AFC Gets $300m Chinese Loan to Boost Trade Finance

By Adedapo Adesanya The federal government has set plans in motion to raise $200 million from philanthropic individuals and organisations as part of efforts to create jobs and support Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria. Nigeria is home to over 36.9 million MSMEs, comprising 96.7 per cent of all businesses in Nigeria. According to data, 67 per cent of these businesses are youth-owned. MSMEs contribute over 45 per cent to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), with 98.8 per cent of them in the micro cadre. They account for nearly 90 per cent of the jobs in the

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The sum of N27.5 trillion has been approved for the 2024 budget by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Monday. The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Mr Atiku Bagudu, confirmed this development to newsmen after the FEC meeting in Abuja. He also disclosed that the council, which was chaired by President Bola Tinubu, said the 2024 Appropriation Bill should be funded from N18 trillion revenue expected to be generated by the country. “The federal executive council considered the 2024 Appropriation bill. The Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) was earlier approved by the National Assembly. It has

By Dipo Olowookere The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited retreated by 0.44 per cent on Tuesday due to selling pressure on some bellwether equities during the session. Shares of Dangote Cement, GTCO, Zenith Bank, Access Holdings, Oando, Lafarge Africa and others experienced a pullback yesterday as a result of profit-taking activities by traders. As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) receded by 312.76 points to 71,041.05 points from 71,353.81 points and the market capitalisation moderated by N165 billion to N38.875 trillion from N39.040 trillion. The level of activity at the market waned on the second trading session of the week, as

By Dipo Olowookere Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State has moved a step further in strengthening science education in the state with the establishment of a Mobile Science Academy. Recently, the state government sealed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with BASF West Africa to formalise their mutual commitment to the creation of the academy. It was learnt that the move was to further promote science education in the state because the Science and Technology Strategy for Lagos State (2016–2019) recognises Science, Research and Innovation as priority programmes under the Mega City Programme. At the signing ceremony, Governor Ambode stressed the

By Dipo Olowookere The Nigerian Senate on Wednesday lamented that only 10 percent of agencies and parastatals of the Federal Government have submitted their audited reports. The lawmaker representing Edo South Senatorial District at the National Assembly, Mr Matthew Urhoghide, while addressing his colleagues on Wednesday, decried the low level of compliance of agencies of government in the submission of the audited accounts to the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation. In a report of the Committee on Public Accounts presented to the floor of the Senate today, it was revealed that only 47 of the 497 parastatals of

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Okomu Oil’s Q3 2016 results came in stronger than we expected. The variance versus our estimates was due to sales and total costs (cogs+opex) surprising positively. We have tried to reflect the surprises in our forecasts. As such, we increased our earnings estimates by 23.5% on average over the 2016-17E period. Consequently, we also increased our price target by 16% to N44.7. Okomu shares have gained 40.2% this year and have significantly outperformed the broad index which has shed -10.6%. The shares are trading on 2016E P/E of 9.4x (vs an average of c.30x for the consumer

By FSDH Research Yields on the Nigerian Treasury Bills (NTBs), particularly on the 364-day tenor, are likely to drop with the plan of the Debt Management Office (DMO) to refinance the NTBs through foreign debt. The DMO hinted recently that the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) plans to issue about US$3bn in foreign debt of longer tenor, to refinance the domestic debt particularly the high-cost NTBs. The plan is in line with the debt management strategy of the FGN for 2016-2019, with the overall objective of reducing its total cost of borrowing to achieve the country’s strategic target of an

By Modupe Gbadeyanka To nudge the emergence of world-class technology experts, the federal government has set aside the sum of N100 million for about 2,000 youths across the country. The money, according to the Minister of Interior, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, would be accessible to the beneficiaries in the next two years for training in different areas such as software development and design, amongst others. The Minister said the N100 million Technology Fund is part of the government’s efforts to tap into the growing digital economy. Speaking at the inauguration of a Digital Nigeria Centre (DNC) in Ilesa, Osun State, applauded

By Dipo Olowookere There are plans by FBN Holdings Plc, the parent company of First Bank, to list its shares on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and other foreign markets the financial institution has its presence. Apart from Nigeria, First Bank currently operates in the United Kingdom, France, China, Senegal, Gambia, Ghana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea and Sierra Leone. At a press conference in Lagos last Friday, Group Managing Director of the holding firm, Mr Urum Kalu Eke, said at the appropriate time, the company will consider opening the bank to public ownership in the foreign lands. At the

By Adedapo Adesanya The first trading session of the new week closed in the flat territory on Monday as the key performance indicators at the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange remained unchanged at the close of business. Business Post reports that the market capitalisation of the NASD Exchange retained the previous value of N960.88 billion, while the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI) remained unchanged at 729.92 basis points. The stalemate witnessed at the session came as there was no price advancer or decliner at the week’s opening session. At the close of transactions, investors traded a total of 461,806 units

By Bliss Okperan Some residents of Lagos have expressed their dissatisfaction with the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) over the alleged involvement of its personnel in the death of two road sweepers. It was reported that earlier in the day, two persons working for the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) were crushed to death by a private car owner on the Gbagada Expressway. According to reports, the driver of a black Honda saloon car was allegedly being chased by officials of LASTMA, ostensibly for a traffic offence. He rammed into the road sweepers, who died afterwards. The incident has