Economy
FG Slashes Cost of Business Registration to N5,000 for 90 Days
By Dipo Olowookere
The amount charged by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to register a business in Nigeria has now been reduced from N10,000 to N5,000.
This information was made known in a statement issued on Tuesday, October 2, 2018, by Mr Laolu Akande, spokesman of the Vice President, Mr Yemi Osinbajo.
According to him, the Vice President, while speaking at an event in Enugu, explained that the gesture was mainly to further ease the process of registering Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the country.
However, he said the rate was only applicable during a 90-day special window, which starts from October 1 to Dec 31, 2018.
“It was observed during some of the earlier editions of the MSME Clinics that a lot of MSMEs were finding it difficult to register their businesses as a result of cost.
“The practice since we began the MSME clinics is that most agencies offer price reductions especially for registration, and all other pre-investment approvals, during the Clinics.
“So, I am pleased to announce that the Federal Government, through the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), has approved a special window of 90 days from October 1 to Dec 31, 2018, to register businesses at a considerably reduced rate of N5000 only, down from as much as N10,000 previously. This will afford more MSMEs an opportunity to formalize their businesses,” the Vice President was quoted as saying at the launch of the 19th edition of the National MSMEs Clinics in Enugu on Tuesday.
Speaking on other initiatives by the Federal Government designed to consolidate the gains of the MSMEs Clinics, Mr Osinbajo said, “We will be establishing shared facilities for MSMEs based on a partnership between the Federal Government, interested States, Bank of Industry, NEXIM Bank, FIRS, NAFDAC, SON and interested private sector partners, as part of our efforts at deepening the impact of the Clinics.”
“The purpose of these shared facilities is to have a fully-equipped place with machinery and equipment required for various trades and businesses. MSMEs can then do their businesses at those locations at a reasonable cost.
“This way, MSMEs are spared the financial burden of having to buy their own equipment in order to be able to do business. Where possible, these shared facilities would have been pre-certified by relevant agencies, removing the need for MSMEs to pursue these certifications by themselves,” the Vice President added.
He also announced the Federal Government’s willingness to partner with State governments in establishing more One-Stop Shops, to further enhance business registration and facilitate seamless interaction between owners of small businesses and the relevant regulatory agencies.
According to him, “we are also aware that some States have gone on to set up ‘One-Stop Shops’ after the Clinics. These One-Stop Shops bring all the relevant agencies together in one place so as to enable the MSMEs access their services on an on-going basis.
“The Federal Government is also willing to partner with your State Government to immediately set up one such place for the good use of MSMEs in Enugu State.”
Mr Osinbajo also said there were follow-up plans to “ensure that all the finalists from the maiden edition of the MSME Awards are supported with publicity and media exposure, to enable them to reach even larger markets at home and abroad.”
He stated that the ongoing disbursement of collateral and interest-free loans given to petty traders under the GEEP TraderMoni programme would soon be launched in Enugu.
Earlier in his remarks, Governor Ifeanyi, Ugwuanyi of Enugu said the State government had already keyed into some of the social investment programmes initiated by the Federal Government, assuring that the State would continue to cooperate with all federal authorities to improve the well-being of the people.
He thanked the Federal Government for the launch of the National MSMEs Clinics in the state, noting that it would greatly improve the lives of many youths especially those seeking employment opportunities.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed flat on Wednesday, August 5, as the market witnessed weaker trading activity with only two deals executed.
In the midweek session, the volume of securities exchanged by investors dropped 99.9 per cent to 802 units from the 1.6 million units recorded on Tuesday. The value of securities further decreased by 99.6 per cent to N208,240 from the preceding session’s N47.6 million, and the number of deals significantly went down by 93.9 per cent to two deals from the 33 deals recorded a day earlier.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 76.9 million units transacted for N5.5 billion.
GNI Plc was also the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million.
There were no price gainers or losers yesterday.
As a result, the market capitalisation stood unmoving at N2.739 trillion, while the NASD Security Index (NSI) remained unchanged at 4,563.96 points.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira slid against the US Dollar by N2.28 or 0.17 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Wednesday, August 5, to N1,363.85/$1 from N1,362.55/$1.
The local currency also declined against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N5.97 to close at N1,837.38/£1 compared with Tuesday’s closing rate of N1,831.41/£1, and against the Euro, it crashed by N6.54 to quote at N1,575.25/€1 versus the preceding session’s N1,568.71/€1.
But at the black market, the Nigerian Naira traded flat against the greenback yesterday at N1,400/$1, and also remained unchanged at the GTBank FX desk at N1,373/$1.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says rates have narrowed to below two per cent, while the country’s external reserves have risen above $52.5 billion, reflecting the impact of its ongoing monetary and foreign exchange reforms.
CBN Governor Yemi Cardoso, represented by the Acting Director of Corporate Communications and Investor Relations, Mrs Hakama Sidi-Ali, disclosed this on Tuesday during the CBN Fair in Gombe. He noted that reforms introduced since 2023 had significantly reduced the disparity between the official FX market and the parallel market.
“The Naira continues to strengthen, with the spread between official and Bureau de Change rates now below two per cent,” he said, adding that reserves at $52.5 billion were supported by sustained inflows and renewed investor confidence in the economy.
Interbank FX transactions slid as weaker market activities dropped total Dollar volume exchanged to $75.35 million, a 51.8 per cent decline from $156.23 million in turnover quoted at the previous close.
The deals at the NFEM window also fell as data from the central bank put Wednesday’s quote at 82 from 139.
In the cryptocurrency market, major were down as global risk sentiment softened as a key world equity index slipped and chipmakers fell.
The MSCI All Country World Index snapped a five-day run to fall 0.2 per cent as chipmakers retreated on both sides of the Pacific. South Korea’s Kospi, a bellwether for the AI trade, dropped 4.4 per cent.
Ripple (XRP) depleted by 1.7 per cent to $1.05, Binance Coin (BNB) decreased by 1.0 per cent to $594.87, Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 0.9 per cent to $0.1884, TRON (TRX) shrank by 0.2 per cent to $0.3261, Solana (SOL) crumbled by 0.1 per cent to $74.00, and Dogecoin (DOGE) went down by 0.1 per cent to $0.0697.
On the flip side, Ethereum (ETH) gained 2.3 per cent to trade at $1,911.41, and Bitcoin (BTC) rose by 0.8 per cent to $64,759.28, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
By Dipo Olowookere
The domestic stock exchange rebounded by 0.05 per cent on Wednesday on the back of renewed bargain-hunting by investors, though the level of activity waned.
After bleeding for a few days, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited heaved a sigh of relief yesterday, as the All-Share Index (ASI) gained 109.41 points to close at 244,912.24 points compared with the previous day’s 244,802.83 points, and the market capitalisation garnered N71 billion to settle at N158.087 trillion versus Tuesday’s N158.016 trillion.
Business Post reports that despite the rebound recorded by Customs Street at midweek, the market breadth index remained negative, as there were 20 price advancers and 29 price decliners, implying bearish investor sentiment.
Linkage Assurance appreciated by 9.94 per cent to N1.77, AVA Capital rose by 9.55 per cent to N10.90, Fortis Global Insurance advanced by 7.69 per cent to N2.80, McNichols gained 7.34 per cent to finish at N5.85, and Coronation Insurance surged by 5.51 per cent to N2.49.
Conversely, Honeywell Flour depreciated by 9.94 per cent to N16.30, PZ Cussons gave up 9.94 per cent to trade at N74.75, Zichis crashed by 9.74 per cent to N20.76, Learn Africa slipped by 9.62 per cent to N9.40, and Neimeth tumbled by 8.33 per cent to N8.25.
The busiest equity was FCMB, with a turnover of 369.2 million units valued at N4.1 billion. Chams transacted 46.7 million units worth N201.8 million, First Holdco transacted 43.5 million units for N5.7 billion, Access Holdings sold 29.8 million units worth N778.0 million, and Linkage Assurance exchanged 19.6 million units valued at N33.5 million.
At the close of transactions, market participants bought and sold 824.1 million units worth N25.5 billion in 48,114 deals, in contrast to the 1.6 billion units sold for N28.7 billion in 54,160 deals a day earlier, showing a shortfall in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 48.49 per cent, 11.15 per cent, and 11.16 per cent, respectively.
