Economy

FG Seeks NASS Support for Economic Plan

Published

8 years ago

15/03/2017

Modupe Gbadeyanka

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Minister of Budget and National Planning, Mr Udoma Udo Udoma, has asked the National Assembly to support the recently unveiled Economic Recovery Plan by the Federal Government to get Nigeria out of recession.

Mr Udoma, speaking on Tuesday with members of the House of Representatives Tactical Committee on Recession, said the support of the legislature was very critical to the successful implementation of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).

According to him, the economic plan released last week by the Federal Government has a dual purpose of getting the economy out of recession and taking the country onto the path of sustainable and inclusive growth.

The National Assembly, he said, has a very important role to play in the successful implementation of the Recovery Plan, because achievement of the broad objectives will largely depend on execution of projects which are contained in budgets, “for which we have to work closely with the National Assembly to secure your support.”

The lawmakers were at the Ministry on Tuesday to further discuss ways of speedily getting the economy out of recession and reducing the economic hardship on the people, which are some of the core mandates of the committee.

Mr Udoma, during the visit, pointed out that some aspects of the plan are already reflected in the 2017 Budget and that the plan is basically an exposure of what government had already started doing since inception.

“This plan puts together all the things that we have been doing, including the strategies we have already developed and launched; which is why you are already seeing progress in agriculture and other areas.

“We have exited cash calls in our joint venture relationships in the oil sector, which decision was announced last year; it is all part of the plan, so that funding of the joint ventures will no longer be a constraint, which is why in the plan also, we are targeting 2.5mbpd production of crude oil by 2020.”

Explaining why focus is still on crude oil even when government is laying emphasis on diversification into the non-oil sector, the Minister said the economy will continue to rely on oil in the short term.

“We need revenue to get out of oil dependency and the fastest way to get that revenue is from oil. From the revenue we get from oil, we can invest in agriculture; we can invest in Export Processing Zones; we can invest in rail, ports, and all the things that will be needed to grow the non-oil economy.”

He mentioned development of agriculture and its value chain and manufacturing and its support infrastructure as areas that government is focusing on, to build a solid foundation for a sustainable and competitive economy for the future.

Mr Udoma noted that Nigerians are very resourceful and the private sector has the capacity to reverse the fortunes of the country if the right policies and the right structures are in place.

“What Nigerians need is for government to create an enabling environment and we are determined to do just that.”

While pointing out that the ERGP is an inclusive national plan developed after extensive consultations, the Minister said those with good ideas on how to further enrich government strategies should pass them on as government is very receptive to ideas.

“My position has always been, there is no point staying out there and knocking everything, if you have a good idea, come with it and tell us how it will work and we will accommodate it. This is a national plan and we need everyone on board to achieve the objectives” he added.

He told the Committee members that the Executive will work closely with the Legislature on the implementation of the ERGP.

“The plan already contains a number of initiatives and suggestions from the National Assembly and, as we continue with implementation we will always to welcome contributions from the National Assembly.”

Responding, Chairman of the committee, Mr Ayorinde Olabode, said the committee and the Ministry can work together, since its focus is to achieve results in the five mandate areas given to the Committee by the House, within the four months period that it has to report back.

Economy

NASD OTC Securities Exchange Closes Flat

Published

43 minutes ago

13/12/2024

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed flat on Thursday, December 12 after it ended the trading session with no single price gainer or loser.

As a result, the market capitalisation remained unchanged at N1.055 trillion as the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) followed the same route, remaining at 3,012.50 points like the previous trading session.

However, the activity chart witnessed changes as the volume of securities traded at the bourse went down by 92.5 per cent to 447,905 units from the 5.9 million units transacted a day earlier.

In the same vein, the value of securities bought and sold by investors declined by 86.6 per cent to N3.02 million from the N22.5 million recorded in the preceding trading day.

But the number of deals carried out during the session remained unchanged at 21 deals, according to data obtained by Business Post.

When trading activities ended for the day, Geo-Fluids Plc remained the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.7 billion units sold for N3.9 billion, Okitipupa Plc came next with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc was in third place with 297.5 million units worth N5.3 million.

Also, Aradel Holdings Plc remained the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 108.7 million units worth N89.2 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.5 million units sold for N5.3 billion.

Economy

Naira Firms to N1,534/$1 at NAFEM, Crashes to N1,680/$1 at Black Market

Published

54 minutes ago

13/12/2024

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira appreciated against the United States Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) by N14.79 or 0.9 per cent to trade at N1,534.50/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,549.29/$1 on Thursday, December 12.

The strengthening of the domestic currency during the trading session was influenced by the introduction of the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The implementation of the forex system comes with diverse implications for all segments of the financial markets that deal with FX, including the rebound in the value of the Naira across markets.

The system instantly reflects data on all FX transactions conducted in the interbank market and approved by the CBN; publication of real-time prices and buy-sell orders data from this system has lent support to the Naira at the official market.

Equally, the local currency improved its value against the British Pound Sterling by N3.91 to wrap the session at N1,954.77/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,958.65/£1 and against the Euro, the Nigerian currency gained N2.25 to sell for N1,610.41/€1 versus N1,612.66/€1.

However, in the black market, the Naira crashed further against the US Dollar on Thursday by N10 to quote at N1,680/$1 compared with Wednesday’s closing rate of N1,670/$1.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market majorly corrected after earlier gains as US President-elect Donald Trump reiterated his ambition to embrace crypto assets, but a bond market rout dragged risk assets lower.

Mr Trump said, “We’re going to do something great with crypto” while ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange, reiterating his ambition to embrace digital assets in the world’s largest economy and create a strategic bitcoin reserve.

Alongside, the European Central Bank trimmed its benchmark interest rates by 25 basis points and in its dovish policy statement hinted that more rate cuts were likely to happen.

The biggest loss was made by Cardano (ADA), which fell by 4.9 per cent to trade at $1.10, followed by Ripple (XRP), which slid by 4.1 per cent to $2.33 and Dogecoin (DOGE) recorded a value depreciation of 2.9 per cent to sell at $0.4064.

Further, Solana (SOL) slumped by 1.8 per cent to $225.89, Binance Coin (BNB) slipped by 1.3 per cent to $746.92, Bitcoin (BTC) declined by 0.6 per cent to $99,998.18, Ethereum (ETH) crumbled by 0.5 per cent to $3,909.43, and Litecoin (LTC) dipped by 0.3 per cent to $121.52, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.

Economy

Oil Market Falls on Expected Increase in Supply Surplus

Published

2 hours ago

13/12/2024

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The oil market slumped on Thursday, pressured by an expected increase in supply, supported by rising expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut.

The International Energy Agency (EIA) made a slight upward revision to its demand outlook for next year but still expected the oil market to be comfortably supplied, with Brent crude futures losing 11 cents or 0.15 per cent to trade at $73.41 per barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures declining by 27 cents or 0.38 per cent to finish at $70.02 per barrel.

The IEA in its monthly oil market report increased its 2025 global oil demand growth forecast to 1.1 million barrels per day from 990,000 barrels per day last month, largely in Asian countries due to the impact of China’s recent stimulus measures.

At the same time, the IEA expects nations not in the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and Allies (OPEC+) group to boost supply by about 1.5 million barrels per day next year, driven by the US, Canada, Guyana, Brazil and Argentina – more than the rate of demand growth.

On Wednesday, OPEC cut its demand growth forecast for 2024 for the fifth straight month.

The IEA said that, even excluding the return to higher output quotas, its current outlook is to a 950,000 barrels per day supply overhang next year, which is almost 1 per cent of the world’s supply.

The Paris-based agency said this would rise to 1.4 million barrels per day if OPEC+ goes ahead with its plan to start unwinding cuts from the end of next March.

Next year’s surplus could make it harder for OPEC+ to bring back production. The hike was earlier due to start in October 2024, but OPEC+ has delayed it amid falling prices.

Meanwhile, inflation rose slightly in November increasing the possibility of a US Federal Reserve rates cut again as the data fed optimism about economic growth and energy demand.

Support also came as crude imports in China grew annually for the first time in seven months in November, up more than 14 per cent from a year earlier.