Economy
Manufacturers Advocate Government Support for Dangote Refinery
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The need for the government to support Dangote Refinery to attract more investments in the country has been emphasised by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN).
They argued that frustrating investors like Mr Aliko Dangote could scare others from putting their money into the country’s economy.
Speaking during a tour of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, Petrol Chemical Complex and Fertilizer Plant in Lagos, the president of MAN, Mr Francis Meshioye, said all must be done to protect Dangote Refinery to serve as an impetus for other investors to invest in the downstream sector of the petroleum industry in the country.
He described the Dangote Refinery as a game-changer in the Nigerian oil and gas industry, saying that it is not only creating jobs and driving economic growth but also contributing to our nation’s energy security and self-sufficiency.
According to him, the project is quite inspiring, and he admired the inspiration of the promoter of the project, Aliko Dangote.
“To have been inspired to establish this facility is very magnificent, it is the first ever in Africa and the first ever of such refinery in the whole world. It has many first, first and first,” he stated.
“The company has the capacity to produce all our needs locally, petroleum, and other similar products: no one would come to the facility and he would not be inspired or encouraged to ensure that all the support that the company requires should be given to it,” he added.
The MAN President said the government should do all that is humanly possible to ensure that the facility works optimally.
“It is prudent and expedient that the necessary supports are given to the company for the economic benefits of Nigeria,” he submitted.
“If the facility can produce 650,000 barrels of crude per day and Nigeria is producing far above this volume per day, she should give the facility all crude it needed to produce,” Mr Meshioye noted.
He said, apart from the fact that the facility can give Nigerians what they need locally, the excess will be exported, and when they are exported, the country benefits because it will earn foreign exchange for the government.
“So, whichever way we look at it, the facility requires the government’s support to be able to operate optimally. We have seen the laboratory which is in a class of its own. It is first among equals around the world. It is functioning very well. It is a complex on its own.
“With this kind of facility that starts from quality control to quality assurance, just to ensure that the harmful effects of the products are at zero level, what can be greater than this? This is very unique and I will encourage all stakeholders to give maximum support, and not by the way support, but maximum support.”
“I cannot see anything that is lacking in this company, we have been here since morning and went through all the units. The facility can deliver products between 1760 trucks to 1800 trucks per day. So if you have such several trucks going out of the facility a day to various destinations in Nigeria, so many people will benefit from it.
“There will be more jobs, many families will be comfortable because of the jobs this will create, many artisans will benefit and it will have a spillover effect on so many sectors of the economy.
“If they can produce AGO, gasoline and Jet A fuel, this is good and the government should have no reason not to ensure the facility gets its backing to carry out its activities, because it is going to benefit massively,” he stated.
The MAN boss who stated that his organization is an advocacy group, said to a large extent it will support the Dangote Refinery by pushing its case with the government, and also solicit the support of necessary government agencies that can ensure that it operates fully.
The association, he said, always discusses with the government issues that affect its members and it has always listened to it , and always finds solutions to those issues, stating further that Dangote Refinery’s case will not be different.
“The sheer scale and ambition of this project is truly impressive, and we applaud the vision and determination of the Dangote Group in making this refinery a reality.
“As manufacturers, we understand the importance of reliable and affordable energy in driving our businesses forward. The Dangote Refinery will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the entire manufacturing value chain, providing a reliable source of fuel and petrochemical products that are essential for capacity utilisation and value addition.
“I believe that the success of the Dangote Refinery serves as an inspiration to all of us in the manufacturing sector. It demonstrates what is possible when we combine innovation, technology, and investment to create world-class facilities that benefit the entire nation,” Mr Meshioye said.
By Dipo Olowookere
A 1.08 per cent growth was further printed by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Friday on improved appetite for Nigerian stocks.
Data showed that the insurance sector lost 0.61 per cent yesterday due to profit-taking as the energy space gave up 0.08 per cent, while the commodity counter closed flat.
However, the industrial goods landscape appreciated by 2.06 per cent, the banking index improved by 1.31 per cent, and the consumer goods sector expanded by 0.83 per cent.
At the close of business on Customs Street, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 1,563.92 points to 147,040.07 points from 145,476.15 points and the market capitalisation went up by N996 billion to N93.722 trillion from N92.726 trillion.
UAC Nigeria led the advancers’ log yesterday after it grew by 10.00 per cent to N96.80, Transcorp Hotels jumped by 9.71 per cent to N172.80, Royal Exchange appreciated by 8.89 per cent to N1.96, Ikeja Hotel soared by 8.74 per cent to N31.10, and Veritas Kapital leapt by 8.07 per cent to N1.74.
On the flip side, Union Dicon declined by 10.00 per cent to N6.30, ABC Transport slipped by 9.88 per cent to N3.10, AXA Mansard depreciated by 7.19 per cent to N12.90, FTN Cocoa lost 4.62 per cent to trade at N4.75, and Guinea Insurance dropped 3.36 per cent to finish at N1.15.
A total of 38 stocks ended on the gainers’ table and 17 stocks finished on the losers’ table, representing a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
Traders transacted 361.6 million equities for N14.8 billion in 21,051 deals yesterday versus the 1.9 billion equities worth N19.2 billion traded in 23,369 deals a day earlier, showing a decline in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 80.97 per cent, 22.92 per cent, and 14.20 per cent, respectively.
The busiest stock for the session was Zenith Bank with 59.5 million units worth N3.6 billion, Access Holdings traded 46.1 million units valued at N973.0 million, Fidelity Bank exchanged 29.4 million units for N560.4 million, FCMB transacted 27.9 million units worth N293.9 million, and Tantalizers sold 13.0 million units valued at N29.8 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Energy stocks influenced the 4.76 per cent loss recorded by the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Friday, December 5.
The culprits were the duo of 11 Plc and Nipco Plc,with the former shedding N32.17 to end at N291.83 per share compared with the previous day’s N324.00 per share, and the latter down by N21.00 to sell at N195.00 per unit versus the previous session’s N216.00 per unit.
Consequently, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) slumped by 170.16 points to 3,401.37 points from 3,571.53 points and the market capitalisation lost N101.81 billion to close at N2.035 billion from the N2.136 trillion quoted in the preceding session.
The OTC securities exchange suffered the decline yesterday despite the share prices of three companies closing green.
Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc was up by N1.80 to close at N39.80 per share compared with Thursday’s price of N38.00 per share, Air Liquide Plc appreciated by N1.09 to N11.99 per unit from N10.90 per unit, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc grew by 78 Kobo to N56.57 per share from N55.79 per share.
During the session, the volume of transactions rose by 6,885.3 per cent to 18.2 million units from 4.3 million units, the value of transactions ballooned by 10,301.7 per cent to N389.7 million from N347.2 million, but the number of deals declined by 29.7 per cent to 26 deals from 37 deals.
Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc ended the day as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units worth N16.4 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 170.4 million units valued at N8.0 billion, and Air Liquide Plc with 507.5 million units worth N4.2 billion.
InfraCredit Plc also finished the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units transacted for N16.4 billion, followed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.2 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 536.9 million units worth N524.9 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira depreciated further against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, December 5, as FX demand pressure mounts.
The Nigerian currency lost N2.60 or 0.18 per cent against the greenback to close at N1,450.43/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,447.83/$1.
Equally, the domestic currency declined against the Pound Sterling in the official forex market during the session by N4.48 to trade at N1,935.45/£1, in contrast to Thursday’s closing price of N1,930.97/£1 and shrank against the Euro by 43 Kobo to end at N1,689.17/€1 versus the preceding session’s rate of N1,688.74/€1.
Similarly, the local currency performed badly against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX counter by N2 to close at N1,455/$1 versus Thursday’s N1,453/$1 but traded flat at the parallel market at N14.65/$1.
As the country gets into the festive period, pressure mounted on the local currency reflecting higher foreign payments and lower FX inflows.
However, there are expectations that the Nigerian currency will be stable, supported by interventions by to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in the face of steady dollar Demand and inflows from Detty December festivities that will give the Naira a boost after it depreciated mildly last month.
Traders cited by Reuters expect that the Naira will trade within a band of N1,443-N1,450/$1 next week, buoyed by improved FX interventions by the apex bank.
As for the crypto market, it was down yesterday due to profit-taking associated with year-end trading. However, the December 1-Year Consumer Inflation Expectation by the University of Michigan fell to 4.1 per cent from 4.5 per cent previously and 4.5 per cent expected. The 5-Year Consumer Inflation Expectation fell to 3.2 per cent from 3.4 per cent previously and 3.4 per cent expected.
With the dearth of official economic data of late, these private surveys have taken on a new level of significance and the market banks of them to make decisions.
Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 5.7 per cent to $0.4142, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 5.1 per cent to $0.1394, Ethereum (ETH) dropped by 3.9 per cent to $3,039.75, Solana (SOL) declined by 3.8 per cent to $133.24, and Litecoin (LTC) fell by 3.7 per cent to $80.59.
Further, Bitcoin (BTC) went down by 2.6 per cent to sell at $89,683.72, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 2.2 per cent to $883.59, and Ripple (XRP) shrank by 2.1 per cent to $2.04, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
-
Feature/OPED6 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism9 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz3 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking7 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy3 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking3 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Banking3 years agoSort Codes of UBA Branches in Nigeria
-
Sports3 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn