Economy

Dunlop Seeks Core Investor to Produce Tyres in Nigeria

Published

7 years ago

16/02/2019

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Managing Director of a leading marketer of automotive tyres, Dunlop Nigeria Tyre & Rubber Plc, Mr Mohammed Jimoh Yinusa, has disclosed that the company was looking for at least a major investor to enable it return to the manufacture of tyres in Nigeria.

In a notice to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) this week, the firm, which shut down its local production in 2008 due to a government policy, said it intends to return in full force to take its place in the market.

To achieve this goal, Dunlop is marketing its 10-year strategic business plan it developed with the hope of getting a potential investor, who will key into the vision of the company.

“We have developed a 10-year strategic business plan for a return to local tyre manufacture, which is currently being marketed to enable us secure a core lead investor for the project as the company currently does not have a single investor with up to 5 percent shareholding to provide the required leadership, after which we would jointly approach our technical partners.

“We are already in serious discussions with a state government that is setting up an Industrial Park with provision for an automobile cluster and a tyre manufacturing plant, among other possible options,” Mr Yinusa stated.

In 2006, the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo reduced the import tariff on tyres to 10 percent from 40 percent.

This significantly affected local manufacturers of the product, leading to the exit of Dunlop and Michelin in 2008 and 2006 respectively.

The two leading local makers of tyres could not cope with the huge infrastructural deficiency, especially electric power and Dunlop, which had been operating in the country since 1963, had to go, but continued dialogue with the various successive governments on the need to raise the tariff on imported tyres to encourage local production.

Prior to the 2006 change in policy, Dunlop had just completed a major $50 million expansion into the truck tyre segment a year earlier in 2005 and when it became obvious that the policy reversal was not forthcoming, the firm had to in 2012 take the interim strategic decision to realise all its manufacturing assets to enable it to repay its indebtedness to financial institutions of over N8 billion, which was achieved by the end of 2014.

According to Mr Yinusa, the believe in the future of local tyre manufacture in view of the huge market in the West and Central African sub Regions, with no single tyre plant currently, made the company strategically retained its investment in natural rubber plantations through its 60 percent shareholding in its subsidiary company, Pamol Nigeria Limited, the key minority shareholders being Cross River State government with 21 percent and Delta State government with 15 percent.

Natural rubber constitutes about 50 percent of tyre raw materials, with Carbon Black at about 25 percent, both of which are significantly locally available.

The company’s CEO said, “We have now recorded significant results with the federal government, through the National Automotive Design and Development Council, with the conclusion of a new Automotive Policy which has taken into consideration the key policy negatives of the 2006 reversals.

“This new policy is in the process of being forwarded to the National Assembly for legislation in order to strengthen the future policy stability in this regard.”

“We wish to use this medium to appreciate the understanding exhibited by our shareholders and other stakeholders during this very difficult phase in the history of our company, while we continue our efforts to return our company to profitable operations in order to continue our over 57 years corporate journey,” Mr Yinusa said.

Economy

Tax Filing: NRS Offices to Operate Saturdays till June 27

Published

37 minutes ago

08/05/2026

Modupe Gbadeyanka

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) has announced that from Saturday, May 9, 2026, to Saturday, June 29, 2026, its offices across the country will operate at weekends.

In a statement signed by its chairman, Mr Zacch Adedeji, on Thursday, the organisation said this is in anticipation of a rush in filing of tax returns during this period.

It was disclosed that the offices would open their doors to taxpayers on Saturdays from 10:00 am – 3:00 pm, urging taxpayers “to take advantage of this opportunity to resolve any tax- related matters, seek guidance, and ensure timely compliance with their obligations.”

The extended Saturday operations, according to the NRS, will provide additional assistance to taxpayers requiring support with the new system, facilitate seamless compliance during the June peak Companies Income Tax (CIT) filing period, and improve access to tax services outside regular weekday hours.

Recently, the tax agency launched a new tax administration platform known as Rev360. Taxpayers are still navigating their way around this initiative.

To provide additional support and service delivery to taxpayers on the rollout of the Rev360 Phase I Tax Administration System for medium and emerging taxpayers, NRS came up with the Saturday services.

In yesterday’s statement, the organisation said it remains dedicated to delivering efficient, transparent, and taxpayer-focused services.

Economy

FrieslandCampina Drives 0.21% Growth on NASD OTC Stock Exchange

Published

57 minutes ago

08/05/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria influenced the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange to record its fourth consecutive growth this week by 0.21 per cent on Thursday, May 7.

The manufacturer of the popular Peak Milk and Three Crowns gained N10.26 during the session to quote at N127.06 per share compared with the previous day’s N116.80 per share.

This boosted the market capitalisation of the NASD OTC stock exchange by N5.26 billion to N2.459 trillion from N2.454 trillion, and raised the Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 8.80 points to 4,110.38 points from Wednesday’s 4,101.58 points.

Business Post reports that the bourse recorded two price losers yesterday, led by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which dipped by N2.92 to N73.08 per unit from N76.00 per unit, and UBN Property Plc lost 3 Kobo to sell at N2.20 per share compared with midweek’s closing price of N2.23 per share.

On Thursday, the volume of securities transacted by investors fell by 26.4 per cent to 372,916 units from 506,651 units, the value of securities slid by 31.8 per cent to N30.6 million from N44.8 million, and the number of deals decreased by 27.0 per cent to 27 deals from 37 deals.

When trading activities closed for the day, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by CSCS Plc with 60.5 million units traded for N4.1 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.

GNI Plc also finished the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units transacted for N1.2 billion.

Economy

Naira Strengthens to N1,355/$1 at Official Market, BTC Trades Below $80,000

Published

1 hour ago

08/05/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The positive performance of the Naira against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) was extended on Thursday, May 7.

During the trading day, the Nigerian currency further improved against the greenback by N1.49 or 0.11 per cent to N1,355.85/$1 from the previous day’s N1,357.34/$1.

It was a similar situation for the Naira against the Pound Sterling in the official market. It gained N2.02 to trade at N1,845.18/£1 versus Wednesday’s closing rate of N1,847.20/£1, and against the Euro, it appreciated by N1.74 to sell for N1,593.26/€1, in contrast to midweek’s rate of N1,595.00/€1.

But at the black market, the domestic currency traded flat at N1,380/$1, and at the GTBank FX desk, it remained unchanged at N1,375/$1.

The local currency has gained weight in the past trading sessions as a result of improved forex liquidity, especially from foreign portfolio investors, exporters ‌and oil companies, amid moderate demand. Nigerian yields are still attractive for foreign investors, serving as a basis for more (FX) flows coming to Nigeria.

While continued confidence in the FX reforms by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and improved liquidity conditions continue to support the Naira, the external reserves have been on a downward trend. Available data showed that it dropped $7.73 million, from $48.33 billion to $48.32 billion, as of May 6, 2026.

As for the cryptocurrency market, prices were largely pointing south due to renewed US-Iran tensions, but it remains higher on the week alongside mostly resilient global risk assets.

Funding rates for Bitcoin (BTC) futures have been negative for 67 straight days, creating a powerful setup for a potential short squeeze, with the digital coin losing 1.7 per cent to sell at $79,667.70.

Further, Dogecoin (DOGE) fell by 4.2 per cent to $0.1062, Ethereum (ETH) declined by 2.2 per cent to $2,279.71, Ripple (XRP) slipped by 1.8 per cent to $1.38, Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 1.7 per cent to $0.2619, Binance Coin (BNB) slid by 1.1 per cent to $639.32, and Solana (SOL) went down by 0.4 per cent to $88.22.

However, TRON (TRX) increased its value by 0.9 per cent to $0.3449, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.