Economy
France Approves $475m Loan for Nigeria
By Dipo Olowookere
A loan worth $475 million has been secured by Nigeria from France for the development of projects in Kano, Lagos and Ogun States.
The loan deal was signed by Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun and the Chief Executive Officer of the Agence Francaise Development (AFD), Mr Rey Rioux.
The signing ceremony, held in Abuja on Tuesday, was witnessed by President Muhammadu Buhari and the French President, Mr Emmanuel Macron.
A statement issued by AFD disclosed that the agreement consists of $200 million loan facility grant to Lagos for the execution of transport projects by AFD, another $200 million loan for land degradation project in Ogun State and $75 million for the execution of water projects in Kano State.
On Lagos, the release stated that “On July 3, 2018, Mr Macron, the French President, and President Buhari of Nigeria, witnessed the signing of a letter of intent for the financing of the urban mobility improvement programme initiated by the Lagos State Government.
“This letter or intent of the equivalent in Eur of 200 million USD is related to a potential loan by AFD to the federal government of Nigeria. It was signed by the Agence Francaise de Development CEO, Mr Remy Rioux, and the Minister of Finance of Nigeria, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, in presence of Mr Denys Gauer, the Ambassador of France in Nigeria.”
The release also listed the project for execution in Lagos to include: development of eight priority bus corridors connected to the mass transit network (urban train and high-level service bus) with a total length of 41 kilometres); creation of two multimodal interchange hubs and functional integration of four public transport modes (urban train, high-level bus service, water transport lines and bus lines) and planning and management capabilities of the transportation system.
It added that the project which follows the successful urban development of the second Lagos bus rapid transit (BRT) project, that is already funded by AFD, aims at: contributing to Lagos sustainable urban development through the deployment of a public transport network combining quality service, efficiency, accessibility, reliability, safety, reduction of polluting emissions and socio-economic and financial sustainability.
Other aims of the project as listed by AFD are: giving 1,500,000 inhabitants access to quality transportation system; limiting road congestion; reducing an emission of 14,900 tonnes of CO, equivalent annually and thus improving the quality of the air; and creating stable jobs and initiating the professionalisation of the informal operators of transport (the artisanal transport).
It added: “Finally, this project has a strong potential for capitalisation of experience and replication to other cities in Nigeria and the sub-region.”
In the same vein, the release on Kano project said: “The Agence Francaise de Development supports Kano City to improve water coverage in Northern Nigeria by signing credit facility agreement of the equivalent of EUR 75 million in USD.
“During the official visit of the President Macron to Nigeria and his audience with President Buhari, the Agence Francaise Development CEO, Mr. Rey Rioux and the Minister of Finance of Nigeria, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, signed a credit of Facility Agreement the equivalent in EUR 75 million USD in order to improve water supply in Kano City.
“This concessional loan was awarded by AFD to the federal government of Nigeria to allow Kano State to develop an effective and sustainable water supply service.
The key objectives of the project are: (I) improve access to drinking water and quality of water service in greater Kano; (ii) to improve financial viability of Kano State Water Board by increasing its revenues and (iii) to enhance the governance framework of the water sector.
“The project mainly comprises of the following activities: rehabilitation and densification of the network; rehabilitation of the main water production facilities; supporting consumer awareness campaigns in particular sanitisation promo and hygiene sensitisation; technical assistance to Kano State Water Board and to the State Ministry in charge of Water Resources.
“First, activities will start in the coming months and are scheduled for a period of six years – it will contribute to improve the competitiveness of and increase the drinking water availability in greater Kano for approximately 1.5 people.”
However, the agreement on Ogun State project was signed on behalf of France by Kolbe and the Managing Director of the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), Uche Orji, on behalf of Nigeria.
“The Ogun agreement is a letter of intent to participate in the implementation of Nigeria’s blueprint and land degradation project in Ogun State.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Four securities weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.95 per cent on Friday, erasing N41.17 billion from the bourse, which had its market capitalisation at N2.567 trillion compared with the previous session’s N2.618 trillion.
In the same vein, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) decreased at the close of business by 85.28 points to 4,277.07 points from 4,362.32 points.
The price decliners were led by 11 Plc, which gave up N20.50 to sell at N200.50 per share compared with the preceding day’s N221.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc dropped N16.94 to close at N155.20 per unit versus Thursday’s closing price of N172.14 per unit, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by N2.11 to N84.68 per share from N86.79 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc lost 11 Kobo to end at N16.74 per unit, in contrast to the N16.85 per unit it closed a day earlier.
During the trading day, the value of transactions jumped by 172.1 per cent to N29.9 million from the preceding session’s N10.9 million, and the volume of trades soared by 136.5 per cent to 955,096 units from the previous 403,901 units, while the number of deals went down by 11.4 per cent to 31 deals from 35 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 68.6 million units sold for N4.7 billion.
GNI Plc also ended the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
The last trading session of this week on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended on a negative note, with a 0.66 per cent loss on Friday.
This was influenced by sustained selling pressure and cautious trading, which forced investors into profit-taking.
Data obtained by Business Post showed that the energy sector fell by 4.66 per cent, the insurance counter dipped by 2.23 per cent, the consumer goods index depreciated by 0.96 per cent, and the banking segment shed 0.28 per cent, while the industrial goods space remained unchanged.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) of Nigeria’s stock exchange went down by 1,531.81 points to 232,049.02 points from 233,580.83 points, and the market capitalisation dropped N983 billion to settle at N148.905 trillion compared with Thursday’s N149.888 trillion.
Aradel was the worst-performing equity after it lost 10.00 per cent to close at N1,417.50. International Energy Insurance slipped by 9.95 per cent to N5.79, Trans-Nationwide Express depreciated by 9.89 per cent to N3.28, eTranzact crashed by 9.79 per cent to N14.75, and UPDC slumped by 9.72 per cent to N28.12.
The best-performing equity for the day was Universal Insurance, which gained 6.32 per cent to close at N1.01, McNichols grew by 5.52 per cent to N8.60, Linkage Assurance expanded by 4.67 per cent to N1.57, NGX Group appreciated by 4.35 per cent to N120.00, and Transcorp increased by 3.62 per cent to N41.50.
As look at the activity level indicated that investors traded 388.7 million stocks worth N18.4 billion in 44,631 deals compared with the 393.7 million stocks valued at N19.2 billion executed in 45,813 deals a day earlier, representing a decline in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 1.27 per cent, 4.17 per cent, and 2.58 per cent, respectively.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira recorded a loss of 82 Kobo or 0.06 per cent against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, June 26, exchanging at N1,380.93/$1, in contrast to the previous day’s rate of N1,380.11/$1.
Equally, the domestic currency further weakened against the Pound Sterling in the official FX market yesterday by N6.06 to settle at N1,824.90/£1 versus the preceding session’s N1,818.84/£1, and lost N10.74 on the Euro to sell at N1,577 .58/€1 versus N1,566.84/€1.
At the GTBank forex counter, the Naira depreciated against the greenback during the session by N4 to close at N1,387/$1, in contrast to Thursday’s value of N1,383/$1, and at the parallel market, it was unchanged at N1,395/$1.
Interbank FX activity among financial institutions has fluctuated amid a sharp slowdown in forex market interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as it allows demand and supply to move the market.
Also, a stronger greenback has generally put significant pressure on emerging-market currencies.
Nigeria has accessed the first tranche of a proposed $5 billion derivatives financing arrangement with First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC, the largest lender in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The $5 billion facility, approved by the National Assembly earlier this year, is part of the federal government’s plan to diversify external financing sources and reduce borrowing costs. Structured as a Total Return Swap with First Abu Dhabi Bank, proceeds are earmarked for refinancing debt and supporting infrastructure financing.
If the proceeds are brought into the country through the official FX market, the transaction will increase the currency reserves or Dollar liquidity.
At the cryptocurrency market, Solana (SOL) grew by 2.2 per cent to $71.92, Cardano (ADA) gained 1.1 per cent to trade at $0.1474, Ripple (XRP) also appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $1.05, Dogecoin (DOGE) expanded by 0.9 per cent to $0.0755, and Ethereum (ETH) improved by 0.4 per cent to $1,578.84.
On the flip side, TRON (TRX) slid 0.6 per cent to $0.3203, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 0.3 per cent to $564.33, and Bitcoin fell by 0.2 per cent to $60,219.37, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.
-
Feature/OPED6 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism10 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz3 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking8 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy3 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking3 years agoSort Codes of UBA Branches in Nigeria
-
Banking3 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Sports3 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn