the World Chambers Congress, which will be held in Geneva, Switzerland, between June 21 and June 23, 2023, are Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the WTO, and Dele Oye, President of NACCIMA. They are negotiating to improve trade growth and economic prosperity for their home nation. Oye stated: “The WTO and…
Worries that global crop shortages could reduce biofuel blending and raise oil demand caused oil to rise more than $1 on Wednesday. The US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures gained by $1.34 or 1.9% to $72.53 a barrel, while Brent futures increased by $1.22 or 1.6% to close at $77.12 a barrel. Following a government assessment that revealed a large portion of the grains were under stress due to dry circumstances as they approached critical development phases, US corn and soybean prices soared to multi-month highs on Wednesday. The news that the US Dollar dropped against a basket of currencies…
The naira is trading higher on the black market for the first time since 2015, exactly one week after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) shut down the foreign currency (FX) market to allow gradual rate harmonisation around the Investors’ and Exporters’ (I&E) window. In the history of the alternative FX window, this would indicate that end users are receiving dollars at a discount at the black market rate. On Monday, the I&E window closed at N770.38/$, losing more than 9% against the dollar in a single day. The local currency had started the trading session at N705.5/$, but it…
FMN’s Solar-Powered Water Plant Encourages Long-Term Development The solar-powered clean water plant that was financed for the Gbaji-Yeke Community in Badagry, Lagos, has been put into operation by Flour Mills of Nigeria (FMN). Firsty, The One Community At A Time project (OCAAT), which aims to address the specific needs of grassroots communities and provide long-term solutions, achieved this milestone in collaboration with the Lagos State Government. Also, Wale Adediran, Group HR and Services Director FMN, spoke at the project’s commissioning ceremony and shared his excitement for it and its positive impact on the Gbaji-Yeke Community. He also noted that the…
How Union Bank Increased Profit By 127% To N12.6 Billion Union Bank of Nigeria Plc had a strong first quarter of 2023, with after-tax earnings rising by 127.6% to N12.6 billion according to recent study. The increased performance, according to information obtained from the Nigerian Exchange Group, was fuelled by a windfall of N17.9 billion in net trading gains brought on by rising gains from fixed-income securities. According to The News Chronicle’s research, the bank’s net trading income increased by a factor of more than five compared to the same amount in the prior fiscal year. The remarkable expansion…
Crude Oil Price Rises A weaker US currency and an increase in refinery operations in China, the world’s largest crude importer, helped the crude oil market rise by about 3% on Thursday to a one-week high. According to data, the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained by $2.35 or 3.4 percent to $70.62 per barrel, while Brent increased by $2.47 or 3.4% to settle at $75.67 a barrel yesterday. US reports that retail sales unexpectedly increased in May and higher-than-expected jobless claims last week caused the US dollar to drop to a five-week low against a basket of other currencies…
NLC Affirms Government Intentions To Pay Workers’ Wages To Mitigate Effects Of Subsidy Elimination According to Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President Joe Ajoero, organized labor is negotiating wage awards for employees with the Federal Government even though negotiations for a new minimum wage are not due until the third quarter of this year. This is being done to mitigate the consequences of the loss of the petrol subsidy. Yesterday, the labour centre clarified that there is no ambiguity in the two wages when addressing the wage issue at the International Labour Conference being held in Geneva, Switzerland, and being organized…
Nigeria Adds 4 Million Barrels To Its Oil Export Storage Capacity In an effort to attract investors to the industry, the Federal Government yesterday granted its first terminal establishment licenses under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) to Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited and Balema Oil Producing Limited. The move, proposed by the Nigerian Midstream Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), is nevertheless a significant accomplishment because it will increase Nigeria’s export storage capacity by more than 4 four million barrels, according to Farouk Ahmad, chief executive of the agency. While the development is expected to reduce unemployment, particularly in the Niger…
US Actions To Prevent Microsoft’s Acquisition Of Activision US regulators have urged a judge to halt Microsoft’s $69 billion (£55 billion) acquisition of Call of Duty creator Activision Blizzard. The largest acquisition in the history of the video game business, according to the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), might “substantially lessen competition” in the market. The action was taken after the EU ratified the deal despite the UK’s opposition due to worries that it would harm competition. In August, a study will start in the US. While the agency assesses whether “the proposed acquisition violates US antitrust law,” the FTC…
