Experts to Discuss Business Funding, Others at MSME Dialogue

By Dipo Olowookere Stock investors were swayed by the news of the indefinite postponement of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The quarterly rate decision meeting was supposed to occur next week, but it has been moved forward. There are speculations that the meeting was postponed to allow the new CBN Governor nominee, Mr Yemi Cardoso, to preside over the gathering. He is yet to be confirmed by the Senate, which resumes from a recess next Tuesday, the same day the rate decision is supposed to be announced. The confusion as to who

By Adedapo Adesanya The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has postponed the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting scheduled to hold next week. In a statement, the apex bank noted that the MPC meeting, which was supposed to take place on Monday, September 25 and Tuesday, September 26, 2023, has been postponed until further notice. This is coming less than a week after President Bola Tinubu nominated Mr Olayemi Michael Cardoso to take over the role from Mr Folashodun Shonubi, who is filling the role following the ousting of Mr Godwin Emefiele, who is currently held in the custody of the

By Adedapo Adesanya President Bola Tinubu has been charged by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) to investigate the allegations that over $15 billion of oil revenues and N200 billion budgeted to repair the refineries are missing and unaccounted for between 2020 and 2021, as documented by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI). In the letter dated September 23 and signed by SERAP deputy director, Mr Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation urged him to “name and shame anyone suspected to be responsible for the missing and unaccounted for public funds and to ensure their effective prosecution as well as

By Dipo Olowookere The leadership uncertainty in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which some observers have said led to the indefinite postponement of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, further put investors off at the local equity market on Friday. Yesterday, the central bank said the person chosen by President Bola Tinubu to head the organisation, Mr Yemi Cardoso, has resumed in an acting capacity replacing the former acting CBN chief, Mr Folashodun Shonubi. Mr Shonubi was appointed by Mr Tinubu to take over from Mr Godwin Emefiele, who was suspended from office and was said to have resigned

By Adedapo Adesanya The 2019/2020 season of the Netherlands top flight football league, the Eredivisie, has been scrapped due to disruption caused by the coronavirus crisis. The announcement to scrap the season was reached by the Dutch Football Association, the KNVB, after the pronouncement by the Dutch prime minister, Mr Mark Rutte, that professional footballing activities are banned in the country till September 2020 in the face of the current health emergency. Clubs were afforded a vote to decide the outcome of the campaign, with 16 choosing to enable promotion and relegation for the Eredivisie. However, nine clubs voted against

By Adedapo Adesanya At the end of transactions on Thursday, April 2, 2020, the Naira pulled a 0.66 percent or N2.55 gain against the US Dollar at the investors and exporters (I&E) segment of the foreign exchange market. At the segment, the domestic currency closed at N383.00/$1 in contrast to N385.55/$1 it traded on Wednesday. This was helped by the continuous drop in the demand for forex at the window. During yesterday’s trading session, the turnover further declined by 59 percent or $14.83 million to $10.45 million from $25.28 million. However, at the other segments, the Naira maintained stability against

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Talks are ongoing on the sale of the car assembly plant of Peugeot Automobile Nigeria (PAN) Ltd to billionaire businessman, Mr Aliko Dangote, and two states. The sale of the car assembly firm is being carried out by the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON), an agency set up by the Federal Government in 2010 to acquire companies in Nigeria undergoing financial crisis before reselling them. On Friday, the Chief Executive Officer of AMCOM, Mr Ahmed Kuru, informed Reuters that, “We have concluded all processes on the bids since about two months ago, all we are waiting

By Cowry Asset Last week, the local currency appreciated week-on-week in most foreign exchange market segments. The Naira/Dollar appreciated at the I&E FX window (I&E FXW), Bureau De Change (BDC) and the parallel (black) market by 0.14 percent, 0.28 percent and 0.27 percent to N360.33/$, N360/$ and N364/$ respectively while it dosed steady against the US Dollar at the interbank foreign exchange market segment at N330/$. Meanwhile, all dated forward contracts at the interbank OTC segment appreciated amid sustained increase in the foreign exchange reserves – the spot, 1 month, 2 months, 3 months and 6 months contracts appreciated w-o-w

By Ebitonye Akpodigha Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, has stressed the importance of the development of housing market in Nigeria to grow the economy and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Mr Emefiele made this known at the opening ceremony of the 32nd Annual Conference and General Meeting of the African Union for Housing Finance (AUHF) in Abuja. He said the non-availability of long term capital to boost mortgages is the major challenge crippling the country’s housing market, adding that the housing sector currently contributes less than one percent to the nation’s GDP while the housing

By Adedapo Adesanya Rand Merchant Bank (RMB), in partnership with two other commercial banks, has acted as Mandated Lead Arranger of a €90 million 10-year senior debt financing package for the Terminal Industriel Polyvalent de San Pedro (TIPSP) in Côte d’Ivoire’s secondary port, San Pedro. The concession is a 35-year agreement between TIPSP and the Autonomous Port of San Pedro, the state-owned port authority, encompassing the design, construction, financing, operation, and maintenance of a greenfield multipurpose bulk terminal. The concession grants TIPSP exclusive rights to handle the import of cement clinker, gypsum, and limestone, as well as fertilizers and hydrocarbons

By Denny Da Silva One hundred and thirty-six of the 140 members of the OECD G20 Inclusive Framework, including South Africa, have agreed on a new set of global tax rules that will reform the world’s tax system. Notably, two African countries that are members of the Inclusive Framework have not yet joined the agreement – Kenya and Nigeria. The two-pillar system will be presented to the G20 Leaders’ Summit at the end of October 2021. It will result in a reallocation of taxing rights from resident to source countries of certain multinational enterprises (MNEs), if thresholds are met, in

By Adedapo Adesanya The Federal High Court In Abuja has ordered the arrest of a British national, Mr James Nolan, for jumping bail. Justice Ahmed Mohammed gave the order after Mr Nolan, a director in the Process and Industrial Development Limited (P&ID), failed to appear for trial. Mr Nolan is being tried by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) along with Lurgi Consult Limited and others in a money laundering case to the tune of $9.6 billion. In his ruling, Justice Mohammed said Briton had broken the terms of his bail conditions offered him by the court. He, therefore,