CBN Offers N5 per Dollar Incentive to Boost Diaspora Inflows

By Adedapo Adesanya The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded yet another positive week-on-week performance after stretching its gains by 1.44 per cent in Week 47. This expanded the portfolios of NASD investors by N17 billion in the week to N1.162 trillion from the N1.145 trillion recorded in Week 46, as the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) increased by 12.16 points to 857.29 points from 845.13 points in the previous week. The trading week was with three price gainers and three losers, with Aradel Holdings Plc on top of the advancers’ chart after it grew by 10 per cent to finish

By Adedapo Adesanya  Nigeria’s economy, measured through its gross domestic product (GDP), witnessed a 2.54 per cent growth in the third quarter (Q3) of the year 2023. In a report published on Friday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the 2.54 per cent year-on-year growth in real terms in the third quarter of 2023 is higher than the 2.25 per cent recorded in the third quarter of 2022 and higher than the second quarter 2023 growth of 2.51 per cent. The bureau further said that the performance of the GDP in the third quarter of 2023 was driven mainly by

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited is planning to grow its revenue to N4.5 trillion as it plans to end the importation of premium motor spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, by December 2024. The chief executive of the company, Mr Mele Kyari, while speaking on Thursday, said the nation would not need to rely on fuel from outside the country because its refineries would have been fully operational. Nigeria is currently revamping its four refineries to make the product available to residents of the country as it officially stopped the payment of subsidy on petrol

By Adedapo Adesanya The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Olayemi Cardoso, has admitted that the country recorded a revenue drop of $1.4 billion between 2015 and 2019 after imposing foreign exchange (FX) restrictions for import of 43 items over eight years. The apex bank governor made this known on Friday while delivering his keynote address at the 58th Annual Dinner of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) in Lagos. The apex bank head, during the preparation of his monetary policy thrust, cited available data saying, “Studies have shown that during the period when the

By Dipo Olowookere Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) Plc has continued to achieve healthy growth across all its major businesses despite varying degrees of uncertainty and volatility. Recently, the financial institution released its audited earnings for the 2019 fiscal year and the lender did not disappoint, recording growths in both its topline and bottomline. In the results, the company printed a profit before tax of N231.7 billion, representing a growth of 7.5 percent over N215.6 billion recorded in the corresponding year ended December 2018. Also, the bank’s loan book grew by 19.0 percent from N1.262 trillion in December 2018 to N1.502

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Out of the about $1.8 billion Nigeria realised from capital importation in the second quarter of 2017, Lagos contributed $1.74 billion to it, representing 97.07 percent. According to data released this week by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the above figure represents a slight increase in Lagos’ share relative to the previous quarter, which stood at 95.32 percent. Lagos is the commercial and financial capital of Nigeria, and home to Nigeria’s Stock Exchange where shares are traded. Also, the NBS said Akwa lbom, as in the previous quarter, recorded the second highest level of capital importation,

By Adedapo Adesanya The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has given a one-year moratorium on all principal repayments for COVID-19 intervention loans through its participating Other Financial Institutions (OFIs). This took effect from March 1, 2020, a circular signed by the Director, Financial Policy and Regulation Department, Mr Kevin Amugo, on Wednesday, stated. It also stated that as part of its continued efforts to mitigate the impact of coronavirus on households, businesses and regulated institutions, interest rate on its facilities through the participating OFIs has been reduced from nine percent to five percent per annum for one year effective March

By Dipo Olowookere Lagos State government, through the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, has embarked on the arrest of illegal miners towards curbing the nefarious activities of unscrupulous elements in the mining sector. Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Mr Olawale Oluwo, while speaking on the heels of the commencement of taskforce operations at illegal mining sites in Epe, said henceforth, any recalcitrant miner or land grabbers will be dealt with accordingly. The Commissioner explained that despite series of warnings and enlightenment on dangers of illegal mining, including series of meetings with miners and signing of Memorandum of Understanding

By Adedapo Adesanya The price of the Brent crude oil appreciated by more than 4 per cent or $2.61 on Wednesday as more positive news led by a drop in United States inventory and fresh positive expectation over oil demand boosted optimism about returning demand for crude. During the trading day, the value of the commodity increased to $66.28 per barrel, while the price of its counterpart, the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude, rose by 4.9 per cent or $2.97 to $63.15 per barrel. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the US crude inventories fell by 5.9 million barrels

By Ashemiriogwa Emmanuel Kuda Technologies, the challenger bank for Africans, has announced its partnership with a financial service company, Visa, to roll out its virtual and physical payment cards for its customers. According to a statement, the firm described the development as a leap towards the right direction of promoting its independent payment cards offering. With about two million customers in its launch country, Nigeria, where it operates as Kuda Microfinance Bank, the company’s provision of zero fees on cards, account maintenance and transfers, as well as its low-interest credit offering, have been able to woo millennials both on smartphones

By Dipo Olowookere In the years since the global financial crisis, Africa has witnessed a rapid expansion of cross-border banking, led by banking groups based in Africa that are spurring financial and economic integration and transforming the continent’s financial landscape. These institutions are occupying a space created by the retreat of several global bank groups from Africa in the wake of the crisis. The expansion is evident across the region. African banks headquartered from Morocco to South Africa have each established business operations in at least 10 countries. Ecobank, headquartered in Togo—is present in more than 30 countries on the