Economy
Tinubu Insists Nigerian Economy Not in Distress, Calls for Patience
By Dipo Olowookere
President Bola Tinubu has emphasised that the Nigerian economy is not in distress as claimed by the opposition and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
On Monday, the IMF, which admitted that Mr Tinubu “inherited a difficult economic situation marked by low growth, low revenue collection, accelerating inflation, and external imbalances built up over years,” said the indices were showing a challenging outlook, especially when there is the possibility of subsidies on petrol and electricity could gulp up to 3 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2024.
But President Tinubu, at the Leadership Conference and Awards 2023, held at the Congress Hall of the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, disagreed that the Nigerian economy was in distress, explaining that, “Distress suggests helplessness, being at the mercy of something we have no control over. But that is not the case here.”
He stated that since he assumed office on May 29, 2023, his administration has made efforts to revamp the country’s economy.
“I have approved the disbursement of N200 billion through three new special intervention funds established to support Nigerian businesses.
“The first is a N50 billion Presidential Conditional Grant Scheme (PCGS) that will provide business grants and loans to traders, food vendors, transport workers, ICT businesses, creatives, and artisans; verification of all submitted applications is ongoing, and disbursements will commence through the Bank of Industry (BOI) as soon as this verification is completed.
“The second is a N75 billion FGN MSME Intervention Fund [that] will provide single-digit-interest loans to our MSMEs.
“The third is a N75 billion FGN Manufacturing Sector Fund targeting manufacturing businesses, with selected beneficiaries eligible to access up to N1 billion each,” he said through the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mr Mohammed Idris Malagi, who represented him at the event.
The award ceremony, which was attended by several personalities, including the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general elections, Mr Peter Obi, was themed An Economy in Distress: Which Way Forward?
Speaking further, President Tinubu noted his efforts made the “Nigerian economy to record a better-than-anticipated performance in the last quarter of 2023, growing by 3.46 per cent (year-on-year) compared with 2.54 per cent in the preceding quarter.”
“Capital importation into Nigeria was up 66 per cent in Q4 2023, reversing a 36 per cent decline in the previous quarter [and] in In January 2024, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited’s All-Share Index (ASI) crossed the 100,000 points mark, its highest ever,” he added.
He stated that his administration has been able to attract about $30 billion in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) commitments.
According to him, these offshore investments cut across the real sectors of the economy, including manufacturing, telecoms, healthcare, oil & gas, and others, adding that the investments have already started coming into the country.
“Just a few days ago, I was in Qatar on an official visit, where the Emir assured [me] that a senior government delegation would visit Nigeria after Ramadan, to begin taking action on some of the new investments they are looking at here.
“I have asked the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy (Mr Wale Edun) to directly interface with the Qatari authorities to ensure that speedy progress is made,” the President said.
“I ask for the continuing patience and support of all Nigerians, including the elites that are very well represented in this room today.
“To the Nigerian media, I urge you to strive to report not only the challenges but also the solutions and the opportunities as well.
“Ours is a story of a country that is taking the right steps, and feeling the fleeting pains that will come with this course of action. A glorious dawn is indeed assured,” he stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed flat on Wednesday, August 5, as the market witnessed weaker trading activity with only two deals executed.
In the midweek session, the volume of securities exchanged by investors dropped 99.9 per cent to 802 units from the 1.6 million units recorded on Tuesday. The value of securities further decreased by 99.6 per cent to N208,240 from the preceding session’s N47.6 million, and the number of deals significantly went down by 93.9 per cent to two deals from the 33 deals recorded a day earlier.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 76.9 million units transacted for N5.5 billion.
GNI Plc was also the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million.
There were no price gainers or losers yesterday.
As a result, the market capitalisation stood unmoving at N2.739 trillion, while the NASD Security Index (NSI) remained unchanged at 4,563.96 points.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira slid against the US Dollar by N2.28 or 0.17 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Wednesday, August 5, to N1,363.85/$1 from N1,362.55/$1.
The local currency also declined against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N5.97 to close at N1,837.38/£1 compared with Tuesday’s closing rate of N1,831.41/£1, and against the Euro, it crashed by N6.54 to quote at N1,575.25/€1 versus the preceding session’s N1,568.71/€1.
But at the black market, the Nigerian Naira traded flat against the greenback yesterday at N1,400/$1, and also remained unchanged at the GTBank FX desk at N1,373/$1.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says rates have narrowed to below two per cent, while the country’s external reserves have risen above $52.5 billion, reflecting the impact of its ongoing monetary and foreign exchange reforms.
CBN Governor Yemi Cardoso, represented by the Acting Director of Corporate Communications and Investor Relations, Mrs Hakama Sidi-Ali, disclosed this on Tuesday during the CBN Fair in Gombe. He noted that reforms introduced since 2023 had significantly reduced the disparity between the official FX market and the parallel market.
“The Naira continues to strengthen, with the spread between official and Bureau de Change rates now below two per cent,” he said, adding that reserves at $52.5 billion were supported by sustained inflows and renewed investor confidence in the economy.
Interbank FX transactions slid as weaker market activities dropped total Dollar volume exchanged to $75.35 million, a 51.8 per cent decline from $156.23 million in turnover quoted at the previous close.
The deals at the NFEM window also fell as data from the central bank put Wednesday’s quote at 82 from 139.
In the cryptocurrency market, major were down as global risk sentiment softened as a key world equity index slipped and chipmakers fell.
The MSCI All Country World Index snapped a five-day run to fall 0.2 per cent as chipmakers retreated on both sides of the Pacific. South Korea’s Kospi, a bellwether for the AI trade, dropped 4.4 per cent.
Ripple (XRP) depleted by 1.7 per cent to $1.05, Binance Coin (BNB) decreased by 1.0 per cent to $594.87, Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 0.9 per cent to $0.1884, TRON (TRX) shrank by 0.2 per cent to $0.3261, Solana (SOL) crumbled by 0.1 per cent to $74.00, and Dogecoin (DOGE) went down by 0.1 per cent to $0.0697.
On the flip side, Ethereum (ETH) gained 2.3 per cent to trade at $1,911.41, and Bitcoin (BTC) rose by 0.8 per cent to $64,759.28, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
By Dipo Olowookere
The domestic stock exchange rebounded by 0.05 per cent on Wednesday on the back of renewed bargain-hunting by investors, though the level of activity waned.
After bleeding for a few days, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited heaved a sigh of relief yesterday, as the All-Share Index (ASI) gained 109.41 points to close at 244,912.24 points compared with the previous day’s 244,802.83 points, and the market capitalisation garnered N71 billion to settle at N158.087 trillion versus Tuesday’s N158.016 trillion.
Business Post reports that despite the rebound recorded by Customs Street at midweek, the market breadth index remained negative, as there were 20 price advancers and 29 price decliners, implying bearish investor sentiment.
Linkage Assurance appreciated by 9.94 per cent to N1.77, AVA Capital rose by 9.55 per cent to N10.90, Fortis Global Insurance advanced by 7.69 per cent to N2.80, McNichols gained 7.34 per cent to finish at N5.85, and Coronation Insurance surged by 5.51 per cent to N2.49.
Conversely, Honeywell Flour depreciated by 9.94 per cent to N16.30, PZ Cussons gave up 9.94 per cent to trade at N74.75, Zichis crashed by 9.74 per cent to N20.76, Learn Africa slipped by 9.62 per cent to N9.40, and Neimeth tumbled by 8.33 per cent to N8.25.
The busiest equity was FCMB, with a turnover of 369.2 million units valued at N4.1 billion. Chams transacted 46.7 million units worth N201.8 million, First Holdco transacted 43.5 million units for N5.7 billion, Access Holdings sold 29.8 million units worth N778.0 million, and Linkage Assurance exchanged 19.6 million units valued at N33.5 million.
At the close of transactions, market participants bought and sold 824.1 million units worth N25.5 billion in 48,114 deals, in contrast to the 1.6 billion units sold for N28.7 billion in 54,160 deals a day earlier, showing a shortfall in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 48.49 per cent, 11.15 per cent, and 11.16 per cent, respectively.
