Economy
Guinness Nigeria to Focus Less on Lager Brands
By Dipo Olowookere
**As Forex Scarcity Puts Management in Tight Corner
The second-largest brewery company in the country, Guinness Nigeria Plc, has said it will pay lesser focus on its lager brands in 2020 because of the current global health crisis caused by COVID-19.
This information was disclosed by the Finance and Strategy Director of Guinness Nigeria, Mr Stanley Njoroge, while addressing analysts, the media and others at an investor call last Friday in Lagos.
According to him, the company has taken this decision because of the issue of pricing in the sector, which is making beer makers declare losses, especially when many of them cannot increase the price of their products despite a hike in excise duty on alcohol and tobacco in the country.
The federal government, in 2018, increased the levy paid by producers of alcohol and tobacco in the country and this has made manufacturers in the industry to beg for life because they have found it very difficult to pass the cost to consumers, who have low purchasing power.
Also, beer makers have not had it good this year because of COVID-19 as the federal government, just like other governments across the globe, shut down the economy to control the spread of the virus.
The main markets of beer producers; hotels, bars and others, have still not been allowed to fully operate in most states of the federation.
At the conference last Friday, Mr Njoroge said because of these issues, especially with the pricing, Guinness Nigeria will pay more attention to its stout, spirit and malt brands this year.
“We don’t have the right price in lager,” he informed participants at the gathering.
Guinness Nigeria has two brands in the lager market; Harp Lager Beer and Dubic Extra Lager, with the former more popular among consumers. The former was introduced in 1974, while the latter in 2012.
According to Mr Njoroge, the management of Guinness Nigeria believes that its stout, spirit and malt brands have the ability to help the company cushion the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its operations.
Also at the analyst call, he said Guinness Nigeria Plc was presently in a tight corner because of the current foreign exchange (forex) scarcity in the country.
Nigeria, which has the largest market in Africa, has been struggling with forex inflows because the Coronavirus disease has affected its main revenue source, crude oil.
Price of the black gold went as low as $20 per barrel at the global market this year and this affected the country’s forex inflows, forcing the government to lower the crude oil benchmark in the 2020 budget twice. It was first dropped from $57 per barrel to $30 per barrel and then to $28 per barrel in the approved revised appropriation bill.
Also, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had to suspend the weekly sale of forex to currency traders at the Bureaux De Change (BDC) window in March 2020, though this was also because of a ban on foreign flights as their main customers are international air passengers. The sale is expected to resume next Monday.
In April 2020, Business Post reported that offshore investors became trapped in the country because they could not repatriate their funds as a result of forex illiquidity, which forced them to reinvest in the local debt securities and equities, which caused the boom in that period.
According to Mr Njoroge, the brewer was having sleepless nights over how to refinance its $23 million debt maturing in 2021 because of the forex issue and it is already weighing options on how to manage the debt.
“We will want to refinance it but there is no foreign currency in the market at the moment,” Mr Njoroge was quoted as saying by Bloomberg, admitting that, “Foreign exchange is a big concern for us.”
As of June, the outstanding debt of Guinness Nigeria, a subsidiary of Diageo, increased by 16 per cent to N23.2 billion ($60 million), while the finance costs rose by 74 per cent to N4.5 billion ($11.7 million) at N386/$1.
Business Post reports that as at the time of publishing this report, shares of Guinness Nigeria, which closed on Wednesday at N14 per unit, were already up by 95 kobo.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Africa Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria (APFFLON) has appealed to the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to deepen its sensitisation on the newly introduced Green Tax Surcharge Policy.
The chairman of APFFLON, Mr Akeem Ayobiojo, made this plea on behalf of his colleagues on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, at the Customs House in Abuja, during a stakeholders’ engagement with the agency.
He also called for improvements in the administration of Pre-Arrival Assessment Reports and Post Clearance Audit and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Mr Ayobiojo stated that freight forwarders were happy to work with the customs, commending the organisation for implementing Chapter 99, describing it as a major relief for manufacturers.
He, however, emphasised that a deeper understanding of the new tax was necessary for his members, saying more predictable procedures would reduce delays and unexpected costs for importers and freight forwarders.
In his remarks, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, assured manufacturers, freight forwarders and other players in the nation’s trade sector that the NCS would continue to engage them on fiscal policies affecting their businesses, saying sustained dialogue remains key to resolving implementation challenges and improving the country’s trading environment.
He also promised them the service’s resolve to enhance and facilitate trade, acknowledging that, “Your feedback is important because it helps us understand what is happening in the field, and where necessary, we will take your concerns to the Federal Ministry of Finance and other relevant government institutions.”
Speaking about Authorised Economic Operator (AEO), Mr Adeniyi further explained that Nigeria would not lower the standards required under the Authorised Economic Operator Programme as the initiative is guided by global benchmarks established by the World Customs Organisation (WCO).
On her part, the Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs for Tariff and Trade, Ms Caroline Niagwan, clarified that electric vehicles can be imported without payment of duty only by holders of Import Duty Exemption Certificate (IDEC) issued by the Federal Ministry of Finance.
She also urged importers facing classification disputes to take advantage of the Advance Ruling system, noting, “Once an Advance Ruling is issued based on genuine documentation, importers have certainty on classification, valuation or origin before the goods arrive, thereby reducing unnecessary disputes during clearance.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira appreciated against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, July 17, by N1.35 or 0.07 per cent to N1,380.18/$1 from N1,381.53/$1.
It also improved its value against the Pound Sterling in the same market segment during the session by N11.75 to trade at N1,854.42/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,866.17/£1, and gained N5.69 against the Euro to sell at N1,576.99/€1 versus Thursday’s closing price of N1,582.68/€1.
In the same vein, the Naira chalked up N1 against the United States currency yesterday at the GTBank forex desk to quote at N1,388/$1, in contrast to the preceding day’s N1,389/$1, but closed flat at the black market at N1,405/$1.
The appreciation of the Nigerian currency on Friday came amid fresh signals that Nigeria is building its external reserves for protection against shocks and excessive currency volatility.
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Yemi Cardoso, said the country’s gross reserves had risen above approximately $52 billion by 15 July, while net reserves had increased from about $3 billion when the current CBN leadership took office to more than $40 billion.
Mr Cardoso linked the increase in reserves to reforms that had restored greater confidence in the foreign exchange system. He also pointed to efforts to diversify foreign currency inflows, including policies designed to increase remittances through official channels.
He noted that monthly diaspora remittances had risen above $600 million and the CBN expected them to reach approximately $1 billion by the end of 2026. The target is part of a broader effort to grow reserves through recurring inflows rather than temporary measures.
The improvement, he argued, had strengthened Nigeria’s capacity to respond when unexpected events threatened market stability.
The apex bank has also launched a new digital platform that will track every foreign exchange transaction involving Bureau De Change (BDC) operators, marking a major step in its efforts to improve transparency and strengthen oversight of Nigeria’s retail forex market.
As for the crypto market, prices were up as markets overlooked geopolitical developments and macro forces weighing on the whole market ecosystem rather than anything crypto-specific, with Cardano (ADA) up by 4.6 per cent to $0.1661.
Bitcoin (BTC) jumped by 1.8 per cent to $63,968.32, Ethereum (ETH) improved by 0.9 per cent to $1,843.88, Dogecoin (DOGE) also rose by 0.9 per cent to $0.0723, Solana (SOL) soared by 0.6 per cent to $74.90, Ripple (XRP) also appreciated by 0.6 per cent to $1.08, and Binance Coin (BNB) advanced by 0.1 per cent to $567.32.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 0.2 per cent to close at $0.3218, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The prices of the crude oil grades rose Friday, as fighting between the US and Iran continued in the Middle East, leading to further attacks in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Syria.
Brent crude futures advanced by about 4.6 per cent to $88.10 per barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures gained about 4.5 per cent to settle at $82.49 per barrel.
US forces stepped up attacks on Iranian sites, reportedly striking key bridges, railways, and an airport, prompting retaliatory action by Iran.
US Central Command said that it had completed its sixth consecutive night of strikes against Iran, hitting dozens of military targets such as military logistics infrastructure and maritime capabilities.
Centcom said more than 50,000 service members were operating across the Middle East, adding that they “remain vigilant, lethal, and ready.”
Iran said it attacked the US targets in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Syria in retaliation for the latest round of strikes by the Americans.
Kuwait said Iran attacked a power and water desalination plant as fighting escalated in the Persian Gulf, saying that the attack damaged the facility that sparked a fire that affected a large number of its electricity-generating units, according to The Kuwait Times.
Kuwait is heavily dependent on desalination plants for potable water. Analysts have long feared that Iran would strike infrastructure that is critical to supporting civilian life in the Middle East.
A tanker was hit by a projectile off the coast of Oman, causing minor damage, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre said in an incident report Friday. Iran has repeatedly attacked tankers over the past week as it tries to force civilian ships to transit the Strait of Hormuz through its waters.
The escalating fighting comes as the fragile truce reached last month has collapsed, once again disrupting energy flows through the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, which typically handles around 20% of the world’s oil traffic.
Earlier in the week, President Donald Trump said American forces would target Iran’s infrastructure next week unless the two sides reached a diplomatic breakthrough.
Iran has asked Yemen’s Houthis to close the Red Sea oil route if the US targets Iranian power infrastructure.
Market analysts noted that Iran and the US still have strong economic incentives to avoid a complete breakdown in talks, with the US seeking lower oil prices ahead of the November midterm elections and Iran reluctant to forgo economic incentives.
