Economy

AfDB Anticipates EU-Like Regional Integration for Africa

Published

6 years ago

06/02/2020

By Adedapo Adesanya

The African Development Bank (AfDB) is envisioning a regional integration in Africa, along the lines of the European Union (EU), according to the Vice-president of the Bank for regional development, integration and business delivery, Mr Khaled Sherif.

This disclosure was made by Mr Sherif during an interview with The Arab Weekly, who said the purpose of creating the bank was to support development plans in African nations, especially at times when such projects did not receive sufficient support from organisations like the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

According to him, the AfDB’s largest shareholders are Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa and Morocco, but the bank also receives investment from the United States, France, Germany and Nordic countries like Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark.

He also revealed that investment also come from non-Western countries like China, South Korea, India and Japan, which are all shareholders in the bank.

“Western countries want to ensure there won’t be a huge flow of immigrants from Africa to Europe. They want to create the conditions where Africans stay where they are,” said the VP.

This and more were reasons why there was advocacy for regional integration in Africa, something modelled along the lines of the European Union (EU0 in Europe.

“We push for freedom of movement and for having a common currency,” said Mr Sherif. “We are working with the African Union for continental free trade.” He said.

Speaking on means through which the bank is supporting the continent, the VP said the bank monitors how its funds are spent, “When we give assistance, we monitor, we don’t just write a check. We have to account for it to our investors.”

He noted that were occasions when the bank does not fund projects but offers governments advice based on feasibility studies carried out by the bank, adding that they also help direct businesses towards what it considers, successful strategies.

Speaking on the loan strategy of the bank, Mr Sherif said that it was basically “free money” because the bank’s objective was not to make money, as evident in its long term loans which generally span 20-50 years with 1-2 percent interest rates.

“The bank’s objective isn’t to make money. There are 600 million people without power in Africa; the bank’s primary mandate is to light up Africa, to feed Africa, to improve the quality of life for its people, agriculture and industry,” he said.

It was revealed that most of the money is given to governments, to fund energy, water and sanitation, as well as general infrastructure projects. The rest goes to no-sovereign parties, which include lines of credit to businesses and entrepreneurs.

He added that the bank encourages businesses to trade or export in the same region, whether immediate neighbours or in the continent as a whole, clarifying that the aim is to boost production in order to promote industrialsation.

Regarding investment on the continent, Mr Sherif noted that security was a major concern adding that conditions like youth unemployment made the environment susceptible to radicalism.

He also added that the bank was interested in alleviating vulnerable women on the continent and also provide feasible alternatives to coal in promotion of cleaner energy.

Economy

Naira Loses Against Dollar Official, Black Markets

Published

3 hours ago

09/06/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira opened the new trading week on a negative note on Monday at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) and the black market.

At the parallel market, the Nigerian currency weakened against the US Dollar by N5 to sell for N1,380/$1 compared with the preceding session’s rate of N1,375/$1, and at the GTBank FX desk, it shed N1 to trade at N1,373/$1 versus N1,372/$1.

At the official market, it lost 63 Kobo or 0.05 per cent against the Dollar during the session to close at N1,362.84/$1, in contrast to last Friday’s value of N1,362.21/$1.

However, the Nigerian Naira gained N2.30 against the Pound Sterling at the spot market yesterday, quoting at N1,821.29/£1 compared with the previous rate of N1,823.59/£1, and improved against the Euro by 23 Kobo to settle at N1,574.35/€1 versus N1,574.58/€1.

Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that interbank forex turnover increased to $92.248 million across 90 deals, from $73.565 million last Friday.

On the policy front, participants believed that the application of the fourth edition of the Foreign Exchange Manual of the central bank, which introduces updated guidelines for foreign exchange transactions and tightening compliance requirements for authorised dealers and market participants, will enhance market flexibility and ease previous restrictions.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market snapped from recent declines, jolted by Strategy’s purchase of 1,550 Bitcoin for approximately $101 million, increasing its total holdings to 845,256 BTC. The company raised $181 million through common stock sales, using the proceeds to fund the bitcoin purchase and increase its cash reserves to $1 billion, pushing the price of the coin higher by 3.2 per cent to $63,731.69.

Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 8.4 per cent to $0.1738, Ethereum (ETH) rose by 5.2 per cent to $1,711.54, Solana (SOL) expanded by 5.1 per cent to $67.82, and Ripple (XRP) improved by 4.9 per cent to $1.18.

Further, Dogecoin (DOGE) jumped by 4.3 per cent to $0.0873, Binance Coin (BNB) soared by 2.7 per cent to $609.50, and TRON (TRX) increased by 0.7 per cent to $0.3274, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $0.9997 and $0.9998, respectively.

Economy

Economist Tasks FG to Explore Alternative Funding Sources

Published

3 hours ago

09/06/2026

Aduragbemi Omiyale

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The federal government has been advised to consider exploring other funding sources to finance its budget deficits.

Speaking with Punch recently, the chief executive of CSA Advisory, Mr Aliyu Ilias, said the current appetite for borrowing by the government cannot be sustained because it elevates debt-servicing costs.

The economist suggested the sale of some public assets and the involvement of the private sector in infrastructure financing for economic growth.

According to him, running to the debt markets to raise funds for the government is not the best route to take, as the reliance on borrowing always leads to higher debt-servicing obligations.

“The more you borrow, the more you are also incurring more debt services,” he said, tasking the government to also capitalise on increased oil revenues stemming from ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

“The government can actually sell off some of their assets to raise more money. The government can also, if you look at the revenue we are getting from oil, it’s getting more, especially with this war. It’s another opportunity for us to actually not borrow again,” Mr Ilias submitted.

He also pointed to ongoing tax reforms as another avenue to improve government finances and narrow the fiscal gap.

“The government can also look at tax reform. The fact is that the government does not have money. The only chance for getting more money is to address the financial deficit,” he added.

Economy

Crude Oil Gains Over $1 Despite Easing Iran-Israel Tensions

Published

3 hours ago

09/06/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Crude oil was up by $1 on Monday as Iran and Israel said they had halted attacks on each other following an ‌appeal from US President Donald Trump.

Brent crude futures gained $1.16 or 1.3 per cent to trade at $94.25 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 76 cents or 0.8 per cent to $91.30 per barrel.

Iran’s military said Monday it halted attacks on Israel after the two countries exchanged their most intense strikes in months, further straining an already shaky ceasefire as well as the US-Israeli relationship. Iran, however, said it would resume strikes if Israel continued to hit Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Israel also halted attacks on Iran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, stopping short of acknowledging a ceasefire that US President Donald Trump said the countries were aiming for.

President Trump said earlier that the US blockade, which was introduced in April, would remain in place “in full force” until a final peace agreement between the two warring nations is reached.

Prices gained more than 5 per cent earlier on Monday after renewed Israeli strikes on Iran and attacks on Lebanon had reduced hopes of an imminent end to the wider war.

Market analysts noted that because of the strikes, investors were concerned that flows through the Strait of Hormuz might remain restricted for longer. Roughly a fifth of the world’s daily supply of oil and liquefied natural gas passed through the waterway before US-Israeli airstrikes at the end of February ‌unleashed the ⁠latest escalation of the Middle Eastern conflict.

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis said on Monday they would ban ships linked to Israel from the Red Sea after Israel renewed its military attacks on Iran, adding to concerns about global shipping and energy flows.

In the face of the supply crisis, a sub-group under the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) on ⁠Sunday agreed on its fourth oil output target increase in four months. The seven members decided to increase targets by 188,000 barrels per day from July, the same as the June hike, which was adjusted down from monthly increases of 206,000 barrels per day in May and April to take into account the exit of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

On paper, the sub-group has increased its output quotas from April ⁠to June by almost 600,000 barrels per day, but in reality, the group’s production has collapsed due to export cuts by Gulf members, averaging 33.19 million barrels per day in April compared with 42.77 million barrels per day in February.

Saudi Arabia has cut its official selling prices for crude oil to Asia in July for a second month.