Border Closure Plunges Unilever into N8bn Loss as Revenue Drops

By Adedapo Adesanya Some Nigerians have expressed anger over the upward review in the foreign exchange (FX) rate, a move that could see imported goods and by extension, domestic products record surge in prices at a time when the country is battling a high cost of living. The federal government, through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has hiked the duties payable on imported goods at Nigerian ports. Business Post gathered that the upward review of prices showed the US Dollar equivalent had been put at N951.941/$1 while for the Euro, the rate was pegged at N1,030.762/€1 and the Pound

By Precious Olisa The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) have expressed their disappointment over the increasing exit of multinationals from the Nigerian market. The two organisations reacted to the planned exit of Procter & Gamble (P&G) from the country over economic headwinds. P&G announced its intention to close down its manufacturing operations in Nigeria and adopt an import-only business model due to the foreign exchange (FX) crisis in the country. This is coming some weeks after GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Sanofi, Unilever Nigeria, Equinor and others have also indicated their interest in quitting

By Dipo Olowookere Leading American company, 21st Century Fox, has confirmed reaching an agreement in principle with Sky Plc in relation to a possible offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares in the company. It however said certain material offer terms remain under discussion and the Possible Offer may or may not lead to an offer being made by 21st Century Fox. The Independent Directors of Sky have indicated to 21st Century Fox that they are willing to recommend the Possible Offer, subject to reaching agreement on the other terms and conditions of any offer. In the past several

By Adedapo Adesanya Ahead of the 2023 general elections, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has asked President Muhammadu Buhari and 36 state governors to ensure people’s rights to hold political rallies. In a statement, the group wants the President and governors to “publicly instruct the Nigeria police and state security outfits to respect, protect, and facilitate the rights of everyone to freedom of expression, assembly, association, and equal participation during the election campaigns, regardless of their party affiliation.” In the statement, SERAP deputy director, Mr Kolawole Oluwadare, warned against using police by state governors to target supporters of

By Adedapo Adesanya Oil dipped on Thursday, extending losses on expectations that the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) might not deepen output cuts next year after the producer group postponed its policy meeting. Brent crude futures were down 68 cents or 0.8 per cent to quote at $81.28 a barrel, and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures slid by 75 cents or 1 per cent to settle at $76.35 per barrel. Trading activity was muted because of the US Thanksgiving public holiday, but the preceding development was able to tell on the market.

By Adedapo Adesanya The Kano/Jigawa Customs Command generated N7.7 billion as revenue, covering customs duty and other charges in the first quarter of 2021, indicating a 94.1 higher than N3.9 billion in the same period last year. This was disclosed by the Area Controller in charge of the Command, Mr Suleiman Pai Umar, who briefed journalists on the activities of the command between January and March this year. According to Mr Pai Umar, “The difference recorded was made possible because of robust stakeholders’ engagement, officers resolute in discharging their duties and an increased level of compliance in the trader’s zone.”

By Ahmed Rahma For the second straight time, Zedcrest Group has been declared the winner of the Diversified Financial Services Group of the year award. The new-age financial solutions powerhouse retained this award at the just-concluded BusinessDay Banks & Other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards in Lagos. The management and staff of Zedcrest were congratulated for their devotion towards building inter-connected financial solutions across Africa by the publisher of BusinessDay, Mr Frank Aigbogun, during the presentation of the award to the company. BAFI Awards identify and celebrate the financial institutions and leaders that have excelled across many areas, including financial performance,

By Adedapo Adesanya Global research firm, Agusto & Co, has forecast that Nigeria’s pension assets will reach N14.8 trillion by the end of 2022. This is as unpaid pension obligations by some employers, enrolees’ apathy toward the transfer of Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs), and the ability of industry operators to protect the value of pension funds in the face of deteriorating macroeconomic conditions, particularly a weakening exchange rate and soaring inflation, are at the heart of the industry’s current problems. Agusto noted that in the last decade, the 628 per cent surge in the size of pension fund assets to

By Dipo Olowookere In a world where skills and creativity have continued to set the pace for global relevance, E-conext recently introduced a job search and e-learning platform to respond to the growing demands from professionals. The platform strives to provide easy access to best courses, job offers based on ideal-remote, work-from-home and freelance career opportunities. Several skilled professional can register for upcoming webinar conferences on October 31, 2017 via https://www.gotomeet.me/kennedyuge and learn the step-by-step to earning extra income providing online services. Experts from E-conext will be on hand to show participants the different opportunities, topics, e-learning courses using www.e-conext.com

By Ashemiriogwa Emmanuel The external reserves of Nigeria almost increased by $1 billion in one week as it expanded by about $990 million or 2.4 per cent in the last seven days from $40.77 billion on Wednesday, October 20, to $41.8 billion on Tuesday, October 26, 2021. Analysis of the data sourced by Business Post from the Central Bank Of Nigeria (CBN) showed that the country’s foreign exchange (FX) savings went up by $194.5 million on Wednesday, October 20 from $40.8 billion to $40.95 billion the following day. The amount then increased by $159.3 million to $41.1 billion on Friday,