Economy
Exempt MSMEs from N70,000 Minimum Wage Payment—Manufacturers
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has asked that Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) be exempted from paying the new N70,000 minimum wage, given their incapacity and prevailing operational challenges.
The group in a statement commended President Bola Tinubu for achieving the breakthrough on the long-awaited minimum wage for Nigerian workers.
However, the Director-General, Mr Segun Ajayi-Kadir, while reacting to the N70,000 minimum wage agreement by President Tinubu and leaders of labour unions on Thursday in Abuja, said small businesses can’t afford the level based on recent economic challenges.
The MAN DG stated that manufacturers looked forward to the promised assistance, urging the private sector to hold onto the President’s promise in this regard to enable the private sector board with the agreement.
“In this regard, I would assume that reference would be made to the demands made by the Organised Private Sector at the concluding stage of the tripartite negotiations.
“We had intimated to the committee the challenges confronting businesses in the private sector and that there was the need to ameliorate those challenges to improve the capacity of our members to pay the minimum wage that we offered.
“We maintained that those binding constraints may constitute impediments to the full compliance of our members when the minimum wage is signed into law.
“So, the assumption is that Mr President will give expedited consideration to those challenges and take necessary steps to address them.
“This will go a long way in onboarding the private sector in the new agreement on the minimum wage,” he said.
Mr Ajayi-Kadir presented a list of demands to enable the private sector to take on payments of the new minimum wage.
He said that Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) should be exempted from compliance given their incapacity and prevailing operational challenges.
He added that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) should redeem all validly transacted outstanding foreign exchange forwards for companies in the productive sector.
Mr Ajayi-Kadir called for the reversal of the increase in electricity tariffs or only a 100 per cent increase in electricity tariff for a minimum of 20 hours of supply.
He proposed duty exemption on imported conversion kits, government subsidy on procurement of same and a freeze on the introduction of new taxes on businesses for the next five years.
“We call for a fixed rate of N800 for the assessment of import duty on all production inputs and also advocate a revisit of the recent Financial Reporting Council regulation to curtail its application to private businesses.
“We also call for the discontinuation of the Price Verification Portal as it is inimical to the smooth operation of businesses and the basis for setting it up no longer exists.
“We are optimistic that the positive atmosphere created by the recent agreement between government and labour would facilitate speedy consideration and acceptance of aforementioned,” he said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
There was a 0.15 per cent appreciation at NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Monday March 17, with the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) increasing by 4.90 points to close at 3,368.64 points, in contrast to last Friday’s 3,363.74 points and the market capitalisation of the bourse rose by N2.83 billion to settle at N1.945 trillion compared with the preceding trading day’s N1.942 trillion.
Okitipupa Plc gained N7.66 during the session to close at N307.66 per unit compared with the preceding session’s N300.00 per unit, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc expanded by 78 Kobo to settle at N39.01 per share versus last Friday’s price of N38.23 per share, and Geo Fluids Plc grew by 6 Kobo to trade at N2.90 per unit, in contrast to the previous trading day’s N2.84 per unit.
On the flip side, Afriland Properties Plc lost N2.01 to close at N21.19 per share compared with its previous rate of N23.20 per share.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded at the bourse went down by 55.8 per cent to 288,383 units from the 652,237 units recorded last Friday, the value of securities traded by investor depreciated by 45.3per cent to N18.2 million from the N33.1 million quoted at the preceding session, and the number of deals executed at the first session of the week shrank by 27 per cent to 27 deals from 37 deals.
When the market closed for the session, Impresit Bakolori Plc remained the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with a turnover of 533.9 million units worth N520.9 million, followed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 13.0 million units valued at N505.1 million, and Afriland Properties Plc with 17.4 million units sold for N357.0 million.
Also, Impresit Bakolori Plc remained as the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 533.9 million units worth N520.9 million, trailed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 69.9 million units sold for N23.7 million, and Afriland Properties Plc with 17.4 million units valued at N357.0 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira depreciated against the United States currency at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Monday by N9.61 or 0.63 per cent to settle at N1,531.98/$1, in contrast to last Friday’s value of N1,522.37/$1.
Similarly, the Nigerian currency weakened against the Pound Sterling during the trading session by N20.41 to quote at N1,984.61/£1 compared with the previous trading day’s rate of N1,964.20/£1 and against the Euro, it tumbled by N14.68 to sell for N1,668.46/€1 versus the preceding session’s value of N1,653.78/€1.
The depreciation trend continued after the exchange rate had appreciated just once over the last week as supply factors and the Dollar strengthening across the global market continues to impact other local currencies.
Nigeria’s inflation cooled to 23.18 per cent in February, a month after the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) rebased its Consumer Price Index (CPI) to reflect changes in consumption patterns. A month earlier, the inflation was 24.48 per cent.
However, the the domestic currency appreciated against the US Dollar in the official market yesterday by N5 to quote at N1,585/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,590/$1.
In the cryptocurrency market, most of the tokens fell as investors expect the US Federal Reserve to keep interest rates steady this week, with analysts saying policymakers might pause or stop the central bank’s balance sheet runoff.
There are also trade tensions and concerns around a slowdown in the US economy at a time when it is increasingly uncertain how much more accommodation the US central bank can offer.
Solana (SOL) slumped by 2.8 per cent to trade at $125.04, Litecoin (LTC) fell by 2.7 per cent to $89.70, Dogecoin (DOGE) lost 2.5 per cent to settle at $0.1673, Ripple (XRP) dropped 2.2 per cent to end at $2.28, Cardano (ADA) slid by 1.5 per cent to $0.7072, Bitcoin (BTC) crashed by 0.4 per cent to $83,103.91, and and the US Dollar Tether (USDT) went down by 0.03 per cent to $0.9998.
Conversely, Binance Coin (BNB) appreciated by 0.8 per cent to $634.55, and Ethereum (ETH) added 0.5 per cent to close at $1,907.25, while the US Dollar Coin (USDC) was flat at $1.00.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Crude oil rose on Monday after the United States vowed to keep attacking Yemen’s Houthis until the Iran-aligned group ends its assaults on shipping, which is affecting prices.
As a result, Brent futures went up by 49 cents or 0.7 per cent to $71.07 per barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 40 cents or 0.6 per cent to settle at $67.58 a barrel.
The US carried out airstrikes that reportedly killed at least 53 people.
This is the biggest US military operation in the Middle East since President Donald Trump took office in January.
According to Reuters, the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah and the Al Jawf governorate north of the capital Sanaa were targeted on Monday.
Mr Trump said on Monday he would hold Iran responsible for any attacks carried out by the Houthi group that it backs in Yemen.
Meanwhile, the Houthi group said it would target US ships in the Red Sea as long as the country continues its attacks on Yemen.
Also, Chinese economic data buoyed hopes for higher demand.
Retail sales growth quickened in the world’s largest oil importer in January-February, indicating positive signs to boost domestic consumption.
However, unemployment rose and factory output eased.
Support also came as the US Dollar eased against a basket of currencies as investors worried about the economic fallout from President Trump’s protectionist trade policies.
A weaker Dollar makes oil less expensive for overseas buyers, boosting demand.
On the supply front, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) plan to raise oil output from April has also pressured prices.
However, market analysts noted that the prospect of tighter US sanctions against Iran more than offsets the gradual OPEC+ production increase.
The market will also looking forward to and to the Russia-Ukraine war as President Trump said he would speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday about ending the Ukraine war.
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